Four Paws Healing...Looking for a New Home

Guy Brewer's burned paws and throat abscess were treated thanks to help from the Picasso Veterinary Fund, and he'll soon be ready for adoption.

It was a cold February morning when Debi Romano couldn't help but notice the sweet brown-and-white, short-hair tabby sitting in a cardboard box on a Queens sidewalk. He looked like he was just waiting to be rescued!

Apparently the eight-year-old cat he had been on the street for a while, and a homeless woman had provided the box as a makeshift safe haven. Fortunately, Debi, of SaveKitty Foundation, an Alliance Participating Organization, saw him there and picked him up. She immediately noticed that his paws were burned. We don't know exactly what happened, but we suspect he might have taken refuge in a garage where he likely stepped in acid. Debi contacted the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals, asking if the Picasso Veterinary Fund could help the injured cat.

We arranged for the cat, now named Guy Brewer (in reference to the boulevard of the same name in Queens where he was found), to be treated at NYC Veterinary Specialists in Queens — one of our Picasso veterinary partners. Guy's feet required surgery to remove the damaged tissue. While medical staff intubated him for surgery, they found an abscess in his throat, which they treated while he was under anesthesia.

Following his surgery at the emergency hospital, Guy was transferred to Murray Hill Pet Hospital in Manhattan, another partner facility, where his wounds are healing. Guy's bandages on all four paws will be changed every three days until he has fully healed. Once Guy is back on his four feet, he'll be available for adoption.

Like all of the dogs and cats that receive medical treatment paid for by the Picasso Veterinary Fund, Guy needed help to get that second chance at a good life. What was his life like before he ended up on the street? Maybe he had a loving family that one day accidently left a door open, and Guy slipped out to explore. (If Guy had been microchipped, we likely could have reunited him with his family.) We'll never know. But we do know that now Guy will have the opportunity to become a part of a new family.

And that's what the Picasso Veterinary Fund is all about: second chances. Won't you help us help more deserving Little New Yorkers like Guy? It couldn't be easier — you can make a convenient, tax-deductible donation online. We hope we can count on you to help.