A kitten went through a frightening ordeal—but after fighting through and surviving, and now he has nothing but love to give.
Last year, firefighters pulled a tiny five-week-old orange kitten from a fire in Ontario, Canada. He had severe third-degree burns, and had to be rushed to Walden Animal Hospital.
The veterinary team gave the poor kitten round-the-clock care, making sure his burns were treated. They gave him baths to remove all the tar from his fur.
They named him Dobby, presumably after the sock-loving Harry Potter character, as the kitten had to wear sock-like bandages to protect his burnt paws.
Despite the life-threatening ordeal, Dobby proved to be a brave little kitten, and got better thanks to the love and care the vets provided.
“Dobby has third degree burns on his feet, so he needed extra pain relief and cuddles but he was a real trouper,” the hospital wrote on Facebook.
Time passed, and the kitten made an impressive recovery. While two of his toes had to be removed, he exceeded everyone’s expectations when his bandages were finally removed.
“We were concerned that residual pain and contracture would prevent him from using his paw,” Walden Animal Hospital wrote. “He proved us wrong pretty fast!”
Now that Dobby was recovering, it was finally time to find him a forever home—and one man knew he had to have the cat.
Rob Maguire first heard about Dobby through social media posts, and knew he could be the one to give this cat a happy home.
“You could see the pain in his eyes in some of the initial pictures,” Rob told Love Meow. “That was the part that really got me.”
He went to visit Dobby while he was in the hospital. Despite being bandaged up, the kitten showed a lot of love—and everyone knew they had a real connection.
“The day I met him, we hit it off immediately,” Rob said. “He was all bandaged up, and all he wanted to do was play.”
“We made lots of eye contact and he melted my heart. I felt like I had known him forever.”
When Rob started to leave, Dobby wouldn’t let him go and kept climbing onto his arm.
So when Dobby was cleared to leave the hospital, Rob showed up and finally gave him a forever home, with lots of other kitties to play with.
Dobby is now 10 months old, and still gives his owner plenty of love.
“He likes to be involved with pretty much everything that goes on in the house,” Rob told Love Meow. “He loves to fetch and he loves attention and to cuddle. I talk to him and he understands a lot.”
“He’s a very happy, good-natured little guy,” Rob said. “I love him dearly and I’m doing my best to ensure his life is the best it can be.”
Rob said it was a “miracle” the cat survived his burns, and credits both Dobby’s positive attitude and the many people who helped through the ordeal.
“The fact that wonderful people came forward is a testimonial that there are good people out there that go way above and beyond to help others.”
We’re so glad Dobby survived the fire and has a perfect new home! Thank you to everyone who helped care for and protect him!
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