Kai Archives - i Still Love Dogs

Cop Drives Pit Bull to Home Nearly 800 Miles from Crash Site

While returning from spring break in Florida to the University of Arkansas, where she was a student, 19-year-old McKenzie Catron crashed her car into a utility pole in Dothan, Ala., last weekend. Catron, who was from Bentonville, Ark., was killed. Her 19-year-old passenger and her Pit Bull, Kai, survived.

But, spooked by the crash, Kai ran off.

Sgt. Jonathon Whaley and another sergeant were the first to arrive at the scene of the accident. “We felt we needed to find the dog,” Whaley told FOX 5. “We were going to do whatever we needed to do to reunite this dog with this family.”

Whaley and other officers, along with firefighters and dozens of other community members, volunteered their time to search for Kai. A local law firm offered a $1,000 reward for Kai’s safe return. A “Help Find Kai” Facebook community was created.

Two days after the crash, Benjamin Irwin — the attorney who had offered the reward — and another volunteer found Kai, but the dog ran off. Irwin’s wife and other volunteers pursued him “for over a mile and up and down too many city streets,” Irwin wrote on Facebook, “and made multiple attempts to catch Kai, until we finally created a loving wall when she went inside a person’s shelter in their backyard. … We apologize to all the cars and other people we cut off or just plain ignored while we focused solely on recovering Kai.”

A veterinarian who examined Kai said that except for being dehydrated and fatigued, the dog was in good shape.

The next step — and it was a big one — was to reunite Kai with her family in Arkansas, 770 miles away.

Whaley quickly volunteered to make the trip with his family. “I felt God impressing on me that we needed to make this trip,” he told FOX 5.

Kai returned home Tuesday night. “For us, [Kai] was just a part of her. And we found it. And now we can kind of start healing,” Catron’s mother, Kendra Mulherin, told KHBS.

The name of the “Help Find Kai” Facebook page has been changed to “We Found Kai.” Irwin said he’s donating the reward money to the Rogers Animal Shelter, from which Kai was adopted.

“Dotham, Alabama, you guys are God’s gift to Earth,” Catron’s family wrote on Facebook. “You will always have a special place in our hearts.”

According to her obituary, Catron worked as a lifeguard and did volunteer work to help make the world a better place. While her death is tragic, it’s heartening to know her spirit of giving continues to live on.

Photos via Facebook

Dog Dumped with Suitcase at Train Station Has New Forever Home

Remember this heartbreaking photo of Kai, the Shar Pei mix who was abandoned last month with a suitcase filled with his belongings at a Scotland train station?

Kai will never be dumped again. After receiving hundreds of adoption requests from around the world, the Scottish SPCA has selected Ian Russell as Kai’s new dog dad, it announced in a press release.

“I’m over the moon and very shocked that I was chosen out of everyone who wanted him,” Russell said.

“My Dalmatian named Mica passed away just before Christmas and I was left heartbroken. I had her for 15 years and she was the apple of my eye. We pretty much spent 24 hours a day together. When I heard about Kai, I knew the little guy needed a break but I never thought in a million years I’d get him.”

Russell, a hydraulic engineer who works outdoors all around Scotland, said Kai will accompany him wherever he travels.

“When it’s appropriate, I’ll let him out [of the van] to run around and play safely while I work,” he said. “Then we’ll jump back into the van together and head to the next place. We’ll be able to hang out all the time.”

Kai was found Jan. 2 with his leash tied to a railing outside the Ayr train station in South Ayrshire. The suitcase next to him contained a pillow, toy, food bowl and food.

A week after a photo of him went viral, the woman who left him at the station came forward. Fin Raynor told the Daily Record she had seen a dog advertised for sale online. When she went to the train station to buy him, it was a different dog than the one in the photograph. She said she refused to pay for the dog, and his owner took off. She had to hurry to catch the next train home, so she tied Kai to the railing. “I told somebody, I made sure the dog was safe,” she said. The case is still under investigation.

Alan Grant, senior animal care assistant for the Scottish SPCA, said the shelter got adoption offers from as far away as the Philippines.

“Kai’s story was really sad, and many people likened him to Paddington Bear, given he was found alone at a railway station with his suitcase,” Grant said.

He said Russell was chosen to be Kai’s new dog dad because “he said he was interested in re-homing Kai, but he would take our advice if we thought one of the many other dogs in our care would suit him better. It was really important for us to select an owner who wanted Kai for all the right reasons and had really thought through their decision to take on a rescue dog.”

Russell said he hopes all the people who offered to adopt Kai will find other homeless dogs to welcome into their families.

Photos via Facebook

Adoption Requests and Donations Pour in for Dog Left with Suitcase at Train Station

FEB. 4, 2015 UPDATE: Kai has been adopted.

One of the most heartbreaking dog photos of 2015 so far is of the Shar Pei mix abandoned at a Scotland train station, with a suitcase full of his belongings by his side.

“The dog is microchipped and we were able to find out his name is Kai,” said inspector Stewart Taylor of the Scottish SPCA on its website.

The owner said he had sold Kai on an online site in 2013, and could not provide information about the person who bought him. “This case highlights the potential consequences of selling an animal online, as it often leads to the impulse buying of pets that people know very little about,” Taylor said.

Kai was found Jan. 2 with his leash tied to a railing outside the Ayr train station in South Ayrshire. The suitcase next to him contained a pillow, toy, food bowl and food.

“Regardless of the fact Kai was left with his belongings, this was still a cruel incident and we are keen to identify the person responsible,” Taylor said. Under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, anyone found guilty of abandoning an animal can be banned from keeping animals for a fixed period or for life.

Less than a day after Kai’s photo was posted on the Scottish SPCA’s Facebook page and subsequently went viral, nearly $4,000 in donations were raised on a crowdfunding page.

“The donation page was originally started so people could help pay for the operation Kai needs on his eyes,” senior animal care assistant Alan Grant told the Daily Record. “Any additional funds will be used to help care for the many sick, injured and abandoned animals at our rescue centers across the country.”

The shelter has received more than 100 requests to adopt Kai, from people around the world.

“Kai is around 2 to 3 years old and is a lovely dog with a nice nature,” Taylor said. “We will look after him until we can find him a permanent and loving home.”

Anyone with information about Kai’s owner is asked to call the Animal Helpline at 03000 999 999.

Photo via Scottish SPCA