Amputee Duo in Ohio Brings Joy Through Animal Therapy

Juanita Mengel and her cat Lola-Pearl, both amputees, are part of a therapy cat team that visits hospitals, nursing homes, and schools to improve community well-being.

Juanita Mengel, a 67-year-old amputee from Ohio, and her 5-year-old dilute tortoiseshell cat, Lola-Pearl, who is also an amputee, are part of an estimated 200 therapy cat teams registered in the U.S. through Pet Partners.
Pet Partners is a nonprofit that sets up owners and their pets as volunteer teams providing animal-assisted interventions, where they might visit hospitals, nursing homes, or schools to aid in therapy and other activities to improve well-being in communities.
Lola-Pearl was found at only a few weeks old with her back legs completely twisted together. She was unable to walk and brought to a friend of Mengel's at an animal shelter in Missouri, where veterinarians could not help her. The shelter found specialists in Iowa who were able to splint Lola-Pearl's legs as an attempt to save them, but they decided her left hind leg needed to be amputated.
Mengel, who lost her left leg in 2006 after years of surgeries following a near-fatal car accident, knew Lola-Pearl would be a good therapy cat after she brought her on a whim to an amputee coalition conference about a month after she adopted the domestic shorthair.
Despite the obstacles Mengel has been through, she exudes a spirit of gratitude for Lola-Pearl and for the work they do together. 'It’s a really rewarding experience,' she said, 'I get just as much out of it as the people that I visit.'