How AAI got its start (Part 2): One blind kitten, one informative vet, and a SWOT analysis

Be sure to read part one of this series of posts for the beginning of the story of Charlie and AAI. 

As Charlie, the blind kitten I picked up from the Bulgarian streets, was being checked in for eye removal surgery, I chatted with his vet about the recent rescue activity in the country. Dr. Todorov shared with me that information, policy recommendations, and funding associated with animal welfare were starting to flow into the country from the European Union (Bulgaria has been a part of the EU since 2007). As a result, local activists have been forming small but passionate rescue groups and working their hardest to start making a dent in the numbers of homeless and suffering animals on the Bulgarian streets.

Ok, so I’m a skeptic (and not too big of a sucker), especially when it comes to Bulgarian/ Eastern European institutions, so one of my first questions was about corruption and the actual care the animals receive. The answer thrilled me (and has been subsequently confirmed time and time again): the rescuers have no connection with government entities of any sort, they are volunteers and operate entirely on donations! (As everyone involved in rescue work knows, your desire to help extends far beyond the funds you have so you always, inevitably, give of your own money and other resources and don’t get compensated for it). I was hooked! I took down the names of a couple of groups to continue my research at a later time. Thank you, Dr. Todorov, the information you shared as a courtesy started an avalanche of activity and was pivotal in helping save so many lives! (Yes, Dr. Todorov is one of the vets with whom AAI works and you may even get to see a profile of him and the vet office he heads in a later blog entry).

Little Charlie had a successful surgery and came home with me for the few days before our trip. These were his first days having a roof over his head, clean water to drink any time he wanted it, a tummy that was always full. With the resilience that animals are so amazingly capable of, Charlie adjusted to his new life and always, always went in search of a caring voice and someone to play with. He got the first toy he had ever had: a little mouse which was a gift from Dr. Todorov. Watching him play with that mouse (which he couldn’t see!) is a treasured memory for me. Here is a brief glimpse into that simple but wonderful play: Charlie playing

A few days following his surgery, Charlie joined me on his trip to America. 3 flights (one of which was 10 ½ hours!), a long layover in Amsterdam, an airline mistake in adding him to my ticket and a terribly impolite clerk correcting it (why should it be any different!), and lots more worry on my part than on his, and we landed in Seattle. Oh, and if you ever wonder how one takes a kitten through security, here is the process: 1) set kitty carrier and other carry-on (which is, of course, full of spare kitty supplies) on the side and go through body scanner, 2) get back to your bags, take kitty out of carrier, and push carrier and bag through bag scanner, 3) walk with kitty in hands around the body scanner (thank you, TSA, for not requiring Charlie to be scanned!), 4) put kitty back in carrier and haul your stuff to the plane (with kitty currently not excited that snuggle time with you got over so quickly).

So I’m on US soil, with an unplanned kitten, and tons of daring thoughts running through my head. Unfortunately the running was taking place in a very disorderly manner due to jetlag. And leftover adrenaline from worrying if the change in air pressure would somehow impact Charlie’s eye sutures (it didn’t). And airport food. As we get home, awesomeness begins to happen…

(To be continued)
Read part three of the story here