Our little 2026 miracle!

We’ve made it through the first half of 2026 and it’s been a challenging year, but a lifesaving one at that!

We at LCHS have experienced staffing changes, difficult rescues, and necessary program growth to better fit our community’s needs. It’s easy to get caught up in trying to save the masses, and it’s in these moments that the most precious souls are sent our way to remind us to slow down and celebrate each and every life saved.

Read the following story of one such rescue that happened recently, told by our Executive Director Lisa Glunt:

“On July 1st, during an already hectic day, a woman and her children walked through our front door with a dying kitten in a greasy Bojangles box. The kitten was approximately 8 weeks old, although his weight was closer to that of a 5 week old. He was wet, cold, pale, and completely motionless. The kitten was void of any signs of life, other than the occasional agonal breath that we expected to be his last, and an infestation of fleas crawling under his wet fur.

I quickly grabbed the kitten and rushed out the door to transport it to Paws & Claws Veterinary Hospital. On the way, Paws & Claws was called and asked to be on standby for a humane euthanasia IF the kitten would even make it there in time. You see, this kitten showed no sign of life, and that breathing is so sadly recognizable; but every animal deserves a chance for help, even if that help is a more swift end to suffering. By the time I arrived, the kitten was gone. It was too late. I walked in, handed him off and said “just check him to be sure”, but I knew he’d passed. A minute later, one of the veterinarians agreed, he’d coded and he was gone.

But then around the corner, two of the newest veterinarians to the Paws & Claws team were trying against all odds to revive this wee little one. His temperature was so low it wouldn’t even register on a thermometer, he had no breathing and no heartbeat, but they couldn’t not try. I admired their fresh passion, but I expected nothing to come of it.

Within seconds, the kitten had received an injection in an attempt to restart his heart, he was placed on oxygen, and CPR was being performed. After about two minutes, all efforts were paused for an instant as one of the veterinarians listened for a heartbeat. A very faint almost undetectable heartbeat had developed, and the troops rallied on. The team of professionals working to save this one kitten quickly grew. Before I knew it, the table was surrounded by vet techs and additional veterinarians jumping in to provide support. I think we all needed a miracle that day.

The next twenty minutes were long, but as the team worked on this little kitten’s body, improvements became noticeable. That faint little heartbeat grew stronger, his pupils which had been completely dilated began to normalize, after several minutes he even began trying to breathe on his own. If there was any real chance of survival, a blood transfusion was needed ASAP. I ran back to LCHS and quickly picked up two of our big healthy adoptable cats, Lily and Marie, and transported them to Paws & Claws.

When I returned, the kitten was in the same shape as when I’d left, his future unknown, but he was still alive! After a brief exam, it was decided that Marie would be our Good Samaritan, hopefully giving life to a kitten in peril. Several minutes later, an IV was placed in his teeny-tiny vein, and the blood transfusion was underway.

I briefly thought “if he makes it, what complications are we going to be faced with?”

But, it didn’t matter at that moment, all that mattered was giving him a fighting chance.

While prognosis remained guarded, this little fighter of a kitten now had a registering temperature, a heart beat, and functioning lungs. Alive and fighting to survive, he needed a name. While the name “Zomboy” made it onto his chart, he became known as a little Lazarus to many of us as well. The vet team continued their care and if Zomboy was to make it through the afternoon, one of the vet techs volunteered to foster him overnight. This little kitten was already proving to be a miracle, and he’d remain in good hands.

Witnessing this miracle take place in front of our eyes had everyone in awe, including the initial two veterinarians who just had to give it a try. Nobody expected him to make it, but against all odds, he was a fighter who was going to show us he wasn’t ready to give up.

A few hours passed and I received a video from one of the original veterinarians who fought so hard to save this little kitten’s life. I couldn’t believe my eyes! Not only was he alive, but he was eating!

Zomboy spent his first two nights with one of the vet techs and then I had the honor of fostering him. He was on multiple medications and even daily injections for the first week, but he is by far one of the most affectionate and forgiving kittens I’ve ever come across. From day one, Zomboy craved cuddles. As his body became stronger, he became playful and his quirky kitten antics appeared. Within two weeks, a staff member at Paws & Claws expressed interest in adopting Zomboy and took over his care as his foster, with full intention of adopting him.

We don’t know much of Zomboy’s history, but we know his future is bright! Sometimes the very animals we rescue, rescue us right back. Zomboy provided a large team of people the rescue that many of us weren’t aware we needed on that day. You see, those in the Animal Welfare and Veterinary fields often battle constant feelings of overwhelm, depression, and anxiety. These battles are fought privately and quietly.

We enter this line of work to save animals, and too often the save is unattainable; whether due to lack of space or funding, or simply as was expected in Zomboy’s case, because they get to us too late.

So many memories stick with us from this work, too often those memories are of the ones who didn’t make it. I’ve seen many close calls, and thanks to LCHS, I’ve seen countless animals beat the odds, but I have never witnessed a miracle of this magnitude–a deceased animal quite literally brought back to life. For those present for this miracle, Zomboy is a kitten that we’ll remember forever. Nothing else mattered that day, as a team of individuals came together to save one small life.

In a way, at least for me, he did the saving right back.”