Picasso Tales of Second Chances:
Edgar, Woody, Belmont, Beau, and Beethoven

from Out of the Cage! (December 2004)

This month we're delighted to feature five special animals who are ending the year on a high note, thanks to the caring efforts of their rescuers and the financial support of the Picasso Veterinary Fund, which paid for their medical care.

Edgar, a frightened little Tibetan Terrier, arrived at the Brooklyn AC&C shelter as a stray with a wire wrapped around his muzzle. Najiyyah Ali, the shelter's New Hope Coordinator, contacted the Mayor's Alliance for assistance. Arrangements were made for Edgar to have surgery at Hope Veterinary Clinic to remove the wire and repair his damaged muzzle. The operation was paid for by the Picasso Fund. Although Edgar's injury required numerous stitches, this sweet terrier came through the operation with flying colors and an amazingly cooperative attitude, considering the ordeal he had survived.

Katie, a Mayor's Alliance volunteer, took Edgar home to give him time to heal before actively seeking a permanent home. This 19-pound bundle of love — who, by the way, arrived fully house-trained — immediately won over his foster mom and her co-workers, who saw Edgar regularly when he accompanied his foster mom to work. It became clear that Edgar preferred to spend all of his time with his people. So when a big, gentle tattoo artist in Queens who had been searching for two years for the perfect companion dog discovered Edgar, Animal Haven facilitated the adoption process, and now workaholic Edgar will get to spend all of his time with his new dad.

Woody and Belmont apparently made leaps of faith — and lost. Both cats arrived at AC&C's Manhattan shelter with broken bones and other injuries indicating they had fallen from high-rise buildings — a consequence experienced by a surprisingly high number of city cats. Reporter Julia Szabo's New York Post article last spring discussed this urban danger, and featured a photo of Woody, also pictured here. Woody and Belmont, a Siamese, are two of the lucky ones — they received medical treatment for their injuries with the help of the Picasso Veterinary Fund and Cat Assistance, a Mayor's Alliance Participating Organization.

Sarah Hart of Cat Assistance took Woody and Belmont (two of the eight "high-rise" victims she's taken in since last spring) from AC&C to her veterinarian, Dr. Jeffrey Polisky at Thornwood Animal Hospital, whose skillful medical care helped them recover from their injuries. Sarah found loving adoptive homes for both beautiful cats, where today they are thriving and happy. Woody's new mom, Lisa, expressed her delight in sharing her life with Woody: "He has brought so much love and joy into our lives, I don't know who needed who more — him or us. He means the world to us, and couldn't be more loved then he is."

Beau, another apparent high-rise victim Sarah took from the AC&C shelter, turned out to be the likely victim of abuse. Sara's vet found evidence of old fractures as well as a recently broken jaw and fractured paw. The Picasso Veterinary Fund paid for Beau's surgery, and today this handsome young male is awaiting his forever home. Interested adopters may contact the Mayor's Alliance at info@AnimalAllianceNYC.org or e-mail Cat Assistance at Sarahjony@aol.com.

By the time Beethoven, a neglected nine-year-old Bichon-Poodle mix, arrived at AC&C's Brooklyn shelter, it was too late to repair the broken hips that had healed slowly and painfully on their own sometime earlier in his life. But not too late to provide diagnostic x-rays and pain-relieving arthritis medication (which he will require in increasing intensity for the rest of his life) that today allows Beethoven to romp and jump up on the couch in his foster mom's home while he awaits permanent adoption with Small Paws Rescue (Bichon Frise), a Mayor's Alliance Participating Organization. The Picasso Veterinary Fund paid for Beethoven's vet visits, x-rays, badly needed dental care, and arthritis medication, helping to transform this once-crippled stray into a happy bundle of love. If you or someone you know is interested in making Beethoven a part of a loving family, please contact the Mayor's Alliance at info@AnimalAllianceNYC.org or e-mail kcbriody@avon.net of Small Paws Rescue and ask for Beethoven.