Harry Winston is a cat. Three neighbors recently noticed him hanging out near P.S. 199 (270 West 70th Street) and decided to trap him to bring him to the vet.
The trio soon noticed that Harry was very sick. They brought him to a nearby vet for urinary and breathing issues, at which point, according to a recently-launched GoFundMe campaign, they discovered that three BB gun bullets were lodged in his body… “one that has potentially caused his lung to collapse and his heart to shift in his chest.”
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Harry spent Wednesday on oxygen and received an ultrasound. He’s breathing normally now, but there’s still some fluid in his belly. The vet confirmed Harry was the victim of animal cruelty.
While the original campaign goal was $3,950, Harry’s humans have increased it to $5,200 as his bills have piled up, and he will need to make more trips to the vet. As of writing (Thursday at about noon), $4,853 has been raised.
(The GoFundMe campaign includes a screenshot of the bills he’s incurred so far.)
Harry was released on Wednesday and is currently at a foster home.
To contribute to Harry’s continued recovery, please visit his GoFundMe page here.
I realize hard-working, decent people don’t become veterinarians to “give” their services away for free but after the number of misfit vets that I’ve been to over the course of 40 years of cat and dog rescue and rehabilitation, I’ve been more the victim of bad or just plain ignorant veterinary medicine than good. And the prices are so exorbitant in tandem with such poor training across the board, I’ve given up on all the wonderful parts of pet ownership. The process of having to rely on vets ruins everything else. The price gouging among vets in NYC is obscene and the prices for putting down a sick or elder animal with end-stage symptoms makes you want to cry. And before you all write in to say “Call the ASPCA,” I’ve gone through weeks and months of (a) no one answering the phones at their East side office and (b) leaving messages to no avail. No one calls back. The vets have no one to blame but themselves for people losing faith in wanting to care for neglected, stray animals off our mean streets.
Thank you for bringing awareness to Harry and helping him to get better! Harry had no voice when he got shot and had to suffer and survive on the unforgiving streets. And he is not alone out there. This hopefully also raises awareness of how cruel BB gun bullets can be for animals – this is not a joke, it is animal abuse! We hope this brings awareness that this is wrong and criminal to do to any helpless being and will make some humans think twice of doing it or giving especially kids a BB gun (I am not saying this was a kid). Let’s all be better and do good in this world not better! Harry speaks for many, many cats and animals on the unforgiving city streets. Thank you for spreading the word and helping Harry!
How is Harry Winston kitty doing? Any Updates?