Kitten found in a cooler, rescued by a local farmer. The "Grace" story.

We have condensed this page into a story about Grace's abuse case. Any and all future updates regarding Grace's progress and success will be posted here. Grace has been adopted

by her foster family and will continue to get quality care in a surrounding that is familiar to her. Please feel free to check back and pass the word along about her story. Public education is the only way to prevent this from happening again, learn to recognize the warning signs. Grace and all of us thank you for stopping by.

THE FOLLOWING STORY IS OF GRACE, A YOUNG CAT WHOSE LIFE WAS SPARED DUE TO A KIND, CARING FARMER AND A HOST OF COMPASSIONATE INDIVIDUALS.  IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION AND HELP MAKE A DEFERENCE IN NOT ONLY GRACE’S CASE, BUT FUTURE CASES OF ANIMAL CRUELTY, ABUSE, AND SUFFERING PLEASE MAIL TO:

To personally contact a VA PAWS member concerning Grace please contact either:

Lila Wills by email at: vapaws@swva.net or by phone at: (540) 651-4530

Or

Christy Smith by email at: piedogs@earthlink.net or by phone at: (540) 674-0670

A reward poster is available should you wish to print it and post.  Pictures available at end of story. (MS Word 2000 format or HTML format)

Also available in MS Word 2000 format is Grace's story. Please download and distribute with the petition.

SAVING GRACE

For at least two days, Grace lay in the cold dark place, alone and in excruciating pain. Maimed and stuffed into a six-pack size cooler, the young cat was tossed into a field and left for dead. On March 2, 2001 as he passed by the field on the outskirts of Christiansburg, VA., a farmer's attention was caught by an odd site... this same, blood smeared cooler on top of which sat a cat. His curiosity aroused, he looked inside. Grace lay curled up with a rope tied around her neck, her eyes a bloodied mess of tissue. In desperate hope of saving her life, the farmer took the injured cat to a local veterinarian.

The next several days were difficult for Grace. She went through several surgeries on her severely damaged eyes. The first entailed suturing the eyelids shut, in part to lend support to the protruding, traumatized eyes. Later, having been given a few days to heal and lots of love and affection, Grace was taken to the Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in Blacksburg for a thorough exam by the resident ophthalmologist. A second surgery was performed. With no hope of restoring her sight, both eyes were removed. Their presence would only cause further pain and possible infection.

The following week, Grace returned to VA Tech for a follow-up examination. Her tail was found to be broken in several places. This injury had previously gone unnoticed since she had not been walking around. Pathology reports confirmed the enucleated eye tissue held residue from "BB" gun pellets.

Grace is now at her caretaker's home snug, warm, well on the road to recovery, and adored by everyone whose life she has touched. She was even nicknamed 'The Magic Cat' by the college veterinary staff! Everyone wanted to touch her and cuddle with her to feel the aura of gentleness and love she emanated. She remains a truly remarkable creature whose spirit has never wavered and whose greatest pleasure is to be held and loved.

Tom and Lila have recently decided to make Grace a part of their loving home. She has adjusted to her new owners, surroundings and cat & dog friends. She will be safe and secure, and all her admirers will know where she is.

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A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU to MR. JERRY GRAYBEAL, Little Grace's savior.

To DR. RANDY YOUNG, JACKIE PUGH and STAFF of the local clinic who took Grace in.

To DR PHIL PICKETT and STAFF of the VIRGINIA-MARYLAND COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE for the superb medical attention given Grace.

To LILA WILLS, Grace's caretaker, whose 24 hour gentle care has surely given Grace a reason to go on living. And to her husband TOM, no less a factor in Grace's care.

To the MONTGOMERY COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT for their ongoing, in depth investigation to apprehend the perpetrator of such a horrific crime.

To CHANNEL 10 NEWS for their excellent coverage of Grace's plight.

And last but not least TO THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE CALLED or in other ways expressed your compassion and support. The response has been overwhelming! Numerous donations to Grace's reward fund, to her medical fund and the to the cause of preventing further cruelty to animals, just keep coming! For your kindness and generosity to one of God's innocent creatures--MAY ALL GOOD THINGS BE YOURS!

DUE EXTENSIVE COVERAGE BY CHANNEL 10 NEWS AND A HOUSE TO HOUSE INQUIRY BY THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT A NUMBER OF LEADS/TIPS HAVE BEEN REPORTED.  NO POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION OF THE PERSON WHO DID THIS TO POOR GRACE AS OF YET, BUT WE ARE DETERMINED THIS CASE WILL BE SOLVED!  REWARD MONIES PLEDGED NOW STAND AT APPROXIMATELY $6000 DUE TO GENEROUS OFFERINGS FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC, ANIMAL WELFARE GROUPS, AND THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES (visit their website for info on further news releases, Grace's story is on the HSUS's First Strike website).

Links to web pages discussing animal abuse and the correlation to human violence, learn to recognize the warning signs.

http://www.hsus.org/firststrike

http://www.hsus.org/firststrike/factsheets/index.html

http://www.americanhumane.org/children/factsheets/viol_link.htm

Pictures showing Grace's progress from the beginning. (Some of these pictures are graphic, most notably the first pictures taken of Grace. You have been warned.)

First pictures taken of Grace: picture 1, picture 2, picture 3

Grace after the first vet visit in a warm home: picture 4, picture 5, picture 6, picture 7, picture 8

Grace at the VA-MD College of Veterinary Medicine: picture 9, picture 10, picture 11, picture 12, picture 13

Just prior to suture removal: picture 14, picture 15

After sutures were removed: picture 16

Grace with a buddy (Fluffy) and toys: picture 17, picture 18

(added 6-20-00) - Here are a few recent pictures of Grace. She has been doing great and is just a wonderful companion. picture 19 (looking very cute in that chair), picture 20 (grace with Ben, big boy laying down, and Maggie, both rescues), picture 21 (hanging at the dinner table), picture 22 (just relaxed)

Here is a link to an article on Grace by the Collegiate Times. I will add more articles as they are found.

http://www.collegiatetimes.com/ctonline/article.php3?366002