Something Good out of something horrible

Quite some time ago, I became acquainted with the Forgotten Felines group of Sonoma County. A small black kitten had been through a very horrifying thing, but the little guy had such will to live that the caregivers worked to make that a reality.

Anyhow, little Adam and the group have been sending out updates for quite some time now, and I thought I would share the holiday greetings from them with you all.

I would ask that people give this a kick when they can, as I think it's very important to us all that we share the good things in this world, because we have been exposed to so much bad and wrong stuff that every little beacon of hope should be given the chance to take us out of ourselves and celebrate the truly wonderful things that happen.

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Dear Adam Fans:

As 2007 draws to a close and we reflect upon the year, we can certainly say without any hesitation that Adam’s story was a highlight. His fighting spirit coupled with the outpouring of support and love from people around the world made this a story not soon to be forgotten.

On December 6th, Forgotten Felines held its annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner. Adam, Tina, Dr. Lisa Alexander, Sarah, Caesar and his family were all guests of honor. Tina and Dr. Alexander were each presented with a custom, hand painted portrait of Adam as our way of thanking them for the untold number of volunteer hours given to Forgotten Felines in order to save Adam’s life. Sarah was given a plaque recognizing her heroic acts of kindness. Caesar was presented with a reward check of $6000 for the information he gave which resulted in the arrest and conviction of the two teenage girls who set Adam on fire. And Adam was given a five foot cat tree complete with enough toys and treats to last through 2008.

On December 12th we held our last spay/neuter clinic for the year. Adam was there with his Mom Tina, our vet tech. At the end of clinic, Tina signed the official adoption papers for Adam. We completed our 1306th feral cat surgery of the year and completed our most famous adoption all in the same day! It was the perfect way to end our perfect year.

Last week as I watched Adam sleeping comfortably on his soft, cozy blanket, I was reminded of the fact that he is a walking miracle. Looking into his beautiful green eyes, there is no evidence of fear, pain, or anger. Except for a few sparse spots on his back where the hair hasn’t quite filled in, his little torso has healed. The girls may have disfigured his body, but they never touched his spirit.

There are many heroes in Adam’s story. He started his journey alone with only his strong will to live, and was then carried by the loving hands and open hearts of thousands of people along the way. We will be forever grateful to each and every one of you who sent us words of encouragement and support, made donations for his care and kept him in your thoughts daily.

On behalf of Adam and all of us at Forgotten Felines, we wish you happy holidays. May the warmth and compassion you showed Adam come back to you twofold.

Please go to our website to see the latest pictures of Adam, pictures of Tina signing adoption papers, Dr. Alexander and her painting, and little Joey, our most recent “Fluffy Fund” recipient. www.forgottenfelines.com

FYI:

As far as we know, the girls who burned Adam were sentenced, but since they are juveniles, the case is closed to the public and we’ll never know exactly what they were sentenced to….

Louie, Adam’s cat friend from Animal Hospital of Cotati has been adopted into a loving home of his own
Sampson, Adam’s brother was adopted by Colette, our FFSC Adoption Program Coordinator

Adam’s page on Catster continues to receive daily attention and has had over 10,000 visits

The petition started on line addressed to our local DA’s office to encourage the most severe punishment given to criminals has received over 7,000 signatures from all over the world including: Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, France, Israel, Ireland, Italy and Puerto Rico to name a few

We have every reason to believe that Caesar will be given the balance of the reward money posted by Humane Society of the United States ($2500) and Animal Legal Defense Fund ($1500) shortly.

Our Press Democrat stated that “Adam’s Story” was by far the biggest internet story of the year!

Happy Happy!

Jennifer

Jennifer Kirchner, Executive Director
Forgotten Felines of Sonoma County, CA
(707) 576-7999
www.forgottenfelines.com

I'm surprised no one has responded to this thread! The wonderful things these people do, and to know that some good came out of a miserable experience is awe-inspiring to me. There are too many horrors in this world already, and it is very welcoming to see that some good things do happen once in awhile.

Anyhow, thought I'd toss in a kick before I turned off the computer for the night.