April 24, 2002
(No SPR funds were used in this rescue. Another rescue group is paying for this entire rescue.)

I don't "do" cats. I never have. You see, I am terribly allergic to them. But let me tell you the amazing, unbelievable story of this little kitten...who though 99.99% dead, came back to life through what I believe was the miraculous power of prayer. I promise to you that what I am about to tell you is 100% true. There is no exaggeration, no hype, no dramatics. This is just the way it happened. I know it will be hard to believe, so I have asked Dale, my husband, (Dale is an engineer..an analytical, "to the point" kind of guy) to tell you what we witnessed that morning. I also have included verification from the vet who treated this little miracle.


Four Week Old "Lazarus." Lazarus was healed from being...well, from being mostly dead. His right jaw was crushed. His head was smashed. His body was flat and he was stone cold and not even moving a little bit.

He is now alive and doing well,... a miracle that I saw happen with my own eyes. This is the story of Lazarus. If you do not yet believe in the amazing healing power of prayer...please read on.

On Monday, April 24, a Tulsa woman who began as a rescuer and then became overwhelmed, passed away from cancer leaving approximately 30-40 dogs and around 20 cats homeless. (There were no Bichons...most of the dogs were mixed breeds)

One of our Tulsa attorney friends is on our mailing list for Small Paws® and she had been assigned to this case. I was called as the first responder.

We moved dogs to other rescue groups and vet's offices on Monday and Tuesday. On the second morning, we were about to leave with a load of 8 large dogs in crates.

One of the cat rescue folks was on her way, and she was lost. I was giving her directions on the cell phone when I saw my husband Dale, helping a neighbor's son to move some old furniture and a mattress out of an old barn. You see, there was a Moma cat and four 4 week old kittens who were living in that barn...and no one could get to them with these things blocking them.

As I was on the phone with the cat rescuer, I saw Dale lay a lifeless kitten body, already stiff, on a wooden table outside of the barn. I called over to him..."Oh God...is it dead?"
He answered back, after taking a second look..."Yes...well almost."

The kitten was flat, and it's head was caved in on the right side. It's right jaw was obviously crushed. The queen size mattress Dale had just picked up, had fallen on it, possibly the day before. It's body was cold and STIFF. It's eyes were fixed and totally dilated. It took "death gasps" every 30-40 seconds, and did not move in between. I have never in my life seen something so almost dead.

I hung up the phone and ran over to it. Oh God. There was just no way. It was definately dying.
I put my right hand upon this cold lifeless body, and began to pray in front of God and everybody there" In the name of the Father...ok God..here's the deal. (This is how I talk to God...He and I are on a first name basis...He knows me better than anyone, and He loves me anyway...go figure...) "Ok. God, here's the deal...PLEASE either take this kitten home NOW... or...we need a healing here..right here and now, in the name of the Father, I don't do "in between" very well...please send your power to this kitten...in the name of the Father..we need HEALING..."

(No, I am not a "holy roller". I am just a plain old Oklahoma Southern Baptist gal. Yes, I am a Christian, who knows the power of something as simple as prayer. I guess I have seen it too many times not to trust in God's supernatural healing power, which is available to all of us.)

We wrapped the cold little body in a blanket and began to try to warm it up. We hopped in the truck to go to meet the lost cat rescue folks and bring them back to the site.

When we returned, the kitten's eyes had barely started to focus. Dale and I began heading towards the vet. They had been told what we were bringing in...a mostly dead barn kitten, with a smashed head...and fixed, dialated BLACK eyes, which was not breathing, but every 30 to 40 seconds.

On the way to the vet, the miracle began. His eyes began to turn into regular blue kitten eyes...and...he seemed to be starting to move. I know my husband had doubts...but suddenly, I was beginning to believe that God was indeed going to heal this little nameless barn kitty!

We arrived at the vet's office and they went running in the back with the cold lifeless little body.

Dale's Eye Witness Acount
(Dale is my husband, an engineer, who went to help with this rescue early that morning.)
"Well, this storage shed was stuffed full of an old mattress, hay, and miscellaneous junk. The neighbor's son and I were removing the stuff to find 4 kittens and a momma cat that had been living there. We found one small kitten and a small crate. We placed the kitten in the crate and continued removing junk. Upon removing the last mattress that was standing on edge against the wall, I spotted a dead kitten, obviously crushed by the edge of the mattress. It was semi-flatten and stiff. The right side of its head appeared crushed. I gently picked it up to placed it on a table outside of the shed, as I was moving it I noticed its lower jaw move slightly and it appeared to take a shallow breath. About that time Robin saw it and asked "Is it dead?" I replied "not yet." I've seen road kill that looked more alive. I really thought it would be kinder to put the creature out of its misery. The eyes were fixed and dilated, and it was cold and stiff. Other than the occasional shallow gasp, the kitten appeared mostly dead. Robin immediately rushed up and placed her hand on the poor thing. She prayed "Lord please heal this small kitten or take it now, please don't leave it in between" She then picked it up and carried it up to the neighbor lady assisting with the rescue effort. They wrapped it in small towel, and Robin and I left to bring Tracy to help rescue the remainder of the cats. We then took the kitten to the Vet with the eight dogs we had already loaded into crates in the back of the pickup. During this time, the kittens eyes started refocusing, first the left then the right. Then the little paws started moving slightly and it started trying to pickup its head. When we arrived at the vet Robin gave the kitten to the vet tech and they immediately started trying to warm it with hot water bottles. They said that the body temperature was lower than 86 degrees the lower limit of their thermometer."

The Vet's Report.
Subj: Lazarus the kitten
Date: 4/24/2002 4:29:57 PM Central Daylight Time
From: avvet@ionet.net (Alta View Animal Hospital)
To: pup3@aol.com

Robin,

I am glad that the three-legged kitten that you brought in is doing so well. We have nicknamed him Lazarus. It sounds like he was very close to dying from the description you gave of his condition when you found him. His temperature was below 86 degrees (the lowest our themometer would register) when he arrived here. Kittens should be around 101. He was not very responsive and appeared to have a broken jaw. We started warming him and gave him a steroid injection. We force fed him some sugar water to try and get his blood sugar up. With time he became more alert and responsive. By that evening he was meowing and ate some of our soft hospital food. This morning he was climbing the cage door and is doing very well. The possible fracture of the jaw does not seem significant at this time and if it is present is should heal well without surgery. Thank you for rescuing this special kitten.

Dr. Patrick Cunningham D.V.M.

"If it is present" the vet says. He says that because..it (the crushed jaw) is no longer present. The kitten's head seems to have poofed back out, and now, as you can see, it appears to be a normal little kitten head. We later learned that this kitten also had lost a back leg right about at the knee. It has healed well, and he actually walks on the "stub."

There is a reason this kitten has lived. I believe it is so that I can come and tell you all this message.

If God chose to heal this nameless, feral barn kitten...with no home, no one who loved it...think what He will do for you and your family, for your Bichons. You have only to ask, in His mighty and powerful name. Love, Robin

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