She jumped in her car and drove through flooded streets, following the sound for two blocks. The closer she got, the louder the meowing became.
“It was pitch-black and raining. I just crawled into this muddy sludge pit following his cries,” she told TODAY.
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After pushing through a broken fence, she found a tiny, drenched kitten stuck in a thorny bush.
“The mama cat was right there, swatting my hand,” she said. “She was looking after her baby, but I couldn’t move him. I thought, ‘Oh, my goodness, has he been impaled?’”
Dover reached out to a neighbor, who arrived with pruning shears and bolt cutters that she used to free the kitty. She drove the kitten — “he literally fit right in my hand” — straight to an emergency veterinary hospital.Remarkably, except for a 2-inch scratch, he was healthy.
Dover brought the kitty home and named him Lord Sugarplum Puddington.Learn How to Make Some Simple Dog Treats. Don’t have any dog treats on hand? You can make your own simple & healthy dog treats. Here’s 21 dog treat recipes you can make, all with 5 ingredients or less.
“This kitten looks like a cross between an ivory snow angel and a sugarplum at Christmas, so what else could I name him?” she quipped. “He is just my brave, sweet boy. He’s my parlor puma.”
Now Dover is even more determined to help other cats in need. There are many abandoned and feral cats in the city because Lake Charles has been pummeled by disastrous weather events. Dover said Hurricane Laura in August 2020 was even worse than Hurricane Rita in 2005 — then was quickly followed by Hurricane Delta. This year brought an ice storm, flash flood and tornadoes.“The city of Lake Charles looks like a puzzle that fell out of a bag,” she said. “This is extreme hardship on the human scale, and this is an animal welfare crisis in Calcasieu Parish in Lake Charles.”Soften Up Dry Food With Warm Water. Does your dog have a hard time eating his kibble? If your dog has sensitive teeth you can soften up their dry dog food by adding in some warm water.
Dover, who has worked in art acquisition and the pet products industry, is pouring her life savings into helping abandoned animals, from feeding cats to humanely trapping them to get them veterinary care and try to transport them to shelters in other locales.
She currently has 17 rescue cats in her home, which she calls a “furry von Trapp family,” but she’s at maximum capacity.Parrots, according to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), are the nation’s fourth most popular pet; according to a 2012 survey conducted by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), 3.1 percent of U.S. households owned birds. Some parrots can scream as loud as an ambulance siren. These birds are beautiful, but they’re difficult to care for and require lots of space, so the HSUS doesn’t recommend keeping them as pets at all.
“It’s just heartbreaking,” she said. “These are pets that have just been dumped.”
But as an optimist, she finds reasons to persevere and hopes others will, too. Last month, she was able to finally capture Lord Sugarplum Puddington’s mother and adopt her. Plum remembered his mom — named Lilibet — and the two seem delighted to be reunited.Make an ice lick by freezing toys, bones, and chicken broth into a cake mold.
“Reach out and help others,” she said. “And please don't lose hope.”
Research what type of pet is best suited for your family’s personality and lifestyle. Dogs require more attention, time and energy than cats do, so if you don’t enjoy walks or hikes in the outdoors, or can’t imagine getting up on cold winter mornings to take your pet out to potty, a cat may be more your style.