Fans Rally to Support Hallmark Star After Emergency: ‘Worst-Case Scenario’

A Hallmark star is finding support from friends and fans.

Heavy A Hallmark star is finding support from friends and fans.

A Hallmark star sought help after an emergency, and friends, fans and colleagues were quick to rally around her in support. Watson Rose, who portrays Susanna on “The Way Home,” asked for donations after her cat had a terrible, unexpected accident that required an emergency surgery to survive.


Rose’s Cat, Tippi, Accidentally Swallowed a Sewing Needle

Watson Rose on "The Way Home."

HallmarkWatson Rose on “The Way Home.”

In a temporary Instagram story, Watson Rose (as Jessica Watson on her GoFundMe), shared what happened to her beloved cat, Tippi.

Tippi, a beautiful black cat with just a touch of white on her front chest, accidentally ate a sewing needle and Rose raced her to the emergency vet.

“(I) was turned away from two pet ERs before we were finally brought tin for x-rays,” she wrote. “Unfortunately, it’s a worst case scenario…”

She went on to share that the sewing needle had punctured her cat’s esophagus, requiring a special, risky surgery called a thoracotomy. In her GoFundMe, Rose elaborated that without the surgery, the needle could end up puncturing a vital organ. Her cat will need to stay in the hospital for up to four days, but with the surgery is expected to make a full recovery.

“She is the best cat, and my life, mental health, and general sense of wellbeing have improved immensely since I brought her home,” Rose wrote on her Instagram story.

On her GoFundMe, she said that she met Tippi on set while she was filming a TV series when the kitten was just six weeks old.

“She ran right up and climbed onto my shoulder,” she wrote. “…She loves everyone she’s ever met.”

And despite her injury, Tippi was still acting affectionately.

“Her surgeon told me that she begs for pets every time she’s in the room,” she wrote.

Rose shared that she was starting the GoFundMe because even with her savings and help from her parents, they still didn’t have enough money to pay for all the expenses. And since Tippi is only 10 months old, she wants the sweet cat to have “a healthy, happy life beyond kittenhood.”


Many Rallied to Donate & Tippi Had a Successful Surgery With a Few Complications

Rose shared in a later Instagram Story post that “most of the cost” was covered thanks to donations the GoFundMe. As of the time of this article’s publication, she had raised $4,612 CAD out of a $5,000 goal.

In a video update on her Instagram Story, Rose shared, through tears, her thanks to everyone who donated.

“Thank you so much to everyone who’s been sending me messages, everyone who’s supported me on GoFundMe,” she said. “I’m really overwhelmed by the care I’ve been shown, the care that Tippi has been shown… She is out of surgery.”

Tippi had some complications, Rose went on to say, but is recovering.

“There were some complications in her surgery, she required a second procedure as well, just due to the complexity of where the needle was located, and it exiting her esophagus into her chest cavity, but right now she’s doing OK,” she said. “They’re keeping her overnight for monitoring. She has a chest tube in. And thank you all so much. It’s been a very scary 24 hours and I really appreciate the support the support. It means a lot.”

In a public Facebook group for “The Way Home” fans, viewers voiced their support for Rose and her cat Tippi. One viewer wrote, “Donated to sweet Tippi” and another commented, “Such a beautiful looking cat.”

On her Instagram story, Rose added that after Tippi woke up from surgery, she’d been “really high and as a result, extra cute.”  She said both a vet tech and the surgeons told her that “she’s the cutest cat in the world.”

Her most recent Instagram Story, made approximately four hours before this article’s publication, shared a post from a friend talking about how sweet Tippi is.

“She is feisty, rambunctious, adventurous, loving, as friendly as can be,” her friend wrote.

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