New and Now
Thank You to Everyone
We had a wonderful holiday season. We hope you did, too. We had parties in our honor that were huge successes, we had a donation drive that brought in some much-needed funds, we got out a newsletter with great success, and we had adoptions! What more could we ask?
Well, maybe one thing more. Remember the December Deal we promoted here? You can find it below. The following is the sad story of what happened.
A Notice to Our Donors
If you read below, you’ll recall the item we posted on December 7, announcing a really wonderful offer, by a Seattle design firm called Maison Luxe, to match our donations for the month of December. We have some serious vet bills to pay off and two dogs waiting for much-needed surgery, so we knew exactly where a good chunk of that money was going to go.
While your response to this offer was awesome, we’re sorry to have to report that Maison Luxe’s response has not been so awesome. The owner has now reneged on her offer, claiming that she never really offered to match the donations that she really did offer to match, and therefore she will not be matching them — any of them. Feel free to contact us for the gory details.
We apologize to anyone who donated because of this offer, and we are prepared to refund the donation of anyone who feels he or she may have been misled. If you would like to have a refund, please do get in touch with us immediately — before we spend it.
Addendum
We’ve been hearing from donors over the past week or so that the owner of Maison Luxe has been issuing emails saying that, in lieu of matching their donations, she has sent a “great donation” to The Furrytale Farm. We’ll be sure to let you know if we receive anything.
December Deal
Maison Luxe, one of Seattle’s premier design firms, is offering a real December deal. Make a donation to The Furrytale Farm by December 31, email them a copy of your donation receipt at: hello@maisonluxe.net, and they’ll happily take the amount of your donation off your first or next purchase – or they’ll match your donation to the farm. Your choice.
And as if that weren’t enough, on December 31, they’ll draw one lucky name from the donation receipts, and the winner will get a $200 gift certificate to use on the Maison Luxe website: http://www.maisonluxe.net.
Talk about a win-win situation!
A New Home
Okay, here’s the bad news and the good news. After ten years, and a valiant fight, we’re losing the Farm. But we aren’t ready to quit just yet. On the contrary. Now we want to move to a new home — a place where we can expand our programs, rescue more animals in need, help more kids at risk, and something more — maybe even help save the planet.
Sound lofty? Well, what dream isn’t? We have a place in mind, where we can go green, offer organic farming, food bank, and animal husbandry programs that will teach people how to survive on the planet ours is becoming. And we’ll also be able to put a special youth program in place, so that kids wanting another chance to succeed can learn and grow. And maybe a senior program, too, for those not ready to retire to the rocking chair just yet.
We had a benefactor for this expansion, but we lost him when the economy tanked. So now we need to find the money to make this dream a reality. It’s a lot of money, and it’s going to take a lot of people — or a few with big bucks. If you have it, or know of anyone who does, or just want to be part of something special, let us know, okay?
Furrytale International
Whenever we begin railing against this country for the often horrific way it treats animals, we’re reminded that there are other countries in the world that treat their animals even worse. Which means we should clarify our statements by separating “enlightened” countries from “unenlightened” ones. Among the “enlightened” countries of the world, we may stand near the bottom in the way we treat our animals, but it’s totally different from the way animals are treated in “unenlightened” countries.
Mexico comes to mind. People vacationing there have regularly come home with horror stories about the way animals are treated. Some have gone so far as to come home with dogs for us to adopt. There’s a woman who travels regularly to Puerto Rico, bringing homeless dogs back with her. Then there are parts of Africa. And Southeast Asia, where there’s a network of organizations, doing their best to spay and neuter and feed the street dogs that number in the millions. Sometimes, they come across one that really touches their hearts, that they just know won’t make it on the streets, that they can’t find anyone to adopt. Then they contact rescues in other countries.
Recently, a couple such organizations have contacted us. Harvey was the first to come, a sweet little street dog from Thailand, with a lot of personality and a lot of loyalty. A couple of months later, Kai followed, also from Thailand. Kai has now gone to her forever home. Harvey is still looking for his. We hope to be able to help others make that big international step soon.
People have asked why we don’t just rescue animals from our own area, why we took in so many dogs from Hurricane Katrina, why we take in animals from other states, and now, other countries. Our response? Animals in need are everywhere. They don’t have a nationality. They don’t have a zip code. If we can help, we will, wherever they may be.
