W: Wanda and Smurf

W: WANDA & SMURF

I can’t wrap up the A to Z without talking about my very favorite rescue story. Smurf and Wanda. Smurf is the one that first got the national attention. Rescued after some sick soul had dyed the little kitten purple and used him as a dog chew toy, he was rescued and barely alive.

Smurf then

 

The Dodo reports:

The sweet but scared kitten, thought to be less than 2 months old, was dropped off at a San Jose animal shelter in California this week. While it was obvious that someone had dyed his fur a deep shade of purple, staff soon discovered his body was covered in deep bite marks and abrasions.

Rather than euthanizing Smurf, the shelter alerted the Nine Lives Foundation, a rescue center for injured and abused cats run by veterinarian Monica Rudiger.

For her, the young animal’s injuries were consistent with a shocking but little-known practice — people using kittens as live bait for dogs being trained to fight.

Smurf survived his injuries and his surgeries. And about the time that he was recuperating, another rescue entered the story. Wanda, who was blind.

Huffington Post reports:

“They do everything together,” Rudiger told The Huffington Post. “When he goes to the bowl, she goes to the bowl. When he goes to bed, she goes to bed.”

The veterinarian said Wanda, who was found starving and shivering next to a garbage can with a crushed left eye and an infected right one, leans on Smurf because of her blindness. Smurf takes his BFF duties to another level, even kneading Wanda’s back, giving her a “daily massage,” Rudiger told HuffPost.

They’re so close that when they are ready, the pair must be adopted together.

*Note: As of March 2016, they are now in their forever home. Together.

Here’s a video clip of Smurf massaging his best friend, Wanda.

You can keep up with Smurf and Wanda on their Facebook page.

And now you can see why this success story of two kittens that almost didn’t survive, and now are together and happy, is my favorite.

Smurf now

Smurf and Wanda