The importance of one little letter and four numbers

To all of the supporters, volunteers and adopters of Catkins Animal Rescue, I am proud to report that today we received our official 501(c)3 status!!!  This means that all donations made to the rescue are tax deductible!  Of course, there is still A LOT of work ahead of us (zoning for the kennels and the cattery, licensing for the dogs and registering with the state), but Catkins is more determined than ever to serve the homeless and needy animals of the northwoods!  This is an incredible day for us and all of the animals and volunteers are celebrating!!

With this good news and some special donations, we are now able to take in three "junk yard" dogs that are living chained in feces and standing water.  The dogs, Calvin, Klein and Bono should be appearing on our website shortly.  We are also excited to begin working with several other local shelters and some new out of state rescues!  Every animal that is safe is a success story and the more people we can work with the more animals we can save!!!

PS. The above picture was Calvin's home before Catkins was called for help.

A special Thank You!!

Things have been VERY busy here this month in both good and bad ways.  We've had wonderful adoptions, a fabulous spay day and as "director" I've made some wonderful connections in the rescue world that have been able to help animals that Catkins doesn't have room for.  At the same time Catkins has seen a lot of human callousness this month and sometimes the frustration feels overwhelming.

What keeps me and my volunteers going?  

You guys and your adoptees!  On one of the roughest days of the month I got a notice in my mailbox that there was a package too large to deliver.  I went and picked it up to discover a wonderful lady with a heart of gold sent the doggies several months worth of treats and dental chew bones.   Deb was helping to care for some stray kittens and asked Catkins to help find them loving home when she had move all the way to Georgia.   Even half a country away, she is still thinking of us and our animals waiting for homes.  

Jasper and Liz's card was another perfectly timed piece of mail that both the volunteers and I needed after a heartbreaking day.  Remembering how much fun (and trouble!) those kittens were and how happy they are now, helps us continue what we do.   Additionally, we can't thank Liz enough for all of the awareness she has spread about appropriate animal care to her students!

The pictures and stories we see here remind us that no matter how frustrating a situation may be- the light at the end of the tunnel is the wonderful homes you guys provide for these critters.

So thanks to all of you for keeping me and my volunteers going!  

Congratulations!!! March Adoptions!

What a great month for adoptions!!  We had three of our longer term residents home this month!

A special congratulations to Breeze, a wonderful bluetick coonhound who waited nearly six months for the perfect home- and she found it!!

Also a special congratulations to Phoebe, a brown tabby kitty who waited six months at a local shelter before running out of time there and coming  to us and waiting for another six month before finding a fabulous new mom!

AND a special congratulations to Nora, a russian blue kitty who was lucky enough to find a fabulous new dad after waiting with us for almost an entire year.

Of course, as happy as I am to report that each of those three pets got wonderful new homes, I am equally happy to congratulate:

Gabana (Border Collie/Black Lab)

Vera (Border Collie/Black Lab)

Jasmine (DSH Tortie)

I wish all of these great pets and their new families lots of the very best!!