Sad update! Meatloaf the Cat has passed on to kitty heaven.
The 30-pound cat went viral after King's Harvest Pet Shelter in Davenport posted a picture of the adoptable chunky cat. read more here 30-lb shelter cat ‘Meatloaf' adopted by veteran in Iowa to help with PTSD WSB TV Atlanta By: Lauren Padgett, Cox Media Group National Content Desk Updated: Aug 21, 2018
A 30-pound cat, named Meatloaf (not pictured) was adopted from a shelter in Davenport, Iowa, by a veteran suffering from PTSD. Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images
DAVENPORT, Iowa - A shelter cat who became internet-famous for his physique has found a new home with an Iraq veteran living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Meatloaf, a 30-pound cat, was put up for adoption by King’s Harvest Animal Shelter in Davenport, Iowa, after his older owners weren’t able to take care of him, according to the Des Moines Register. read more here
Animal Planet’s ‘Dodo Heroes’ Highlights US Soldiers Reuniting With Their Afghanistan Dogs (Exclusive Video) The Wrap Tony Maglio June 22, 2018
Animal Planet’s “Dodo Heroes” highlights those who go to great lengths to save, protect, and rehabilitate animals — and this Saturday’s subject Pen Farthing takes that “heroes” part of the show title to a whole new level.
The man, who as a Royal Marine used to spend his days saving humans in war-torn Afghanistan, now spends them saving dogs (and cats, and donkeys, and now a horse) there. But Farthing is still saving soldiers in a way, as his mission through his charity Nowzad — named after his own pooch from the war zone — is to reunite American military personnel with their unofficially adopted local four (and sometimes three)-legged friends.
The lengths that Farthing and his organization go through to export these forgotten street dogs from Afghanistan to their specific soldier in the United States is remarkable — as is the cost.
Pet Tales: A kitten saves a soldier's life Pittsburgh Post-Gazette By Linda Wilson Fuoco June 10, 2017
After suffering a brain injury in Iraq, Army Sgt. Josh Marino “was in a really, really bad place. I did not want to deal with it anymore.”
Exhausted from his struggle with the “invisible wounds” of post-traumatic stress disorder, he planned to end his life one night in 2008 at Fort Riley in north central Kansas.
“I took out one of my knives ... I wrote a letter on my computer” and went outside to smoke one last cigarette.
Then he heard a soft “meow,” and a small black-and-white kitten emerged from the bushes.
“I broke down crying.... He saved my life ... I stopped thinking about all my problems and started thinking about his problems and what I could do to help him.”
Mr. Marino recounts his story in a 6½-minute-film, “Josh and Scout,” featured on mutualrescue.org, the website of a non-profit organization whose mission is “revealing the impact people and animals have on one another.”
Mr. Marino, 37, is a native of Turtle Creek who now lives in Brookline with his wife, Becky, and their daughter, Penelope, who was born Feb. 24. They have three cats and three ferrets.
After eight years of service, he was medically discharged from the Army in July 2009. He moved back to Pittsburgh, got married in September 2010, and earned a master’s degree in clinical rehabilitation and mental health counseling. He now works in the Human Engineering Research Laboratories, a program operated by the University of Pittsburgh and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“It was an honor to serve,” Mr. Marino said. “I am still serving. I am just serving in a different uniform.
“I love my job. I work with people with disabilities every day.”
His counseling includes telling veterans about the kitten who saved him. He directs them to Humane Animal Rescue shelters in Homewood and the North Side to look for animals who need a home. read more here Mutual Rescue
