Tales of the Tulsa SPCA
Cookie is a pretty Australian-Shepherd mix who was dumped near the shelter. She’s a smart, energetic youngster who loved to “escape” from her home at the shelter and explore the neighborhood before trotting back for dinner. Cookie’s rescuer also brought us Maverick, a Heeler mix found weak from anemia caused by a massive tick infestation. The two were adopted together and are best friends.
An apartment cleaning company getting a space ready for rental entered an empty unit and found a mom cat and her two kittens who were only days old. One of the workers cared for the abandoned kitty family until we had room at the shelter. Brandy is mom, sitting on the MAC’s side panel, and her baby Clint is pictured playing on the back of the truck. These beautiful cats are fortunate they were found before they starved.
Known through widespread media coverage in 2004 as Amaya, this forgiving girl now named Shy (for super-heroine Shyara) was severely traumatized when found at an abandoned house. She was brought in with a puppy with serious burns on her back and side. After recovering at the SPCA, Shy joined our pet therapy crew visiting residents of nursing homes, then was adopted into the family of a 5-year-old boy for his birthday. She now sleeps with Mom and Dad, plays catch with “her boy,” loves the family twin girls (one twin’s first word was “doggie” as she pointed at Shy), romps in a wading pool, hangs out in a hammock, and calls a chaise lounge and child’s playhouse her own.
Oreo (what a great name for a blackwhite-black cat!) was rescued when she was 2-3 weeks old and brought to the SPCA. She was alone – the fate of her mother and littermates unknown. The human mom who took her home to bottle-feed, raise and wean this sweetie fell in love with her and, in the end, adopted her.
Obi-Wan is holding down the mouse on the front of the MAC – a Star Wars kitten indeed! Obi-Wan and his brother, Kenobi, were brought to the shelter by people who found them. Tiny and weak, they were barely surviving – the mom cat and another kitten had already died. With love and regular baby-bottle feeding, they grew up to be playful “forces,” reflective of their Jedi namesake who helped shape the fate of an entire universe!
Kabob, a round and playful puppy, is pictured riding around on MAC’s back panel. She was destined for a trash can instead. The owner of the mother dog put Kabob and her littermate sister in a plastic trash bag when they were born, handed the bag to a friend and told him to throw them away. Too kind to do that, the friend brought the babies to the SPCA. At one day old, they were raised on a baby-bottle and lots of love. They never did look like garbage.
This is Clint. His full story is on the other side of this: He’s the kitten of Brandy (the lovely grey cat sitting on the MAC’s side panel). After such a harrowing first few weeks, it looks as though he’s a happy, curious, playful kitten..just the way we like ‘em!
A caretaker of an elderly woman called the SPCA when the woman was hospitalized and unable to care for her small, hungry, confused and hairless(!) dog. Copper quickly bonded with his human foster mom, where he’s a permanent resident with other pets in need of special care. For weeks he sported only wisps of fur on his face, legs and tail, until a diagnosis and the right medication led to a thick, soft coat and a happy dog smile. He regularly visits nursing home residents now as a member of the SPCA’s Pets are Love therapy program.
“How much is that kitty in the window?” Lottie was found outside an industrial site, one of five orphaned kittens, eyes not yet open. Raised on a bottle with care and love, she now is top cat, the boss of her household filled with dogs,cats, and birds.
The Tulsa SPCA puts paws together in a big thank you to:
Betsy Perry, Perry Creative, for bringing pets to life on the MAC’s exterior through many dozens of hours of creative planning and graphic design.
Scott Miller, Miller Photography, for capturing our MAC cover pets through his lens and his patience with our playful “models” in the studio.