CAT TALES LETTERS FROM CLANCY

Transcription

1 CAT TALES C.A.R.E.S. mission is to rescue, shelter and find loving homes for stray, abandoned and unwanted cats. WINTER 2014 Letters from Clancy C.A.R.E.S. Public Relations Our Wonderful Supporters Here s to Black! Chatty Catty Handsome Wishbone is waiting for a forever home. Can you help? Please check out his details on our website: LETTERS FROM CLANCY When Clancy arrived at C.A.R.E.S. in August, 2012, he was a pretty scared guy. Caught running around stray on the property owned by Critter Care Wildlife Society, it was hard to tell at first if this fellow was feral, or if he had been owned by someone and had gone through the frightening experience of being dumped and abandoned. It didn t help matters much when only a month after Clancy s arrival, the shelter was hit with a ringworm virus and the whole shelter was put in quarantine for several months. The only human contact Clancy received for a while was by the medical staff when he, along with many others, received his medication to cure the ringworm. Clancy was roomed with a fun little family mommy cat Holly and her older kittens. The influence this family had on Clancy over a few months was amazing and we started to see this serious fellow loosen up and start to play with toys and with the other cats. He was still a little leery of some people, but over time, he started to accept pets with purrs instead of hisses. Then a very happy day came a year later in October, 2013, when Clancy was adopted by Lois Peterson of Langley. Clancy has been very faithful keeping in touch with us and we are always thrilled to hear from him. Here are a few excerpts from some of his letters: December 2013 Merry Christmas to each of my friends at C.A.R.E.S. You took me in when I was frightened and hungry. You loved me and I thank you. My mom Lois asks me to thank you too and sends you hugs. There is so much to discover in my forever home. Can you believe a tree has appeared inside the house? What fun! It is a great place to hide and seek my tinsel balls. I still love to chase balls and bat them under the sofa. Lois just laughs and fetches them for me. At night it is great fun to leap on the bed and chase those moving mice that live under the covers! Strange how they disappear in the morning when Lois feet hit the floor. My favourite place is lying on a long dresser and looking out the big window at the trees filled with birds. Lois and I are forever friends. Friendship and trust is a wonderful thing! Purrs, from your gentle soul, Clancy.

2 LETTERS FROM CLANCY continued February Hi everyone. It s me Clancy. Happy Valentine s Day! Life in my forever home just gets better and better. Can you believe that I get to sleep on Lois great big bed? I snuggle in against her each night and I purr and purr. Lois just laughs. I am always discovering new quiet places and high perches. My favourite spot is still the dresser under the great window where I lay and watch the birds in the trees. Lois tells me I am a brave hunter! Lois has sent you some pictures. As you can see, I tolerate this only because she seems to enjoy this activity. Lois says to say hello and let you all know that I am her gentle soul. Love and purrs, Clancy October 2014 Happy Thanksgiving, from me, Clancy! When I thought life could not get any better it did! I now have a friend, Pepe, and we have so much fun racing up and down the hallway together. Sometimes we play and sometimes we just lie down together and roll around. When we get tired, Pepe goes to his home and I walk back down the long hallway with Lois to our home. Lois always tells me, You can play again tomorrow, and I do. I still love to fall asleep against Lois legs and I purr. Life is good for both of us, isn t it Clancy? That is what Lois always says and then she scoops me up and gives me a big hug and a kiss on my head. Life is good. Happy Thanksgiving and thank you all again for taking such good care of me until I found my forever home. Love, Clancy. Life is good for all of us when a cat finds a forever loving home like Clancy did. We are grateful to receive his letters, as well as calls, s and pictures from many others who have found homes. They serve as a reminder to us all why we continue to put in the long hours that we do to help these deserving souls. We look forward to reading Clancy s next letter. Perhaps it will be a Christmas card. Merry Christmas, Clancy. From your many friends at C.A.R.E.S. Submitted by, Lauralee Porter Adoptions Coordinator Life is good for all of us when a cat finds a forever loving home....

