A Year Later: In Memoriam

Well, it has been one year. On this day, November 3, 2008 I lost my beloved Gandalf to a rare hip disease. It was tough initially, but I have been very fortunate to have had a loving family, a fabulous dog, and the wonderfully supportive blogging universe here to help me. He was a great cat. Headstrong, full of dandruff, but great. I have made peace with his departure, and I have his ashes and many, many photos to remember him. Also, there is always life where there is death. I donated money to Guelph University's animal sciences department to help research cures for diseases in cats and dogs. I also donated to the Country Cat Sanctuary, and in doing so, found my new 'brothers'...
This past summer when my parents lost their cat Sheeeba to old age and arthritis, they knew they wanted to adopt after they had grieved her properly. After a few months of an empty house, they knew what they needed to do, so they started making a wish list for their perfect cats: they wanted a pair of cats to keep each other company and they wanted cats that were having a hard time getting adopted. Enter the Country Cat Sanctuary and Fintan and Laughlan. They had other names that currently escape me, but they were brothers who had been at the shelters foster home for over a year, leaving their kitten hood behind in a haze of 16 other cats. They hadn't been socialized and were frightened. But they loved each other. They were brothers and stuck to each other like glue, sleeping on top of each other, even when there was a whole bed to sleep on.
My parents spent some time with them at the foster home and knew they needed to give them a try. They took them home and after a few scared weeks, the year and a half old brothers are now ripping up and down the house, have had their nails cut for the first, second and third time (ever!), have seen the vet to get their shots and checkups and are happy. They have found their forever homes, and my parents have found their "neener heads" (goofballs), their life after death, their cure for grief. Yes, we miss our lost pets, but there is always light at the end of the tunnel, there is always life after death.

I think Fintan and Laughlan totally agree.

Remember, please adopt, don't shop for pets. There are millions of animals waiting in shelters for their forever homes. Just because they don't have papers or fancy pedigrees, doesn't mean they won't make excellent pets that fill your lives with joy for years. Please give a homeless animal a chance at a great life and visit an animal shelter near you for your next pet. Maybe you'll find your perfect "neener head" yourself :-)

Wordy Wednesday: September's Charity of the Month, Epic Farms!

Thank you to everyone for their purchases last month, you helped raise $5 for the Country Cat Sanctuary. I will be matching that and giving $10 to them. Thank you!

This month's charity of the month is Epic Farms. They've been a charity here in the past (they have a donation widget on the right hand side of the blog), and are always open and upfront about every cent they've been given. They recently had to rebuild their open air stalls after a series of violent storms ripped the roof off of the old ones (no one was hurt, but the cost is, as you can expect, quite painful).

~A Great Bookmark (I Have One and Love It!)~

Run by Jen, they have a few equine rescues that are mostly permanent residents, and are a registered 501 (c)3 charity. They have a website at www.EpicFarms.com and they also have an Etsy store where you can find all manner of beautiful, well made and affordable items at www.EpicFarms.etsy.com~A Carousel Horse Woodburning By Jen~

10% of the total sales before taxes and shipping in my Etsy store will go towards Epic Farms this month. Please do check out their Etsy Store and see Jen's beautiful artwork, as well as scrap booking supplies.

Please keep checking back here, I'll have the winners of last month's contest and a new contest for you to try and win great prizes!

August's Charity of the Month: Country Cat Sanctuary

This month's Charity of the Month will be the Country Cat Sanctuary in Oxford Station, Ontario. They are one of the only "No-Kill" shelters in the area and one of the only cat-only shelters as well. They are a registered charity and are always in need of financial help to do their great works. They are almost always willing to take in cats - they converted a horse barn in their back yard to house the cats in comfort, and even have a nursing room in their house for sick or injured kitties (they are currently at capacity due to a very bad year for strays)! A few years ago, when an idiot dumped two kittens in my yard from a moving truck, the Country Cat Sanctuary was the ONLY place that would take them, and I called 4 different shelters!

They have many cats that need forever homes, or, if you can't take one into your own home, they need helpers like you to sponsor a cat - a small donation can pay for their food and other expenses until they are adopted. They also take in cats that aren't able to be adopted - they are too traumatized or are used to being outside, so they need your help in the form of sponsorship.

10% of the total sales before taxes and shipping will go to help this wonderful sanctuary this month. Please visit their website if you would like to see their cats and kittens, as well as read about their success stories and miracle cats. There is also a form that you can print out and mail in with a donation if you would prefer to donate directly to them yourself. http://www.countrycatrescue.com/

Thank you so much for your purchases from the the last 2 months, I have donated $20 to the Lanark Animal Welfare Society!

Have a great day to you, my miracle workers :)