On March 14 a cat named Patches was brought into the salon. Patches had been living under a porch in the bitter winter cold and snow. The lady that brought Patches in was very concerned because Patches was about ready to deliver a litter of kittens. She knew that if Patches had her babies under her porch that it was way too cold and that none of them would survive.
Patches was brought in where it was safe and warm and she was very content to be with us. We waited anxiously for the arrival of the kittens. Normally a litter of kittens is the last thing we want. Somehow Patches coming to us about ready to deliver took our minds off the events that had just happened. She took away the tears and brought smiles to our faces at a time when we thought we would never smile again. We waited patiently and Patches took her good old time. She was getting larger by the minute and her appetite was unbelievable. Every day she would look at us as if to say nope not today, I am not ready to have my babies just yet.
On Saturday, April 5, the day of our fund-raiser at around noon time, just as we were getting ready to draw the winning ticket for the trip to Cancun, Patches went into labor. By 3 p.m. Patches had delivered five of the most beautiful kittens we had ever seen. Mama and babies are all doing well.
As you may have already guessed, there were namesakes. We have little Bo Bo, Jerome, G.C., Trudy and Bobbi. Three boys and two girls. The day Patches gave birth she breathed new life into The Ark Animal Sanctuary, something we all needed. When they are old enough, two of the babies have already been adopted – little Bo Bo and Jerome. Until then Patches and her five babies are in foster care.
Patches came into the salon already named – the lady that brought her to us had named her Patches. I believe there is a reason for everything, perhaps Patches came to us to patch our broken hearts and spirits, to remind us of why we are here, to help cats like her when they have no place to go. Patches, you are a ray of sunshine. Thank you for beginning the start of our new journey out of the ashes into the light. Patches and her babies will officially be up for adoption in 5 weeks. Until then they will remain in foster care.
Until we are back on our feet we will not be posting our financials as there is a lot of paperwork that was destroyed in the fire. I can tell you that as of this date we have raised $48,000. We are hoping to raise another $20.000.00 to begin the re-building process.
Once again I would like to thank you all for your continued support and generosity. We draw our strength from you and we hope that you will continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We will keep you updated of our progress and our plans to rebuild and we look forward to hearing from you with any fund raising ideas that you might have.
Please join us outside Hollywood Pet Salon on Saturday, April 19, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a bake sale. And on Wednesday, April 30, there will be a benefit night at The Horn. We have “Out of the ashes into the light” T-shirts on sale at The Hollywood Pet salon as well. We also have a monthly 50/50 drawing going on. For more details contact Lorraine at The Hollywood Pet Salon.
Thank you for your continued support and as always thank you for reading our column.
