A Kitten's Pet Dragon Helped Him Stay Brave Through Surgery

Anything is possible with your best friend by your side.

A Kitten's Pet Dragon Helped Him Stay Brave Through Surgery facebook
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A woman brought a kitten named Ponyo for routine neuter surgery at Operation Catnip.

"A very nice lady found him and looked for his mom but he seemed to be alone. The very nice lady decided to be a hero for Ponyo and keep him with her instead of taking him to the shelter," Operation Catnip wrote on Facebook.

Of course, just because a surgery is routine doesn't mean it's any less scary — and Operation Catnip's photos show that poor Ponyo was a little nervous while waiting to be neutered.

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As the photos reveal, he was never alone because he had his best friend Dragon with him the whole time, and the photos reveal that Dragon stayed by his side every minute of the surgery.

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The progression of photos first show Ponyo hiding behind Dragon, who is seemingly able to convince him to let the veterinarians neuter not just Ponyo, but Dragon, too!

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"Ponyo watches as Dragon gets anesthetized! 'Take good care of my Dragon' he says!" they wrote.

The pair were anesthetized, shaved, and then neutered without ever being just a few inches away from each other.

Together, Ponyo and dragon make it through surgery side-by-side.

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Operation Catnip is a charity and nonprofit organization in Gainesville, Florida that provides spays and neuters for kittens and is an adoption shelter.

It began in 1994 when volunteers and cat lovers joined a national program to reduce the number of feral and stray cats all over the United States by providing sterilization services. 

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According to their bio, "The group had a very simple mission; to reduce the feral cat population and relieve the suffering of homeless cats by neutering as many as possible, and returning them to their caretakers and their colonies." 

But, with the high demand for free spay-neuter services of feral cats, they established Operation Catnip in 1997. 

In 1998, Dr. Julie Levy, a prominent figure in the original group that established the first Operation Catnip, founded the Gainesville clinic of Operation Catnip as a chapter at the University of Florida's College of Veterinary Medicine. 

They are one of three spay-neuter programs specifically for cats in the area. 

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Since the opening in 1998, Operation Catnip has sterilized over 65,000 cats in Alachua County and surrounding areas. 

They are also training the next generation of veterinarian students to be able to provide the best services to the cat community. 

This clinic is a model clinic that others look to for guidance all over the world. 

Now they are hosting clinics on how to sterilize and vaccinate the feral cat community, train students in medicine and cat management, and they also provide trap rental services so that the public can help catch the feral cats to bring to the shelter for spay-neutering. 

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If you are able, remember to donate to this clinic and shelter so they can keep providing kittens with the care and safety they need until they are adopted. 

Overall, their goal is to make the world a safer place for cats and kittens. 

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Emily Francos is a writer who covers relationships, pop culture, and news topics.