Two years ago, Constance Gozlan’s vacation in Spetses, Greece, took an unexpected turn when she spotted a kitten drowning in a busy ocean port. The moment Gozlan saw the cat, she didn’t hesitate to jump
into the water to save her.
Of all the people at the port who’d spotted the kitten, only Gozlan was bold enough to dive in. Her family watched in awe as she bravely swam through the deep water toward the cat.
“They were shocked when they saw me jump in,” Gozlan wrote on Instagram.
Gozlan brought the cat back to shore and wrapped her in a warm blanket. At first, the kitten seemed completely unresponsive, and Gozlan began to fear the worst.
Then, the cat let out a tiny cry. Gozlan was relieved that the baby still had a little fight left in her.
“It was like, ‘OK, there’s hope,’” Gozlan said.
Gozlan rushed the kitten to Spetses Care For Animals, a local animal hospital. After the vets administered their life-saving treatment, the kitten was doing much better.
Gozlan and her partner, Patrick Boyd, spent the next few days caring for the kitten and getting her back on her feet. In just that short time, the couple completely fell in love with the cat. They decided to name her Spetzy and take her back home with them to the U.S.
The couple was nervous about how Spetzy was going to do on the long international flight. But to their surprise, she did great.
“[T]he entire flight, she practically slept,” Gozlan said.
It didn’t take long for Spetzy to adjust to her new home environment. Gozlan and Boyd have several dogs, whom they kept separate from Spetzy for a while. But they quickly got used to each other, and now Spetzy even goes on walks with them.
“We will let her explore when there’s no one around and she’s on a leash, because she gets so happy doing that,” Gozlan said.
Gozlan never expected to leave her vacation in Greece with a new family member. But now she can’t imagine life without Spetzy.
“I think we mutually impacted each other, which I think is the nicest thing of it all,” Gozlan said.
