It is unusual for a person to be driving a car behind another car which hits a cat on the road. This is what happened to a veterinarian, Jo Brand, from Wood Green Animal Shelters. In this instance the cat that was hit was Phoebe a tortoiseshell-and-white (calico) cat. As is usual, the accident left her at death’s door beside the road. Jo Brand stopped, rescued her and then rushed her to a nearby veterinary practice for emergency treatment. Being a vet she probably knew all the local clinics.
Since then the Wood Green Animal Shelters charity has been looking after her and her facial injuries were so severe that her right eye had to be removed. They called in a veterinary eye specialist to save the sight in her left eye. Phoebe had been temporarily blinded and she was terrified. They have given her round-the-clock care which was required because at one time it was touch and go. The charity was determined to give her the best possible treatment and to save as much of her vision as they could.
Phoebe is still in rehabilitation and not yet available for rehoming but she is on her way. Phoebe was not microchipped and therefore she’ll have to be rehomed because they don’t know who her owner is.
I suppose it was pure luck that Phoebe was knocked down in front of a good veterinarian. I suppose this was a test. Can we assume that all veterinarians would do the same thing? They should but I am unsure whether every one of them would act like Jo when we read stories about veterinarians such as Kristen Lindsey. Veterinarians are people like anybody else and they have their own opinions and sensitivities. Some veterinarians are more sensitive than others, more committed to animal welfare and more caring in general. Sensitivity and a caring nature should be a prerequisite for a veterinarian but it is not. These two qualities often make the difference between a good and average practitioner.
P.S. This story is about a cat owner who saw her cat killed by the car in front.
A wonderful vet.
What agitates me is that drivers who hit animals don’t even have the kindness to stop.
yes, Dee, fairly often that is the case. “It’s just a cat.”
Too bad Kristen Lindsey wont read this,maybe it would restore her humanity!
I’m glad that vet was a kind soul. They are in the business for different reasons, just like people doctors.
We seem to expect more from vets, but consider that caring for a patient whom you have control over, might be more appealing than caring for humans.