The Dachshunds
JUNE: As some of you may already know, we took in six dachshunds a couple of weeks ago that we believe had been dumped by a puppy mill in Mason or Pierce County. They were in deplorable condition, from broken jaws and tails and bone infections to bladder stones and mammary tumors. We didn’t have the resources to provide the kind of help they needed, and we wanted to know exactly where these dogs had come from, so the people responsible could be prosecuted. We reached out to the media. KIRO, KOMO, and the Kitsap Sun came to the rescue. People started calling with information. People started asking to adopt. Donations started coming in.
Then Dr. M. J. Redman of Puyallap, a dental consultant capable of doing the intricate reconstructive work that five of the dogs needed, and Dr. Mark Swaney, owner of the Day Road Animal Hospital on Bainbridge Island, announced they would do some of the dental work pro bono.
Last week, three of the five dogs had their fractured jaws repaired, their abscesses cleaned out, their rotted teeth removed, their infections treated. The remaining two will now be scheduled. After that will come the spaying and neutering and tumor removal. If you feel inclined to help out with any of these costs, you can. Just click on our How to Help Page and pick an option. We sure would appreciate it.
Meanwhile, all the dogs are hanging in there, and so are we.
JULY: Roxanne, our white doxy, has now been spayed and has had her bladder stones removed. She’s feeling like a new woman and can’t wait to get to her new home.
Gracie, one of our black and tan ladies that we took back from Pasado’s Safe Haven, has now been spayed and has had her tumors removed. She’ll have some teeth removed and then she’ll be looking forward to a wonderful rest of life.
Phoebe, the other black and tan lady who escaped euthanasia, has now been spayed, has had her tumors removed, and is awaiting some mouth work. She didn’t know, until now, just how good life could really be.
Our long-haired Mary’s mouth is healing nicely, and soon she’ll be ready to be spayed and have her tumors removed. She already has someone interested in adopting her.
Our long-haired mini, Frankie, is scheduled to be neutered next week. His mouth is going to need a little more work, too, but then, he’ll be raring to go.
George, our black and tan mini, will also be neutered next week, and will also get a little more mouth work. You’ll be happy to know someone is interested in adopting him.
We think this means a total success story. What do you think?
AUGUST: One left to go! Phoebe is scheduled to have her teeth done next week — like Frankie and George and Gracie before her, she’ll probably lose them all, but then the medical stuff will be done, and these sweet little ones will get to begin their happily-ever-after lives!
While we’re pleased to say that Frankie and George will go to their forever home together, as will Gracie and Phoebe, Mary, on the other hand, won’t have her buddy Roxanne to keep her company in her new home. Sadly, we lost Roxanne, our delightful little white doxy. We don’t know why. The vets aren’t sure what happened. She developed a urinary tract infection. While being treated for it, she started having seizures, and then something we can only describe as a stroke. By the time we got her to emergency care, she was gone. We’re comforted by knowing that she at least enjoyed six weeks of happiness before she went, and that she’s at peace now.
We’d like to thank all the people who have been part of this story — those of you who stepped up to donate, those of you who stepped up to adopt, and those of you who stepped up to help care for these wonderful little dogs, that gave back so much more than they were given.
Pasado’s Safe Haven raised a lot of money to help these dogs, as only its public relations machine can, but we’ve never seen a penny of it. While the vet is being very patient, the bills have topped $10,000. And while we’d do it again in a heartbeat to save a life, this is a great deal of money for us. If you’d like to help us pay these bills, please go to our How to Help page, and pick an option. Not only will the doxies appreciate it, so will the next animal that comes to us in need.
Adoptions! Gracie and Phoebe have gone to their wonderful new forever home! They are now living with Mom Kim and Brother Sterling and having the time of their lives.
That leaves three in search of their rest-of-life homes. Mary, our long-haired female, is tumor-free, spayed, and looking for love. Frankie and George, our long-haired and black-and-tan minis are toothless, neutered and looking for laps.
SEPTEMBER: Good news! Mary has gone to her new home. She’s living in BC now, with mom Annette, dad Mario, sister Reiku, and brother Bowser. Frankie and George are still looking for their perfect fit. Stay tuned!
NOVEMBER: Frankie and George are home! After countless surgeries to repair their jaws and their gums, they were declared ready to go, and Anne just couldn’t wait to scoop them both up and take them home to Seatac, where they have joined a whole houseful of brothers and sisters. We just love happy endings!
