On Thursday, March 16, some of the kitties that had been in foster care finally arrived at the new building. We were so excited to see them come out of the carriers they had arrived in and start to explore their new home.
The sun was shining in the windows, and the rooms had many little nooks and crannies for them to explore and get into. Some immediately went for the shelves on the walls while others went for the more secluded areas. It was a bittersweet moment as we watched them get acclimated to their new environment.
This new building means so much to so many and it has been a work in progress for three years. The portraits of the beloved 16 who perished in the fire hang on the wall in the main lobby overlooking the five cat rooms. They are our inspiration and the reason this new building exists. Every day we look at these portraits and every day we remember March 12, 2014. It is a day that we will never forget, it was a day that forever changed our lives and a day that made us more determined to push forward to complete our mission.
Here we stand today with a beautiful new sanctuary beginning the next chapter of our lives. Thank you to everyone who has made this journey with us. Your support and generosity have helped to make all of this possible. We thank you for your patience in getting to this point. At times we thought we were never going to make it, but in the end we did. and it was well worth the wait.
Thursday was kind of an unplanned day and we decided to start moving out of the blue. Perhaps it was meant to be done on the 16th in memory of the 16 kitties that perished. I am not certain, but it just felt right. It was one of the best days ever.
While the entire building is not complete and we still have a few finishing touches which can be worked on over the next few weeks, it is now home to all of the animals in The Ark’s care. The security system is activated and code enforcement has inspected the building, giving us a seal of approval. We have a weBoost installed to boost our cell phone signal as we are down in a hole. Everything is coming together.
While we have started moving animals, we need to ask for your patience once again as we build our volunteer base. The hours we will be open to the public will be limited until we have enough volunteers to run the place. We are hoping for a schedule of 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., four hours a day, Monday through Saturday. If you would like to volunteer, please stop by The Hollywood Pet Salon for an application.
Thank you for your continued support, and as always, thank you for reading our column.