3 C.A.R.E.S. PUBLIC RELATIONS As we mentioned in our last newsletter, the decision to implement a Public Relations Director was largely due to our wish to become a better known presence in our community. We wanted to work more with businesses and the general public to grow and obtain more visibility and support for our shelter. fund raising committee also donated items. We had no idea how the sale would do, but are pleased to report that it was a smashing success! 8 year old Taz is a sweet girl waiting for someone to love her again. Can you help? We held two Impact Days at our shelter this year, whereby two companies sent staff members to assist us with shelter improvements such as site cleanup and painting. Our heartfelt thanks go out to the staff of Deloitte, and also to PWC Canada. Click here to make an online secure donation. Tax receipts are issued instantly. We are confident that we have come a good way down that path in the past few months and I would like to fill you in on a few of our successful events and projects this year. Firstly, our upgraded website and Facebook was launched in August of this year, and we are pleased to say that over 900 people have liked our site. Langley Advance newspaper did a full page report with photos on our shelter, and as well, we have had several minor write- ups in other local newspapers. There were three radio mentions about our annual walkathon event in September along with the support of Royal Canin who attended the event. In the summer we partnered with Cedar Rim Nursery, who generously donated flowers for our first ever flower sale, held in May, in front of the Langley Petsmart store. C.A.R.E.S. volunteer, Christina Herman, a local farmer, donated flowers and a variety of tomato plants to the event. Members of our We held two Impact Days at our shelter this year, whereby two companies sent staff members to assist us with shelter improvements such as site cleanup and painting. Our heartfelt thanks go out to the staff of Deloitte, and also to PWC Canada. Allison Burton from our fundraising committee created a photo montage of historic information about C.A.R.E.S. and the shelter, along with some charming photos of some of our kitties. This can be used for all future C.A.R.E.S. presentations. Upcoming events are: photos with Santa, hosted by the Langley Petsmart store, and on February 21, 2015, we will be holding our fun annual family bowling night at the Willowbrook Lanes. More details to follow on this event. Hope to see you there! Clive Ellis, Public Relations Director

4 OUR WONDERFUL SUPPORTERS! The best way to advance the rights of animals is by supporting animal rescue groups. These groups work hard to change hearts, minds and policies in favour of animal welfare. We at C.A.R.E.S. cannot continue to do this without the help of others. To this end, I wish to thank our financial supporters. Thank you, Mr. Gauvin, for your contribution to our efforts to help the C.A.R.E.S. cats. We owe a debt of gratitude to Gauvin Construction 2000 Ltd., and to Joann and Robert Novak. Robert (who works for Gauvin Construction 2000 Ltd.), and Joann, organized a group of employees who donated their time and energy to complete the renovation of the inside of the shelter to accommodate access to the outdoor cat runs. Joann always the jovial leader of the pack kept the coffee, donuts and food going throughout the day. The job was completed speedily and we were greatly impressed by the craftsmen of Gauvin Construction! The annual C.A.R.E.S. Walk-A-Thon was held in September. The weather was good. We all had fun, enjoying yummy food. Thanks to all those who attended. Again, Lauralee Porter brought in the largest amount of pledges. Thanks, Lauralee, for your special effort on behalf of C.A.R.E.S. kitties. Kudos to two accounting companies Deloitte and PWC, whose employees also donated their day to work at the shelter. Much needed painting and yard work was done. Thank you so much for giving back to the community! We wish to recognize the following people and corporations who continue to support us: Dr. Bath and Willowbrook Animal Hospital PetSmart and Petsmart Charities Telus Barbara Sewell Cynthia Kereluk James Weir and Linda Davis Ray and Ruth Wesenberg Pogo, relaxing while he waits for his forever home..

5 OUR WONDERFUL SUPPORTERS! continued I wish to give a BIG thank you to the fundraising team, who worked tirelessly at raising money for the organization: This includes Joann, Novak, Caroll Giesbrecht, Marion Haney, Clive Ellis, Allison Burton, Donna Healey-Ogden, Carol and Chris Briner. Submitted by Carol Briner Treasurer/Fundraising Remember: Christmas and December 31 st is almost upon us. It s the purrfect time to help support your shelter and receive tax deductible receipts. Donations can be made online using Visa or MasterCard at CanadaHelps.org, or click on the donate now icon on page 3 or mail your donation to: Sweet little one-year-old McKenzie is still looking for her forever home can you help? YES! I want to help! Name C.A.R.E.S th Street, Suite 290 Langley, BC V1M 2Y2 Address Phone Mr. Mittens says, Thank you for caring enough to give! 4-year-old Mr. Mittens is still looking for that special someone to love him can you help? Amount

