A 10-year-old rescue cat from Minnesota just absolutely landed the gig of our dreams: being a model for Target! Hercules' big break comes two years after being rescued from a hot car. He was taken to the St. Francis Veterinary Clinic in Isanti in July 2022 by the good Samaritans who found him. That's where Dr. Nicole Perreault, a veterinarian at the clinic and founder and president of Tuff Start Rescue, first met the cat.
"When he got to us, his jaw was severely fractured, his temperature wouldn't read, he had a severe maggot infestation in his mouth, his ears, everywhere. And then, some other pretty horrific details," the vet told Good Morning America.
His condition was so bad that she wasn't sure if Hercules would make it. "It was like a visceral pain when I looked at him and [I] wondered, OK, what do we do here? What's the most humane [thing to do?] but then he lifted his head and looked at me," Dr. Perreault recalled. "And I thought, 'OK, you have survived all this time to make it to this clinic and this rescue.' So I was like, we're gonna give this a shot."
With a lot of specialized care, the cat was able to get better. When the vet shared his story on social media, Jill LeBrun, a registered nurse in St. Paul, became interested. She was fostering Hercules by August 2022, and eventually adopted him. In 2023, she saw a local animal talent agency was looking for cats "with unique faces" for a photo shoot. She instantly submitted Hercules because of the fact that his tongue is always sticking out.
More from LittleThings: 14-Year-Old Rescue Cat Is Now Local Bookstore's Cuddliest CEO
Hercules ended up getting casted for the gig, and in February 2024, Jill was in a Target store when she saw her cat's face. "I got to the cat litter aisle and all of a sudden, the whole aisle was like, Hercules' face on all the rows of cat litter pails," she recalled. "There was another woman in the aisle looking for products and I had to stop myself from looking over at her and being like, 'That's my cat!'"
She now hopes that Hercules' story will encourage other people to consider fostering or adopting rescue animals. "All animals are really very different but you never know and I think giving them a chance is smart because you never know what you'll miss out on."
