Ark Animal Sanctuary News

by Lorraine Monfils
    In the early morning hours of Saturday, Feb. 4, a car pulls up to a very remote area near Town Line Road. A car door opens and someone drops off four black kittens approximately three months old. They drive away leaving the kittens to fend for themselves in below zero weather.
    Later that morning a gentleman goes out for his morning walk, he walks the same path everyday, but today his walk is about to be cut short. He spots four black kittens in the distance just sitting there. As he gets closer, two of the kittens move away but the other two remain still. He is about to discover why the two have not moved. He picks he first one up and his heart sinks, the kitten has a broken back and has died, he discovers the second one can’t move because her feet are frozen to the ground. He quickly sets to work freeing the little kitten from the frozen ground, he then scoops all of the kittens up and takes them back to his cabin to warm them up and feed them. On the way back to the cabin he notices the tire tracks in the snow and human footprints from the car to the spot where the kittens have been dropped.
contributed photo
These three kittens were rescued near the Town Line Road Feb. 4 after they were abanonded on the side of the road.
    The gentleman places a phone call to the Ark and we agree to take them. We anxiously wait their arrival.  At around noon they arrive, three of the sweetest little black kittens you have ever seen. They are not timid at all, they purr when we hold them and scratch them as if to say thank you. They are obviously used to the human touch and trust us unconditionally. We put them on heating pads and fill their little bellies and they snuggle in for some much needed rest – it has been a big day for them.
    The little girl whose feet were frozen to the ground is doing well with no permanent injuries. Her name is Sneakers. Her two brothers, Hunter and Trapper, are both doing wonderfully.
    Unfortunately this whole ordeal cost one kitten his life. Rest in peace Stormy, though we were not able to save you, you are not forgotten. The least we can do is tell your story to the public and let them know that what happened to you is unacceptable. These sweet little kittens are tiny breathing souls, they feel pain, they feel hunger and they feel cold, they have no voice, we are their voice and it is up to each and every one of us to do the right thing.  Pets are not disposable. They are living creatures.
    Thank you to the man and his wife for doing the right thing and saving Sneakers, Hunter and Trapper. They are forever grateful. Thank you for being a part of the solution.
    Despite the owners’ best attempt to eliminate these kittens, they failed miserably. They only caused pain and suffering.
    To put things in perspective, if the mother cat had been spayed the problem would have been solved. A simple spay costs about $100. The people had these kittens for about 3 months, if you take into consideration the cost of food and litter for that time, plus the money for the gas and the cost for their time to sneak out and drop the kittens off they were pretty close to the $100 mark. Instead four kittens were born that they didn’t want, one of which died a slow cruel death. Make sense to you? These kittens trusted the person and probably actually loved that person and in return they were abandoned with little chance of survival.
    Sneakers, Trapper and Hunter are looking for their “furever” homes. If anyone is interested in giving them a safe, warm permanent home please contact The Hollywood Pet Salon. They are remarkable little kitties.
    For the month of February, the Ark took in $2,270 in donation and fundraisers. Our expenses were $1,929.66. We took in seven cats, but adopted six. We currently have 50 cats. We took in no dogs and adopted one dog. We currently have one dog.
    Please join on Saturday, March 10, and then again on Saturday, March 24, for a bake sale outside Hollywood Pet Salon from 11 a.m, to 3 p.m. We will be serving pulled pork, meatball subs, chili, baked beans, homemade soup and baked goods. Thank you to Nancy and Bill for another wonderful evening at The Horn of Plenty.
    And as always thank you for your continued support and thank you for reading our article.