6 HERE S TO BLACK! On any given day, our volunteers and staff care for cats at the shelter and another kitties at our adoption centre. In addition to those in our care, we supply some of our foster parents with cat food, litter and medication. You can imagine how much food and other supplies we go through in a month, and the expense of those items. So, the next time you are shopping, you can greatly help us by picking up some of the items we urgently need. You can either drop the items off at our adoption centre at Petsmart in Langley or call our shelter at Thank you for caring! 7-year-old Bella is hoping for another chance for love can you help? I am not a fashion expert by any means. My main wardrobe consists of several pairs of jeans and running shoes. But this winter I decided to invest in a little black number that seems to match everything and keeps me warm at the same time. The little black number s name is Kaitlan (formerly Kaedyn). As a C.A.R.E.S. volunteer, I met Kaitlan a few years ago. While I did my work at the shelter, Kaitlan watched me, usually from a high-up position, quickly rolling onto her side for pets and head scratches if I stopped to say hi. When my hubby, Bartley, finished folding the laundry, he sat down to read while waiting for me. That was Kaitlan s big opportunity to jump onto a warm lap and drool all over it from pure happiness! While still a C.A.R.E.S. resident, Kaitlan performed a magic act. That is, she completely disappeared. The shelter was searched and searched again, but no Kaitlan. It was a mystery until a few days later when the shelter manager opened a little used file cabinet and out popped Kaitlan! A perfect example of why God gave cats 9 lives. And Kaitlan needs all of them! If a strange crash or thud reverberates from anywhere in our house, you can be sure a mischievous, incurably curious, Kaitlan is involved. It s been wonderful to have Kaitlan join our home, especially since our other sweet kitty of 10 years recently left us due to cancer. Through tears of sorrow for our loss run tears of laughter as Kaitlan once again does something so typically her so typically hysterically funny. So here s to black! I will wear it lovingly, both across my knees and as an accessory on my sofa. Submitted by, Susan Phillips C.A.R.E.S. Volunteer

7 A CHATTY CATTY CHRISTMAS! Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight -I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight. Oh hi everyone, Ariel here. Christmas is coming and well, I start doing my annual wishing again. This will be my 7 th Christmas here at the shelter. I was just looking at the C.A.R.E.S. cat roster and lo and behold, I have been here the longest! There are only two other cats that have been here almost as long as I have Patches, our old diabetic girl, and Pogo, a sweet fellow who has a few problems with his mouth. I arrived at C.A.R.E.S. in February, 2007, after my human mom lost her life in a car accident, a tragic event that changed my life forever. It has been so long since I have had a home that I almost can t remember what it was like. It s not for lack of trying on C.A.R.E.S. part. The volunteers have tried to get me a home many times. I have been a feature cat often and I have even been given my own column in the newsletter which has given me exposure. You see, in my younger years I was a bit of a Diva type. I was spoiled rotten in my old home and, well, I guess I had a bit of an ungrateful cattitude when I had to come to a shelter. Interested people who saw my beautiful picture on the website would come to see me but I would often smack them if they petted me too long. That was enough to scare them off. So, I am still here. I am more grateful about things now. I have a roof over my head and food in my tummy and the volunteers look after me and the others as if we were their own. But as Dorothy said in Oz, there is no place like home. So I got wishing that I would really like to have a nice home to spend my last years. I would also like to tell you about another couple of fellows who have been here for a couple of years. Here I am showing volunteer, Bartley, how much I love a good book. First, there is Jack, a 6-year-old orange and white tabby (manx). Jack came to us in late 2011 when one of his human family members became allergic to him. Jack s not a bad guy for a cat (I tend to like humans better). He has a tough time going up to the adoption centre in the Langley Petsmart Store as dogs coming up to the window get him a little stirred up. So he is not able to always show his best side..... my. my human mom lost her life in in a car accident, a tragic event that changed my my life life forever. forever. Jack, a 6-year-old orange and white tabby (manx).

8 A CHATTY CATTY CHRISTMAS! continued Adoption Centre PetSmart Langley Bypass Langley, B.C. Mailing address th St., Suite 290 Langley, B.C. V1M 2Y2 Phone We re on the Web! Visit us at: carescatshelter.com Jack is tolerant of his other roommates, but like me, he would be just as happy to rule your roost himself. Jack loves going outside in our new outdoor runs. So I think he would like to be an indoor/outdoor cat once settled in your home. Another decent guy is Harley. I have felt for this guy. He was abandoned at his house in 2012 when his owners moved away. The house was going to be demolished. Thankfully, a neighbour walking her dog saw him running in and out of the crawlspace of the house. She managed to coax him out and got him to our shelter. Harley is about 4 years old now. He is a bit of a shy guy at first but warms up and does appreciate it when humans pet him. He would do well in a quieter type home. So there you have it another year and another wish. If you have a place in your heart and your home, please consider giving one of us shelter cats the gift of a loving home for Christmas. We will be forever grateful to you. Harley... was abandoned at his house in The house was going to be demolished. If you love cats, have a few hours to spare each week and want to make a difference in the community and in the lives of homeless felines, then we want you on our team! Call the C.A.R.E.S. shelter line at From our shelter to yours, we all wish you and your families a safe and purrfectly wonderful Christmas! Until next time, Ariel, AKA Chatty Catty If you have a place in your heart and your home, please consider giving one of us shelter cats the gift of a loving home for Christmas.