Home > Out of the Cage! > May 2005 > Featured Alliance Participating Organization: K9Kastle: An APO Meeting Special Needs with Special Care

Featured Alliance Participating Organization

K9Kastle: An APO Meeting Special Needs with Special Care

A kitten with a deformed heart. An infirm senior dog. Cerebellar hypoplasia cats. These are the animals Jo Ann takes in, cares for, and places with very special families.

For more than four years, K9Kastle, an Alliance Participating Organization, has been taking special needs animals from Animal Care & Control and matching them with special adopters equipped to provide them with the care and attention they require.

Sometimes a good match is made right away — like the time Jo Ann took in three feline leukemia positive kittens, and within a week a Philadelphia woman drove to New York and took them home with her. But most of Jo Ann's rescues take longer to place, and many require medical attention before they can be adopted.

Like Wallace, the fifteen-year-old Tibetan Spaniel with kidney failure she took from AC&C. He came to her underweight and limping, and shortly thereafter woke up one morning paralyzed. Jo Ann arranged for him to receive the medical care he needed, including acupuncture treatment that got him walking again.

Jo Ann says she's fortunate to have competent veterinary support. One oft-used veterinarian, Dr. Schaubhut, is especially generous with his time and patiently describes and explains to her each animal's treatment plan, which frequently includes both traditional and homeopathic protocols. Another veterinarian, Dr. Moscovich, is always seeing a sick kitten, or a dog with arthritis deformities.

Perhaps her keen reliance on veterinary support explains Jo Ann's insistence upon her adopters having a good vet reference before an adoption is made. "It's important to make sure they're consistent and diligent in their care of animals," Jo Ann explains. Most of the people who adopt from K9Kastle have, or in the past have had, companion animals in their homes.

Many of K9Kastle's adopters come via the Internet, on Petfinder.com or BigApplePets.com.

What kind of people look to adopt special needs animals? "Special people who want to do something nice, to make a difference, even in a small way," says Jo Ann. Although some people might think a special needs adopter is "some crazy old lady, or a person who himself has special needs. But you've got the upwardly mobile young woman who adopted a cerebellar hypoplasia kitten from us — just a nice person who loves the animal."

Jo Ann was fostering animals for many years, both for Bide-a-Wee and MetroMalts, before founding K9Kastle. She recently expanded her fostering capabilities by advertising for volunteer foster families. With the added volunteer capacity, she currently has 24 cats and kittens in foster care, and 4–6 dogs.

K9Kastle often is asked to rescue litters of baby kittens, some with and some without moms. Many are in need of constant attention, such as bottle feeding or giving medications. So Jo Ann is still on the lookout for good foster families. She hopes one day to have a shelter facility and sanctuary for the animals.

Over the years Jo Ann forged strong relationships within AC&C, and today routinely accepts many of their special needs animals. "What I love about the AC&C New Hope and adoptions staff is that they are extremely respectful of both the animals and their rescuers. They are so giving, even though they are so busy. And they are truly concerned about the animals," she says.

Jo Ann says she's pleased that K9Kastle is a member of the Mayor's Alliance. "Being a member of the Alliance strengthens my credibility, and provides a strong resource for me and other rescue groups."

If you'd like to learn more about K9Kastle and its wonderful adoptable animals, or find out how you can help with a special needs animal, visit their web site at www.petfinder.org/shelters/NY262.html.