Davos Defies the Odds
Jan 17, 2022
When we met Davos at the city shelter, his right eye was completely clouded over, and his tiny three-month-old, 3-pound body was in distress. Scheduled for euthanasia that night, the city shelter reached out and asked for our help.
“I was told he was a little shy and had a bad eye. When I saw him, I knew he was a sweet boy but definitely in pain,” said Kristina Rosinia, PAWS Chicago Chief Operating Officer and Canine Behavior Trainer & Instructor. “I rushed him to PAWS and found that he had a deep eye ulcer, but we could save it with medication.”
The surprise?
"He also had a broken femur and needed emergency orthopedic surgery!”
We have no idea what kind of trauma or abuse caused Davos’ fracture, but thanks to the surgical suites in our newly remodeled Medical Center, we were able to reset Davos’ leg right here.
“Now, this cutie has a cast and is getting lots of love as he heals up,” said Kristina.
To aid in Davos’ recovery, our team paired him with foster mom Grace Aldrich who has experience caring for animals with eye problems.
“During the pandemic, life got a little too quiet and I started volunteering at the PAWS Medical Center in the fall of 2020. It didn't take too long to consider helping an animal in need right at home, so I started fostering a small, one-eyed kitten. And I failed miserably! That kitten is now my sweet cat, Penelope. Since then, I've had six fosters with Davos being the latest,” said Grace.
It didn’t take long before Davos felt at home with Grace.
“Davos was so sweet right off the bat. After a vocal ride home from the Medical Center, he came back to my place for a cozy spot to spend his mandated "cage rest," cone on his head and all! After a few days, his playful side came out. He loves to bat at ball toys and loves anything that jingles. Also...his appetite is massive. Cleans his plate every meal!” said Grace.
Davos enjoys following Grace’s resident cat, Penelope, around. Though Penelope is still “assessing the situation.” What we didn’t expect was that Davos would become pals with Grace’s other PAWS alum, a 14-month-old with “the sweetest little puppy face” named Jack.
“The first several days with Davos and Jack were challenging as expected. Jack likes cats BUT he needs to be able to sniff them and lick their face,” said Grace.
Naturally, Davos wasn’t a huge fan of this approach.
“Davos would hiss and swat. But 2–3 times a day, I would introduce them. After one full week, Davos and Jack were snuggling on the couch together,” said Grace.
Jack and Davos have even developed a little morning routine.
“Davos sleeps in a large soft dog crate overnight with a blanket over it and as soon as we wake up, we go get the kitten. Jack sometimes even takes the blanket off the crate on his own and checks on Davos. He loves to check on the kitten and make sure everything is good,” said Grace.
So far, Davos’ progress has been both adorable and impressive. And his future looks bright.
“I love how resilient the little guy is. Who knows what he went through to get his eye ulcer and his femur broken? That little guy went through a lot in his first three months of life, but at this point, you wouldn't know it. He loves people, seems to like other cats, and acclimated pretty quickly to a dog. Plus, Davos is squirmy cause he would always rather be playing, but when he gets sleepy, he is so sweet and cuddly. His eye ulcer looks better every day and I believe he's expected to make a full recovery. Go Davos!” said Grace.
Just like Davos, there are hundreds of sick and injured animals right now who would love a comfy place to heal. You can make all the difference. Become a foster today and start changing lives.