Meant To Be

by Sue Burkhard

You can call it fate, or destiny, or God's plan. I call it a little miracle myself. And I'm honored that I was one of the threads that when combined together offer us the opportunity to ponder faith, hope, love, compassion, understanding and courage.

This story starts with faith and understanding. Animal Shelters across the country struggle with a balance of life and death daily. Sick animals to far gone too be helped, some abused and mistreated animals taught to fear and hate mankind cannot be safely adopted or treated, and the healthy ones when space and money become an issue. Most people don't want to hear about the reasons for euthanasia in shelters and they definitely don't want to put faces to stories. It's too painful, it hurts too much. But think about the dedicated workers who love and care for these animals, help the ones they can, spend hours facilitating adoptions, and who sometimes have to make the hard and painful choice to euthanize the animal they have spent hours, days, weeks, sometimes months caring for. For these workers some of the hardest losses are the babies.

For most people kittens and puppies conjure up feelings of happiness, joy, and unbridled enthusiasm. For shelter workers they think of the "babies" in a different light. They bring sadness and a feeling of being overwhelmed. Guilt runs hand in hand with anger at times with to many babies coming in and not enough being adopted out. And then there is the sickness. Shelters are like large day care centers. Full of germs. Animals come in and out, some without ever before seeing a vet for shots or health checks and some with unknown or incomplete histories. The babies that come into, or are born at the shelter are extremely susceptible and despite the best care and cleaning we can provide the mortality rate is very high for animals less than 8 weeks of age.

The first "mama" of kitten season brings both joy and sadness. Despite the pain and frustration that comes with caring for baby kittens there is something special about these tiny bundles of fur so small and needy. This year our first mom of the season was Patches. A beautiful calico, merely a baby herself less then a year old. Patches came into the shelter a picture of contrasts. Her belly swollen, while the rest of her small frame protruded bonily through her skin from poor nourishment. Not a good sign for a young pregnant mom. Shortly after coming in Patches went into labor. Our medical and animal care staff monitored her closely and despite every effort to revive them, two of the babies were born dead. Most likely the victims of no pre-natal care, a young and immature mom, and poor nutrition. But we had two beautiful orange tiger balls of fluff that were alive and needed our care. So we pushed through our grief and focused on the ones we could help. But sadness and bewilderment struck again a week later when one of the small babies, who had been thriving, suddenly died. That left one kitten, one mom, and a group of discouraged shelter workers and volunteers.

We found ourselves asking WHY? Why were these poor babies born only to die? Why is it our burden to try so hard and then fail? Just Why? And that leads to the next chapter in this story. The story of hope, compassion and courage. The story that answers the why and most profoundly teaches us that "for everything there is a reason".

Those that know me know that one of the most used "animal rescue" phrases drives me crazy. "I do it for the animals". At first glance that is a noble and needed cause. But it is not that simple. I do it for the animals AND the people who are enriched by the animals. For in today's society every domesticated animal has a person(s) who's life is also affected.

Just days after the third baby kitten died, I was at the Humane Society of Southwestern Michigan taking some photos for the webpage and helping our new Shelter Director deal with some management issues. I was rushed, and harried, and just a little bit frustrated by several small problems that seemed to pop up. So I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have when one of our Volunteers came up and told me that a family was there looking for an orange kitten and was it ok to show them the "baby in the back?" I think my response was something like "NO! We don't know if that kitten is going to live yet, it's to young, and is NOT available for adoption". And I rushed off to deal with another issue. About 30 second later I realized I might have been too harsh and that I needed to go follow-up with the potential adopters myself to explain the reasons why this kitten wasn't available for adoption yet and see if I could facilitate an adoption of an animal that was ready. So I went back and found the volunteer explaining to the adopters what I had said and I stood back and listened as the "Mom" explained why they were there. While I stood and listened to her story, I almost instantly understood "WHY" we had got Patches and her babies and WHY as others struggled and died, one survived. And I met Hannah Kelly.

Hannah's mom Kim advised they were looking for a special kitten and that they were willing to wait if needed. You see they had already been waiting almost a year for "Hannah's Kitten". In April of 2007 Hannah had been diagnosed with Firbrosarcoma in her right forearm. Hannah turned 11 in November. Hannah's been through testing, radiation, chemotherapy and two major surgeries. Her smile is like a beacon of light in a dark room. I can't even imagine the struggles and pain and the courage and faith to still smile after all this little girl has been through. At some point during her battle with cancer Hannah decided she wanted a kitten. Kim told me that before Hannah started chemotherapy she told her that when she was finished with her last chemo treatment she could get a kitten. And Hannah had the picture of that special one in her mind. It would be a little orange tiger.

After hearing all of this I knew that if Hannah decided this was her "special kitten" that we would need to do everything possible to facilitate this adoption. But I was scared. How do you explain to an 11-year-old cancer survivor about kitten mortality in shelters and the odds of this one little kitten surviving until it was 7 weeks old, and able to be weaned from the mom? I decided that an 11-year-old cancer survivor should be told the truth. So I explained to her about the kitten's history, that three others had died, about germs and odds and Hannah listened carefully. But Hannah decided that this kitten was meant to be hers. Hannah's mom wrote me this a few days later: "She has undergone chemotherapy, radiation, and two major surgeries. And she did it all through the grace of God and with His strength faithfully. She will never have full use of her right hand but that doesn't stop her from doing anything she puts her mind to. She feels this kitty is a survivor, just like her. Especially after hearing that his siblings didn't make it. She told me this morning that it has been her dream to take care of a baby kitten just like this one. This baby will be well loved here and we will pray her mother will also find a home."

Thus we began the "Hannah's Kitten Mission". I couldn't sleep all the night I met Hannah. I kept worrying about how I was going to help keep this kitten alive for this special little girl. The next morning as soon as it was decent I started calling and telling folks the story. That night I was at a meeting and told the story and one of the ladies advised she could foster the mom and kitten in her house to remove them from the germie environment at the shelter. One of the Vets who help at the shelter offered to exam the mom and kitten and sex the baby so Hannah could name it. Turns out he is a boy and his name is Buddy! Hannah was emailed pictures and put in contact with the Foster Mom so she could visit her new kitten while he grew. And everyone prayed and held their breaths for 4 long weeks.

Finally it was time. The baby was old enough and thriving! Actually he's a plump little fellow! Hannah had prepared for his arrival at home and gotten all the things a new kitten would need!

We all met last night at Buddy's foster mom's home. Hella Grams welcomed Hannah & Kim and myself in and we snapped some pictures, offered "new mom" advice, and handed baby Buddy over to Hannah.

Two survivors and a few bystanders, who had faith and dared to hope, surrounded by love and courage together as we understood that this is what was meant to be!