Rainbow Rainbow Captain Jack ready for adoption

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – The touching story of Rainbow Rainbow Captain Jack.

Daniel E. DeSousa, Deputy Director of San Diego Department of Animal Services:

At about 4 weeks old and only eight tenths of a pound, Rainbow Jack was brought to the animal care facility in Bonita on October 22nd by a Good Samaritan who had found the kitten on 54th Street in South San Diego.   Rainbow Jack’s left eye was bulging out of his head but staff did not know what caused the trauma to his eye, but he was obviously very painful and the only option would be to surgically remove it.

With the kitten weighing under a pound, surgery on an animal this age and size was very risky. In consultations with the veterinary staff at the shelter, the only available options were to euthanize the kitten or to surgically remove the eye immediately.  A third option would have been to leave the kitten in its present condition until he had gained more weight and the surgery would have been safer. Due to the pain the kitten was in, the decision was made to attempt the surgery and Supervising Animal Care Attendant Noelle Kottas was ready to foster the kitten after his surgery.

The surgery was a success and within 24 hours post-surgery, Rainbow Jack didn’t act in pain anymore. He was active, playful, cuddly.  Kottas said the he was by far one of the easiest kittens she had ever fostered in the last fifteen years adding that he “doesn’t even have stinky kitten poop!”  While under Kottas’ care, Rainbow Jack continued to gain weight, and spent time exploring her home, getting lots of cuddles from my Kottas’ two young girls (who named the kitten), and having fun just being a kitten.  He has no idea he’s missing an eye.

This story is repeated on a regular basis at all three of the Department’s animal care facilities where the staff instantly fall in love with an animal in need and foster the animals until they are ready for adoption.  It is always hard to give the animal up for adoption and tears are not uncommon but the staff knows that that will leave them room to foster yet another animal in need of some love and attention.  This is the literal definition of taking your work home with you!

Today, Rainbow Rainbow Captain Jack is now 2.5 pounds and his suture site where his eye was removed is now healed and hair has regrown.  He was neutered last week and is now ready to find his forever home that will continue to shower this kitten with the same love that he has been given while under the care of Kottas and her family.

Anyone interested in adopting Rainbow Rainbow Captain Jack must first complete the Special Adoption Application found on the Department’s website (http://www.sddac.com/docs/Special_Adoption.pdf) and submit the application to the Department by the close of business on Friday December 18th. 

Those applications will be reviewed by the Department and the top candidates called for a meet and greet with Rainbow Jack wherein the prospective adopters will likely have to receive the approval of Kottas’ two young girls J.