Kennel E“A New Day...A New Life” Campaign

the story of a combined rescue effort

#10101 now Teddy

There was a deathly silence when we entered the room, broken only by the old black

and white cat with withered ears and a hundred years of turmoil engraved on his face. He rubbed rep-etitiously against his kennel gate as if to receive the aff ection he might once have known. On the other side of the room was Grandma Roxanne, a prett y tabby grey and white senior that too used her gate as a form of solace. On the bott om row of kennels was a young, sleek black cat, barely over kitt en stage, with bright crystal eyes and a coat that would refl ect your look. She reached out and cried in hope that we may engage and release her from her confi nement. Everyone else, eight of them to be exact, lay in silence as if they knew that the next day would take their spirits to the rainbow bridge. There are no names just identity numbers, a sign of how many needs to be tracked. We busily opened ken-nel gates and reached out to see the cats’ reactions to our touch. All faired well, but cat number 10090 as the gate opened, pulled back as a steady stream of urine escaped her body. She was friendly, but her fear of the un-known overcame her. The one thing we found missing in the room was a

feeling of hope. It was like each and everyone knew their fate when the sun would rise the next morning. We wrote down their identity numbers and, by the side of each, recorded the cats’ temperaments before we closed the door to Kennel E as we left for the day. Our next job was that of sheer anguish, whom could we take and whom would we have to leave behind? It was a discussion that examined their behaviours, their ages, and their adaptability to meet foster home needs. We soon realized as we shuffl ed from cat to cat that no cat was perfect, and no cat was imperfect, they wore their own personalities, no diff erent from any of us.

Our focus changed from not how the cats could adapt to us in terms of fi tt ing in, but how we could adapt to them. It was decided to take them all and work at fi nding the suitable needs for them. We worked for a few hours and then made plans to meet the next morn-ing at nine a.m. I do not think any one of us went home not wonder-ing how we were going to pull this

off , we just knew in our hearts we had to. We placed our faith in the fact that this litt le rag tag bunch of cats would steal the hearts of people and eventually fate would intervene as their new guardians would come to their, and our, aid by adopting them. The morning started busy for all of us, but at nine a.m. we met at the Animal Care & Control Facility. As we walked through the doors our hands full of kennels, like Boxing Day shoppers, we were greeted by the staff , they were beaming from ear to ear about the fact that no friendly cats were going to be euthanized - not on this day anyway. There was a sense of “lightness”

#10110 now Sophie

Litt le Cats Lost, SCARS, and SNAP rescue initiative

and of hope in the air. The hallway was quiet leading to Kennel E, but when we opened the door and said good morning, we were greeted by a choir of meows and the feeling of a new sense of life. The cats were more than happy to see us. Even 10090, now called Starlett , seemed more at ease and alert. How did they know? Did they sense our exuberance? Did they sense as we loaded them that, as we closed the door to Kennel E, it would be a new chapter in their lives. Shelter facilities are full with animals that have been abandoned or surrendered and face euthanasia. The staff face choices that are diffi cult and those choices are not always understood as they do their best at a heartbreaking job. The responsibility for thousands of animals dying each year is that of the people who take on the commitment of an animal’s life and then do not see it through. There are always changes in people’s circumstances, but those with true compassion and a true love of their animal make it work no matt er how diffi cult it may be. When an animal is loved for bett er or for worse and is considered part of the family…it is a pet for life. Our rag tag group will be available for adoption in the next few days at the 50 Street Pet Smart store. If you can see a way to provide a new life to one of our group we would be happy to hear from you.

Donations to their veterinary expense may be made to “A New Day…A New Life” Campaign at The Spay Clinic 780-426-4221.

Thank you to Dr. West and his staff at The Spay Clinic 10577 – 111 Street for providing the cats with veteri-nary att ention on such short notice.

# 9776 now Grandma Roxanne

Gett ing ready to leave