Chance the cat gets another life

By Sandra Thomas-Staff writer

A local woman is crediting the power of the Internet for helping her raise money to pay the vet bill of a stray cat hit by a car.

Joanna Motylewska, who lives near Vancouver General Hospital, was three cars back from a red light turning green on 16th Avenue at Main Street, Jan. 25, when she saw a cat hit by the front car as the animal tried to cross the road. While the vehicle that hit the cat continued on-Motylewska believes the driver never saw the cat-the woman behind the wheel of the second car stopped.

"I jumped out of my car and this woman was standing over the cat watching it flip-flop all over the street like a fish," said Motylewska. "She was holding her cellphone and staring at the cat. I think they were both in shock."

Motylewska quickly took charge and carried the cat to the side of the road, while another woman driving by stopped and offered a box and a blanket. Wrapping the frightened animal in the blanket, Motylewska and the first woman drove to the Atlas Animal Hospital, located at the corner of Fraser Street and 41st Avenue.

"I knew I couldn't afford to pay this cat's vet bills, but I also decided to take responsibility for it," she said.

Motylewska went home and got her camera so she could take pictures of the injured cat, which she later downloaded onto her computer. She emailed more than 100 people from her Internet address book with an appeal for help and a picture of the cat, whom she's nicknamed Chance, and put the same on a local community weblog.

When Motylewska checked her email the next morning, she was surprised to find friends and strangers had already donated more than $300. As the cat's vet bill grew to more than $600 so did the donations. A recent tally showed a total of $810.

"It was hard to believe," she said.

After a 10-day stay at the hospital Chance continues to recover at Motylewska's home, but will be soon available for adoption.

Motylewska took the remaining money to start the Atlas Animal Hospital Stray Cat Medical Fund, and will continue to raise money for other cats in Chance's situation. She also wants to pay back the generosity of veterinarian and Atlas owner Hakam Bhullar, who donated his time to perform the surgery.

Bhullar said he had no choice but to help Chance because the cat was obviously in pain when it arrived. Even though Motylewska had no money to pay vet bills, Bhullar went ahead with blood tests and X-rays and operated on the cat, wiring its broken jaw and stitching its cuts.

"The cat was bleeding and having a bad time," he said. "I knew Joanna had no funds at this point but I said 'no problem,' and started it on [intravenous]. I thought whatever she could raise would be OK."

Bhullar has no exact record of the pro bono hours he's donated in the past nine years, but calls it "a lot." He works with seven local animal rescue groups, including the Vancouver Humane Society and Forgotten Felines, and takes care of sick and injured pets "even when there's no money." He said bills vary depending on how injured an animal is, but can easily reach $1,000 very quickly.

"On average we get three to four calls a week from people with no money looking for help for an animal," he said. "Sometimes we get calls every day."

Lorie Chortyk, general manager of community relations with the B.C. SPCA, called Motylewska's fundraising efforts "fantastic."

"We are also funded by donations but we spend about $2 million annually on vet bills so it's great to see these good Samaritans raising money for vet bills," she said.

Chortyk said anyone who finds a sick or injured animal can also call the SPCA to have it picked up for immediate medical attention.

"Then if we find the owner they can, hopefully, help out with the vet bill," she said.

Unclaimed animals are put up for adoption once they're considered healed and healthy.

For animal emergencies in Vancouver call the SPCA at 604-681-7271 during office hours or 604-879-7343 for the night patrol.

To check out Motylewska's cat fund, and pictures of Chance's injuries and recovery, go to www.simplecreative.com/cat.html.

posted on 02/09/2005