In 36 years ORCA has dealt with hundreds of animals with some sad endings but with
lots of second chances in life for many animals. Donors, staff, board members and volunteers can be proud of ORCA’s commitment to
these dear canine and feline souls. This is the work of ORCA each day of the year for over 36 years.
Shadow
Meet Shadow. He was found under a car and clearly something was wrong, so they called us. We took Shadow straight to the vet to be examined and once his fur was shaved we saw the problem. We are not exactly sure what happened, but our best guess is he was hit by something and had some extreme road burn as a result.
Shadow's recovery took months, and that included a couple surgeries, many stitches and lot of medications. Shadow now lives in a wonderful home with a kitty and doggy brother that came from ORCA too!
Missy
One of the most amazing rescues was a black Labrador mix, named Missy. She was abandoned in a Lancaster apartment for 16 days. When ORCA was called by the property management, we rushed to the scene. She had been locked in a tiny powder room with no food. The only source of water was the toilet with the lid up—we will never know if she pushed the lid up or was it open. Either way it saved her life. Almost dehydrated and starving to death, Missy greeted her ORCA rescuers with weak tail wags. Missy slowly recovered in the loving arms, literally, of her forever family who adopted her. Her fears turned to joy and love in her second chance in life—seen here with her mom, Mary Jean R.
Mittens the Holiday Kitten
Around the ORCA office one of our most beloved felines was Mittens the Holiday Kitten. Mittens came to us after she and her brothers were found abandoned in a field. She was a beauty and a smart gal. Indeed, so smart that after Esther P. adopted her, Mittens became rather well known.
Her mom taught her how important her job was to spread the word about ORCA’s mission. And, she also taught her to dress up for each holiday. That included a special hat and often a scarf. Then, Esther would take Mittens’s picture and send a donation to ORCA.
When Mittens passed away, Esther waited a while, then met Joy another ORCA kitty; they are now a pair. Joy is a smart and independent feline. She knows how to sniff out all the holidays in a month. Indeed, she has expanded Esther’s generosity by demanding that they celebrate more holidays than before—think, D-Day along with the 4th of July! Can Canada’s Boxing Day be far behind?
Mattie
Mattie was in a box along the side of the road in Conestoga. A police officer called to say that something black and alive was in that wooden box. ORCA needed to come. What we found was a black mess of food, fleas, urine and feces trapped in balls all over his body. We tried to cut out the balls that Sunday. No success. He had to be shaved down professionally—it took six hours and two talented vet techs. What a raw, horrible looking dog he was. We guessed that Mattie lived in that box, ungroomed, for at least two years. Returning to the ORCA office, he shivered in his cage and refused to eat. On day four The Boss, as he called his mom on his Facebook posts, decided to take matters in her own hands literally. She had the staff smear her hands with dog food. At first he did not budge, then a sniff, a lick, a nibble. Done, by next evening he was a part of The Boss’s household. He was bright, tricky, and eager to please. He was also a fairly good writer of fuzzy stories of kittens and puppies, dogs and cats, along with a couple of rabbits, guinea pigs, and a bird or two who arrive at ORCA from time to time. Our sweet Mattie sadly passed away September 13th, 2021. He will be dearly missed.
