You may recall my post of a couple of weeks ago about a handsome red/sorrel Aby who was found in a parking lot in Alexandria, VA. Well, I am happy to report that he has found a new home.
The following emails were sent to one of my Aby lists:
First, his rescuer wrote: Thanks so much for your help. I have gotten a few “nibbles” already, but nothing that suitable yet. There has plenty of time to assess his personality, and Topaz really needs to be an only cat, but all the respondents to your SOS email thus far have been people looking for a second or third Aby to join their family.
Also, I do not think that he would travel well, so potential adopters in places in Texas just won’t do. I’m hoping to find him a home in the Greater Washington DC area of Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. That covers a lot of territory, so, hopefully, someone out there would like to adopt Topaz.
I sent a more detailed response to someone else that I will share with you below because this response has more background information that you may find useful:
Emails are not the best way to communicate because they are so brief, so please allow me to go into more detail. I did not rescue Topaz last week when I sent the email to ARL (The Abyssinian Rescue League). I actually rescued him in November just before the holiday season started, so there has been ample opportunity for an owner to step forward to claim him, but that has not happened.
I have over 20 years of experience in animal rescue. As soon as I rescued him, I took him to my vet immediately to have him checked for a microchip and to do an exam and basic tests and shots. There was no chip. I also filed “found pet” reports and checked local shelters, vets, rescue groups for reports of missing Abys, canvassed the neighborhood for missing cat flyers, checked nearby apartment/condo buildings for reports of lost pets, checked the newspapers, pet blogs, Craigslist for lost pet notices, etc. I have done all the steps to locate an owner several times, but no one has claimed him. It is sad for any pet to be abandoned, especially such an unusual animal as Topaz. Unfortunately, though, as we animal rescuers know all too well, some people do abandon pets. When it is time to move, they leave the pet behind and then get a new pet at their new destination. I privately refer to such people as serial pet killers.
There are plenty of purebred pets on death row in animal shelters who can attest to the fact that even purebreds get abandoned. I, too, am amazed that this exceptional little fellow was dumped on the street, but that seems to be what happened. I could not believe what my eyes were seeing when I first spotted him slinking down the sidewalk in front of the mall! Even from a distance, I could immediately tell that he was either a purebred Aby or Oriental Shorthair who had no business being on the street!
The only other possibility that has occurred to me is that perhaps his owner died, and no surviving relative wanted that cat, so he was dumped. Unfortunately, that happens too. Based on reports from shopkeepers at the shopping mall where I found him, he was out there for about two weeks. One of the shop clerks left food for him. That is probably the only reason that he survived until I spotted him. It was pure chance that I was driving by at the right time and spotted him. What are the odds that an animal rescuer would drive by at just the right time — especially an animal rescuer who planned to go trapping that night to rescue a different cat, so food bait and a trap were on hand. After he got friendly with me, I just picked him up and popped him into the trap and took him to the vet. I seem to have my own “Thanksgiving” tradition of rescuing an animal from the street in November.
No one has filed a report of a missing pet Aby, no one has checked with local shelters about a lost Aby, etc. Some people go away for the holidays and the pet escapes while the in the care of the pet sitter, but there has been plenty of time for the owner to return from the holidays and reclaim, but that has not happened. Sometimes an owner has an accident or becomes ill and is hospitalized for a few weeks. Plenty of time has elapsed for an owner who was temporarily incapacitated to reclaim him, but no one has claimed him. During this waiting period, though, some good things have happened. His pawpads have healed (living on the street chapped his pads), he has gained weight, and now he is in good condition now for rehoming. I did not want to place him during the holidays any way since that is a bad time for pets to be adopted, so I wanted to wait until the New Year before mounting a full-scale effort for adoption.
He is a lovely cat, but no one can keep every animal that he or she rescues, and he really needs to be an only cat. I suspect that he was an only cat in his previous home because he is not fond of other animals. Since he is an Aby, I thought that it made sense to reach out to the Abyssinian Rescue League for help in finding him a new home. Any help that you can give would be most welcome. Finding a home with an experienced Aby owner would be ideal.
And, then, happy news! Topaz found his dream home! Sharon sent this follow-up to the Aby list:
I have very good news to share with you: I have found a wonderful home for Topaz,the young Abyssinian whom I found abandoned on the streets in Northern Virginia. Topaz will reign supreme as the only pet in a home where he will be spoiled rotten. The gentleman who is adopting comes from a family of experienced animal rescuers. He has wanted to adopt an Aby for some time, but he wanted to adopt a rescue animal. Finding a rescue Aby is not easy since Aby owners take tremendously good care of their pets, but, at last, his dream has come true with his adoption of Topaz.
I would like to thank you and your colleagues with their assistance in this search for a new home for Topaz. Several people responded to the “SOS” that you sent on behalf of Topaz, but, since Aby people love Abys so much that they have more than one Aby, none of them could offer Topaz a home where he would be the only pet. Your support and theirs, though, meant a great deal to me as I searched for the right home for Topaz.
Let’s hear it for happy endings! I’m so glad to hear that this boy has a new home.
The Daily Abyssinian...and Singapura 