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HOLLAND
COLLEGE • March 5, 2002
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| Bobo
the cat returns home Stacey Colwell scolwell@eastlink.pe.ca Since leaving home last May, Bobo's skin has crawled with knats, she's been covered head-to-toe with cuts and bruises, shaved bald, left almost immobile by a leg injury and given up for dead. Now the three-year-old long-haired grey cat is back home in Summerside after a nine-month odyssey which ultimately saw her land on an operating table at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown on Jan. 4. It was then that her luck changed for the better. Fourth-year veterinary student Amy Matchett-Waterhouse helped nurse Bobo back to health. "We had to shave her whole body because she had knats all over her. Under most of the knats were huge abscesses which needed to be drained and rinsed out continuously. "She was probably with us about five or six days. Then she went to the Humane Society and sheÕd been there since then waiting for her skin to get better and heal up so we could go back in and do surgery on her leg; she had a ruptured achilles tendon." Dorothy Comeau, manager of the Charlottetown Humane Society, said the staff called Bobo Miss Kitty during her nearly two-month stay. "Every day she had her special bed, but she was cold because she was shaved so we had a hot water bottle for her. The staff enjoyed having her, giving her special care and seeing her respond. ItÕs a great morale builder to have a success story like this." When Bobo finally went in for the operation a couple weeks ago the staff at the hospital assumed she was a stray before accidentally finding a Summerside vet clinic tattoo on her belly. "All of us were pretty excited," said Matchett-Waterhouse. "I called the Summerside clinic, gave them the tattoo number and they gave me the owners name and number." She then phoned 17-year-old Jennifer Currie. "Jennifer started jumping for joy saying ÔMom, Mom, they found Bobo.Õ I couldnÕt believe she was still alive after all that time," said Kim Currie, JenniferÕs mother. The family had needed three pets to fill the void after Bobo disappeared. "We replaced Bobo when she went missing with a puppy and two cats,Ó said Currie. She now has two dogs, four cats and a snake, and wants to keep it that way. "(Bobo) will not go outside without a tether again,Ó laughed Currie. "WeÕre so happy to have her back, but it wouldnÕt have happened without the help of the Humane society and the Veterinary College; they did such a great job.Ó  KIRSTEN FERGUSON PHOTO Bobo is recovering from a nine-month stay from her home. The three-year-old cat arrived the Atlantic Vet College and back into her owners' arms, now filled with a puppy and two felines, bought after the owners thought Bobo was gone for good. |
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