“I will be forever grateful for the nurses and doctors that helped my kitty survive, but they wouldn’t have been able to do it without the generosity of all the people who support Ellie’s Rainy Day Fund. They gave us part of our family back, and made our family’s tragedy much less tragic. I will never forget what they did for us. Many miracles had to happen for Ninja to survive. Thank you everyone!”

– Misty, Sean, Rylan & Jagger

We Barely Got Out Alive

Our family just went through the most devastating experience of our lives. Our house burned to the ground.  We lost every single possession we own. My 6 and 9 year old kids and I barely got out. We didn’t even have on shoes or coats. My husband rushed home and even though it had only been 7 minutes since we’d discovered the fire, the whole house was in flames. He tried to run in for our kitty, Ninja, but it was just too late.

Ninja, who we’d adopted as a 12 week old kitten just last August. Ninja, who follows me everywhere and cries when I leave the house; who snuggles with the kids and sleeps at the foot of our bed.  The kitten who saved me from being too lonely when my youngest started kindergarten this fall. The cat who charmed my “not-a-pet-guy” husband. My spirit animal.

My kids cried for Ninja as we sat in the rain watching everything we own be destroyed. The fire took hours to extinguish. We kept reminding the firefighters we had a pet in the house. They told us gently that no animal could survive unless he had escaped. We knew that he hadn’t.

We accepted that Ninja was gone.

Despite spraying thousands of gallons of water and flame retardant, the fire went on for almost another hour and a half, well into the night.

The firefighters finally asked if there was anything of value that they could look for and my husband asked them to look for Ninja’s corpse. After a while there was a yell from the rubble. They found him!! He was covered in so much soot and debris he didn’t even look like a cat. His tiny eyes bulged, and his body was cold to the touch. He looked like a charred piece of wood.  Some of the kids’ action figures were melted into his tail.

I immediately drove him straight to the emergency vet.  My money, phone, driver’s license, and debt and credit cards were all gone. I sat covered In soot, wet, and crying as they took him from my arms. I had no money. I had nothing, but I couldn’t lose my spirit animal.

I was so lucky to have friends call in donations, but he still couldn’t breathe after the first few days and I couldn’t afford all the necessary x-rays and treatments that were still needed. I didn’t know what to do. We had very little savings and my kids didn’t even have shoes or coats.

That’s when the vet called Ellie’s Rainy Day fund. They were able to provide what donations didn’t cover for Ninja. They were able to give him treatments that literally saved his life. Without them I don’t think he would have survived. They gave my best friend a chance. They saved his life. I will be forever grateful for the nurses and doctors that helped my kitty survive, but they wouldn’t have been able to do it without the generosity of all the people who support Ellie’s Rainy Day Fund. They gave us part of our family back, and made our family’s tragedy much less tragic. I will never forget what they did for us.

Many miracles had to happen for Ninja to survive. I will be forever grateful to everyone that helped my spirit animal recover. Thank you everyone!