07/08/2026
On Thursday, we said goodbye to our beloved Hope.
Twenty years ago, Hope's story almost ended before it ever began.
She was an eight-week-old farm kitten who came into the veterinary clinic where Dr.
Kitz worked in Texas with a fractured humerus. She had been brought in to be
euthanized. Instead, Dr. Kitz asked if she could be signed over to her. She repaired her
tiny broken leg and took her home.
Hope was fearless from the very beginning. As a kitten, she somehow managed to fall
into a toilet. She also loved hiding in kitchen drawers, sometimes closing them behind
her. More than once, we couldn't find her anywhere, only to discover her happily
tucked away inside a drawer. She quickly proved she was going to do life entirely on
her own terms.
When Dr. Kitz moved to Florida in 2017, Hope became the clinic cat at Woodland's
Animal Hospital. At first, we worried she'd miss having a home. Instead, she made the
hospital her home—and all of us her family.
She supervised appointments, claimed every chair as her own, lounged on paperwork
that needed to be finished, climbed to the highest cabinets, stole yogurt, chicken,
cream cheese bagels, and even the occasional sandwich. Every Monday morning she
loudly informed us how offended she was that we'd left her alone all weekend.
And if there was a dog in the building that "didn't like cats?" Hope would confidently
strut right past with her little kitty b***y swaying as if she owned the place.
Because she did.
Over the past nine years, Hope touched the hearts of employees, clients, and everyone
lucky enough to know her. She wasn't just our clinic cat—she was part of our family
and part of the heart and soul of Woodland's Animal Hospital.On Thursday, at 20 years old, we gave Hope her final Churu treat and a peaceful,
painless goodbye surrounded by the people who loved her most.
Thank you, Hope, for twenty years of laughter, mischief, and unconditional love.
Woodland's Animal Hospital will never quite be the same without you.
Run free over the Rainbow Bridge, sweet girl.
You will always be part of our story.