About 6 months ago, the rescue I work with, Pink Paws Rescue and Adoption, had gotten a call about a cat that desperately needed to be rescued.

This tabby and white girl had gotten stuck up a very tall tree, requiring the owner to call the fire department to get her down. They set up the ladder and one fireman went up to get her. She calmly allowed him to pick her up and carry her back down the ladder. They reached the ground and he put her down. Not one instant later, the aggravated owner (extremely angry his cat had caused him such 'embarrassment'), came over and kicked her so hard he broke one of her back legs. The fireman immediately scooped her up and told the man that if he was going to treat this cat like this, he didn't deserve to have her. Luckily, the man readily the fireman take the cat.

Unfortunately, the fireman lived in an apartment that did not allow pets, so he called us. We agreed to take her in and took her straight to the vet. The ex-owner had kicked her so hard, he'd actually shattered her leg bone. The leg had to be amputated, there was no way of repairing it.

After some therapy, love and a special kitty friend, the 3-legged lady (named Princess Braveheart) showed us just how special she was. She learned to walk on only three legs and even played with her foster.

Luckily, she was adopted not long after her recovery- this time to a very loving family who continue to call her their brave little Princess.