Run wild and free, beautiful girl – March 9 2020
With so many of our residents older, losing them is inevitable but it doesn’t make it any less painful. On Monday we lost Bailey Rae, she was nineteen years old 😔 Bailey Rae came to WCR in 2003. Originally purchased as a ‘pet,’ the owners had her declawed and defanged to make her ‘safer.’ And because none of that mutilation worked she was given up.
When we first saw Bailey Rae, she was in a dog harness that the owners had put on when she was younger but was now too small and we were faced with getting it off. She was so fierce, I’ll never forget how hard it was to net her and cut it off, but we did finally manage. She absolutely hated people and let us know every chance she got and although she was a small bobcat there was never any question that this girl could and would do damage.
In 2013 she tore her Achilles tendon and the only option was to amputate her leg, but that didn’t stop her one bit. She lived for many years with Simba, another bobcat and they were the best of friends. When we lost Simba in 2018 we worried that she would be ok, but of course, because she was Bailey Rae, she was. She went on to share an enclosure with Josie and then Cleo. This past year she started slowing down so we kept a very close eye on her providing pain medication for her arthritis and appetite stimulants to get her to eat but these last few weeks we saw a significant change. On Monday we took her into Compass Vet Clinic and X-rays showed a tumor in her stomach as well as in her nasal passages and lung.
We made the difficult decision not to wake her up. Bailey Rae was with us for so many years it seems unreal that she won’t be out waiting for her breakfast and growling when we got too close She was tough, resilient and never let us forget she was a wildcat. As much as we’ll miss her, knowing that she’s finally free of the captive life she was born into gives us some comfort. Good girl Bailey Rae you were one of a kind and we’ll never forget you or the lessons you shared. 🙏😢
