On July 28, 2012, we got a slightly unusual request - would we know of anyone who could take in a couple of one-week old pit bull puppies that needed bottle feeding? As cat rescuers, we are certainly no strangers to bottle feeding; over the last 15 years our volunteers have rescued, raised and adopted out thousands of bottle baby kittens. Saving bottle babies has been a core part of Kitten Rescue's mission from the very beginning, so now that we do some dog rescue as well, we thought - why not?
A staff member from the Best Friends Animal Society's Los Angeles program, which works with Kitten Rescue in the NKLA Coalition, went to the South Los Angeles shelter to pick up the puppies. While there, a group of kids came in with a three day old orange kitten that they had found. There was no sign of the mom or any siblings and they didn't know what to do with him, so they brought him to the animal shelter figuring they would be able to take care of him. Unfortunately, our City shelters are not equipped to take care of bottle baby kittens, and if they don't go into foster care the same day they are brought in they end up being put to sleep. Tens of thousands of kittens meet this tragic fate every year in city and county shelters. And this little kitten may well have too, had he not been lucky to be brought in at this exact moment in time.
The Best Friends staffer intercepted him before he could be impounded and brought him along to the bottle feeders who agreed to take the puppies. The kitten has grown up with the two puppies like they are family. They eat together, play together and sleep together in a constant visual display of adorableness that would melt even the coldest of hearts. The foster parents named the kitten "Mango" and the two puppies "Milkshake" and "Boo Boo".
Since it would be horribly unfair to keep all this cuteness to themselves, the foster parents have taken and sent around pictures and videos chronicaling the growth of this unusual family. One of the videos, called "Mango loves Milkshake", somehow ended up going viral and in a few days had several hundred thousand views, and clips of it were shown on local TV as well. One minute of footage shot on a cell phone camera has made Mango and Milkshake the most famous Kitten Rescue animals ever!
It is our sincere hope that this cute little video will help raise awareness of the plight of homeless kittens and puppies that flood the shelter system every year. We hope it will help some people see that pit bulls are not inherently vicious, but wonderful pets that deserve the same love and respect as any other dog instead of facing breed-based discrimination. And we hope it will inspire people to get involved in the movement to end the killing of homeless animals, whether by volunteering, adopting or donating. In every city and every town, there are Mangos and Milkshakes that need your help!
You can follow the progress of Mango, Milkshake and Boo Boo as they grow closer to adoption age on Kitten Rescue's Facebook page
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