Wow what a great and challenging year Furry Friends has had! I will share our many amazing accomplishments in 2023 in this letter. First, I would like to send out a very heartfelt THANK YOU to all our supporters, volunteers, sponsors, and donors! Together with our Board of Directors, Leadership, Staff, and YOU, we have made a difference in so many lives and in many cases, we have saved lives! Give yourself the credit you deserve!
Medical/Rescue Successes short recap
Bean is a happy and healthy little dude who was diagnosed with megacolon. Thanks to the quick work of his foster, our staff, and our partner veterinarian we think we caught it in time before he required any surgeries. Now he is just on medication to help things move along the way they should.
Rambo had his entropion surgery with our rescue partners spay/neuter clinic which really helped him and us! Now he gets to live a comfortable life without his eyelashes poking him in the eye every day.
Rosie, our sweet little grey tuxie girl, was born with many deformities requiring surgeries. In addition to her spay surgery, she has been through two hernia surgeries, a polyp removal, and a bulla osteotomy. She still needs double FHO surgery. Thanks to a few donors who gave directly to her and a wonderful vet partnership she will receive those surgeries.
Seymore, Sea Otter, Sandy, Haiku, and Calypso were all diagnosed with FIP. Once a death sentence, it isn’t anymore. We have successfully cured the first 3 kitties and are working to cure Haiku and Calypso.
Annabelle the brave! The tiny girl came to us with Pectus Excavatum. The condition required her “shield” to be sewn into her breastbone to readjust her rib cage giving room for her heart and lungs to grow. Working alongside one of our valuable vet partners her surgery was a success!
Neptune, Comet and 150 others like them came from hoarding situations and required extensive medical care to get them healthy and ready for adoption. Take a look at our video about Comet and Neptune. Thank you to professional videographer Mike Morris for donating his time to create this project. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA8SKxlGzK4
Lastly, I would like to include the many FIV+ kitties (Peanut & Grizz to name a couple) that would have been euthanized by many others.
Although I could list many more, each cat we take in is a success for us and we will continue our mission to help the sick, the injured, the abandoned, and the ones other places might turn away or euthanize.
Adoption Victories
As of this writing (Dec.14) we are at: 617 adoptions, a record number for Furry Friends! We have found loving homes for all types of cats, not just the easily adoptable. We do not discriminate against the cats we take in, from newborns to elderly to medically needy to calico attitudes. We will dedicate our time to find them the perfect homes that suit not only the cat’s needs but the needs of their owners. While high adoption numbers are wonderful, we do not reduce any care to get there. All cats are treated as individuals and get every need met prior to adoption: medically, socially, and behaviorally to the best of our abilities.
Expansion Feat
We are in the final stages of city planning approval for our new medical building! At this point nothing will stop us from successful construction IF we raise the funds! We are very excited to expand the shelter to enable us to do our own spay/neuter surgeries and other procedures on site and start a much-needed trap-neuter- release (TNR) program in Clark County! If you would like information on how to donate directly to our building fund, please email me information@furryfriendswa.org.
Although at times it might seem as if we are up against a war we can never possibly win, I have faith that we will be victorious! We are dedicated to continuous growth, improving processes, and upping the standards of shelter care by increasing community education and access to services while standing by our mission. We can only accomplish this goal with your support, and we do appreciate every bit of it! Let’s make 2024 a year to make giant strides in animal welfare together!
Jenn Hutchman
Furry Friends Executive Director