When volunteers at ASAP (Animal Shelter Assistance Program) found Brutus, he was in one of the worst conditions they had ever seen. He had clearly been in some sort of accident and arrived horribly broken, with his life in jeopardy.
Though no one knew how serious his injuries were, he undoubtedly needed immediate help. It was obvious that he was suffering from injuries to his back leg and pelvis and possibly his spine. In addition, his face was mangled, with his lower gum hanging detached from his chin.
As they gently lifted Brutus from the carrier in order to examine him, he began to purr. He continued to purr throughout his examination, repeatedly nestling his head into the palms of the volunteer watching over him. He knew immediately that he could trust these people!
When they saw this, the ASAP volunteers knew that they would do anything possible to save Brutus. After making numerous phone calls, Brutus was finally taken to CARE hospital, where Dr. Eric Wright performed a very lengthy and complicated surgery to make Brutus whole again. Dr. Wright had to put a metal plate and pins in Brutus’s broken femur and stitch up his chin.
Brutus then was placed in foster care in order to recover in the comfort of a home. After a few weeks, ASAP decided Brutus was ready to find his forever family, though he would need to continue rehabilitation.
Shortly thereafter, Brutus seemed to just “choose” his forever mother. As soon as he was in Diana’s arms, it was clear that the two were in love with each other. It was a perfect match!
At first, Diana and her family had to keep Brutus in the bathroom to prevent him from jumping on or off things and they would spend time with him there, as he didn’t want to be left alone. Once he was healed, though, it was impossible to keep him grounded! Diana describes Brutus now that he is whole and healthy:
“He is what we call an ‘up’ kitty. He loves to climb. Once on top, he will fly from one place to another. He loves ice cubes and comes running when we open the freezer. We often find melted puddles in strange places when he is tired of batting ice cubes across the floor. 
BruBru takes great pride in tormenting our two other cats. He constantly wants to chase and play with them. They are elated when he finally collapses and takes a nap.
He is a big ‘hug-a-bunny’ and loves to snuggle and be held. He will stand up and cry to be picked up. It doesn’t matter what you are trying to get accomplished, if you are holding him, all is well with the world.”
Brutus has won the hearts of Diana and her family and has found a place where he no longer has to fear being broken again.
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Animal Shelter Assistance Program (ASAP) is a volunteer-based, non-profit organization taking care of the cats and kittens of Santa Barbara County Animal Shelter. ASAP provides humane care for them and works to eliminate the practice of euthanasia for reasons other than serious health or behavior problems.
