On the morning of June 26, a cat was dumped on the donation bench at Fearless Kitty Rescue. Had it not been for a dog named Koda on her early morning walk, this cat may not have made it.

“At approximately 5:45 on Saturday, June 26, Koda ran over to a garbage bag that contained a zipped-up cooler that was sitting on our donation bench,” said Teryn Jones, marketing and events coordinator at Fearless Kitty Rescue. “Koda sensed something and she was right – someone had left the bag and cooler with a young female kitty inside. No one knows how long the bag was sitting there or how much longer the kitty might have survived if she hadn’t been found by Koda.”

The team at Fearless Kitty Rescue named the cat Juliane – which in Danish means “Fearless.” She is now doing fine and recuperating in the Fearless medical area after being seen and evaluated by El Dorado Animal Hospital. She did have a pre-existing medical condition which is being treated, but should be ready for adoption in the next few weeks.

For those interested in adopting Juliane, contact info@fearlesskittyrescue.org. To donate to Fearless Kitty Rescue to help with Juliane’s needs and the needs of the hundreds of cats they care for and help place with families, visit fearlesskittyrescue.org/donate.

“We are actively working with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department on the incident and checking neighboring security systems to see if cameras caught anything,” Jones continued. “We are asking the public to come forward if they saw anything that morning or if anyone recognizes Juliane, or has any information that might help us identify the person who abandoned her.”

Fearless Kitty staff said they hope the story of Juliane and Koda will raise awareness of the plight of unwanted pets and the work that all rescues and shelters do to save lives.

“They deserve better than what happened to Juliane,” Jones said. “But her story had a happy ending.”