A Good Samaritan rescued a cat who miraculously survived after he was found in a frigid wind chill of -51.
On Dec. 7, Blaze the cat was found on the side of a highway outside Regina. He was taken to the Regina Humane Society (RHS), a local non-profit organization that cares for homeless, neglected and abused cats, dogs and other domestic animals.
“When the (Good Samaritans) realized what it was, they stopped and tried to help Blaze and found that he was actually frozen to the ground,” said RHS director of marketing and public relations Bill Thorne.
“They were able to get him free and brought him in to the humane society.“
The first thing RHS did was to try and warm Blaze slowly and one of the receiving technicians held him until he warmed up.
“When he came in, he had an upper respiratory infection as well,” Thorne said. “So, we had to treat that. And they tried to keep an eye on him, but it was pretty obvious that he was going to lose his ear tips.”
Surgeons were able to remove Blaze’s ear tip surgically and now he’s recovering at a foster family, where he will receive the best care until he makes his full recovery.
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Cassie Josephson, who fosters animals from RHS is taking care of Blaze, said when she heard about Blaze’s rescue story, she couldn’t say no.
“It breaks my heart. Honestly, this weather is just so horrifying, especially lately in this frigid weather,” she said. “I’m just very thankful that someone was able to save Blaze.”
Josephson is part of the RHS foster care program, a volunteer project for families or individuals who love animals but cannot commit to having a full-time animal companion.
The foster care program prepares animals for adoption into a permanent home as well as helps prevent overcrowding in the shelter.
Thorne encourages pet owners to keep an eye on your pets, even your dogs.
“When it’s this cold, when they’re going up the backyard to do their business, they can still get quite cold,” he said. “Look for obvious signs, shivering, lifting paws, that kind of thing. You can still go for a walk, but maybe stick a little bit closer to home or maybe play some indoor games or learn a couple of new tricks or something when it’s this cold to stay inside.”
Blaze is expected to make a full recovery and will continue to be assessed by RHS so until then, he will be enjoying the holidays with his foster mom.
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