Snowy was tortured – tied up with an electrical cord, burned severely all around his body and his left ear was cut off. The case caused such an outcry from the public.
"The overwhelming response for Snowy's case was incredible," says RSPCA NSW Inspector Skye Adams, who oversees the case. "People donated thousands of dollars towards Snowy's veterinary treatment."
Snowy back at home
Finally, after nearly a year of treatment and care by the ARH and RSPCA staff, Snowy has finally gone back home to his family. One of Snowy's family members, 'Sana', expresses the family's amazement at how a cat could recover from such severe burns and such effort would be put into treatment.
"We are eternally grateful to everyone involved," she says. "Snowy is back to smooching and running around the house as normal and his appetite is still as good as ever."
What amazed the ARH and RSPCA staff was not just Snowy's remarkable healing from the horrific injuries, but the way he handled the recovery.
"He's the most affectionate cat you'd ever want to meet," says Inspector Adams. "His personality got him through this. He's very trustworthy and always happy to see people, even after what he's been through."
Several specialist surgeries
Over the past 10 months, Snowy had several operations on his skin and skin grafts to close the skin over his back legs and chest that were affected by burns. Dr Goldsmid says performing skin grafting surgery on Snowy was challenging because he hardly had any good skin left to replace the burned skin, and she had to rely on burned skin from other parts of the body.
Now, his body is covered with beautiful, white fur, but he will never have fur on his nose or hair on his eyelids, Dr Goldsmid says. But this doesn't seem to bother Snowy.
"When we change the bandages, Snowy gets excited as he loves his grooming time when the bandages are off," laughs Dr Goldsmid.
No justice for Snowy yet
Sadly, the person/s responsible have not been caught as yet, missing out on charges of serious animal cruelty leading to five years in prison, says Inspector Adams.
"I've been an inspector for nine years and when it's intentional, we can't stomach it. I can never shake off deliberate acts of cruelty," she says.
The RSPCA and NSW Police are appealing to anyone with information which may assist this investigation. Please contact the RSPCA on (02) 9770 7555 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
About The Animal Referral Hospital
The Animal Referral Hospital has launched a new era in veterinary care at its new state-of-the-art animal hospital in Homebush. It is the largest privately owned, 24-hour veterinary hospital in the southern hemisphere, offering pet owners an improved level of service with specialist care and advanced veterinary technology.
The ARH in Homebush can also accommodate pet owners who travel from the country and interstate at a hotel adjacent to the site – a short walk from Sydney's famous Paddy's Market.
The ARH in Baulkham Hills has been renovated with additional hospital and laboratory equipment to provide accurate and rapid results and provide an increased level of patient and client care, serving the West and Blue Mountains. The ARH currently employs nearly 100 staff over the two sites, including but not limited to general veterinarians, specialists and emergency nurses.
For more information or media interviews, please contact:
Troy James
General Manager
Animal Referral Hospital
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W 02 9758 8666
M 0410 647 974
