Survival Outreach Sanctuary works directly with the USDA to rescue animals in need of a new permanent home. This rescue of 3 large cats involved thousands of volunteer hours before the transfer could even happen. Working every single day for literally weeks, numerous volunteers cleared the property and built 3 new large enclosures for these animals. Many of the volunteers were first-timers who gave unselfishly of their time, often working into the night to try and finish this project on time. Many phone calls and e-mails later, transfer arrangements were made through the USDA using the Exotic Feline Rescue Center of Center Point, IN. Sarasota In Defense of Animals raised the $4,500 fee to transport the animals from Illinois.
then, with a little time on their hands, they crashed!
the cats arrival.
Sassy, the cougar, got unloaded without much trouble and was quickly
transferred to her new enclosure by 6:15 pm.
Getting Miss Rajah out was going to be a different story. The forklift
was getting stuck in the sand but a wire fence panel under the wheels
was finally used to keep the fork lift from sinking in any more. Miss
Rajah’s cage was too large to turn sideways in the truck for the forklift
to pick up from the side. Plywood to cover the ramp wasn’t available
and would have taken a few hours to get. The ramp on the truck
wasn’t wide enough or strong enough on its own to hold the weight of
Miss Rajah and her cage so another plan had to be devised to get her
down. After much discussion, it was decided to unload Nahla first and then
use her cage to transfer Miss Rajah into since the forklift was capable
of lifting her smaller cage. Getting Nahla down wasn’t too much
trouble but once she was at the enclosure opening, it took a bit or
persuasion to get her to go in. At approximately 7:41 pm she finally
stepped down into her new living quarters.
Now it was Miss Rajah’s turn. The transfer cage was put back into the
truck, the door closed and after some time finally opened, Miss Rajah
was still in her green cage instead of the smaller one. The cage was
strapped onto the forklift endwise, raised off the floor and then
lowered to the ground after the transport truck pulled ahead and out
of the way. Just as Nahla needed some patience and time, so did Miss
Rajah. Finally, with much coaxing, around 8:52 pm she stepped down
into her new home.
Jon. Thanks to Dr Mel & Dr G from Zephyrhills Veterinary Clinic for all their
efforts in getting these cats into their new enclosures safely.
All the girls had various bumps and scrapes on their faces and were a
bit stressed from their long ride to Florida. At last word, everyone
seems to be doing better and settling in fine.
