News
Jan 26 2011
How you can help
SART has rescued from the streets over 600 cats and kittens. We are trying so hard to get this under control and we know there are many more out there wandering aimlessly around looking for food and shelter and maybe even some attention. We have adopted over 340 into wonderful homes all across the state, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. We have 270 residents in our shelter at this point.
How can you help? Get together with your neighbors, each of you throw in a $20 bill, and schedule the neighborhood stray cat you all see to be fixed. Starting February 1st you can go to the Auglaize County Humane Society and get a certificate for $15.00 off the cost of either spaying or neutering. Most of the vets in the area will match this $15.00, which puts your cost right down to what we pay at the shelter. What a gift to the animal, to your neighborhood and to the town. The cat will not have or make more babies, it will be healthier, happier, calmer, and more willing to have affection. Then, maybe, one day it will find a home.
Sign up for certificates at the Humane Society starting February 1st. Make appointments at the vet of your choice that honors these certificates and tell them you are bringing in a stray with a humane society certificate and ask if they will match the certificate. The appointment has to be between February 15th through March 15th
Can you tell a difference when you are out in the community? Not only are over 600 cats off the streets, there are not litters of babies being born every 4 months from these animals we rescued. It makes such a difference and the ones we have rescued are very well cared for, are happy, healthy and social.
Please help.
Dec 03 2010
Lifting Them Up
Those of you that read our stories know how close our SART family is. We care for the cats and kittens, we work hard as a team, and we become connected emotionally to each other and worry for each other and lift each other up whenever needed. I have often thought of doing a spotlight on each volunteer, but haven’t done so at this point. Just know that each and every one of them has special gifts they bring to SART, and each and every one of them is so appreciated! This story is not a spot light, but a request from those of you who follow and care for SART.
We need to lift up Jim and Colleen Bradley. They are such faithful volunteers at SART and work diligently whenever possible. Jim keeps the maintenance going on our construction, winterizing and summerizing, building new and better places for our residents and keeping all of our equipment running smoothly. Colleen is so faithful in the care of our residents. She is there whenever needed and works hard to keeping our shelter running smoothly. She is available at any notice if an emergency arises, and the two of them have dedicated themselves to SART and all that we do.
Their son, Brian, who is a Sergeant in the U.S. Army, was seriously injured in Afghanistan on the day before Thanksgiving. It has been a devastating blow to the Bradley family. They were heartsick with worry trying to get all the information they could so that they could step in and help when Brian arrived in the States.
On Thanksgiving morning the SART family spent time together, saying a prayer for Brian, shedding a few tears together, and affirming to stand strong and help in any way we could in this situation.
Jim and Colleen are in D.C. indefintely, and we at SART are throwing in even more hours to cover the huge shoes that need to be filled by these two dedicated volunteers. We miss them, we worry for them, and we hope that each day gets a bit easier in this time with Brian. They are more than volunteers to the SART team – they are family.
So we ask that each day, each of you please take a quiet moment and lift up a prayer for the Bradley family. We know you will be heard.
Nov 26 2010
Thanksgiving at SART
We all have so many things to be thankful for, and I wanted to take a moment to say how thankful I am for our SART family. At 9:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning 6 volunteers showed up to help take care of our 280 cats and kittens for the day. We divided up, armed ourselves with all of our supplies and headed out. But first, we shared thanksgiving turkey and mashed potatoes with each and every cat at SART. One of the volunteers made a turkey for them and shredded all the meat and had it ready to mix with mashed potatoes so that they, too, could have a special feast. It was so fun sharing with them!
Our SART family has a huge passion for our animals and work diligently to take care of our cats’ needs each and every day. And because of this connection, the bond has spread far beyond the confines of SART into the personal lives of each and every one of us. We have become a family. We cry together, we laugh together, we pray together and we work hard together. This is what families do. And I am so grateful for each and every one of our volunteers – without you, the care and concern for our residents would be difficult to complete each day and we would not be able to do all that we do. SART is a wonderful place to be, but more importantly, we have found that it is a wonderful place to be with those who share what we do. We are a family.
In this season of gratitude please do not forget SART. We welcome financial donations which go directly to the medical care of our residents. We also welcome donations that we use on a daily basis and always seem to run out of. Check out our donation page for ideas of what we would love to receive.
Family – we care for one another, we help one another, and we are there for one another. And we all pitch in for SART. We are family.
Nov 07 2010
Kroger and SART have teamed up!
SART has joined in with Kroger in their Neighbor to Neighbor program. We now have Kroger cards for anyone who would like to help the shelter in a financial manner. The neat thing about this project is that no extra money comes out of your pocket!
Simply take your Kroger card from SART and load cash onto it — either with cash dollars or a transfer from a credit card. Then use the card every time you purchase groceries or gas at a Kroger store. Kroger will match 4% of what you purchased and designate that 4% to be put into an account for SART. When your card balance empties, re-load it and the donations continue to add up for SART!
Kroger is being very generous in helping non profit organizations with this program, and we deeply appreciate the opportunity to be involved.
If you would like to receive a card, please use the contact form on our site. Put “Kroger Card” in the subject line. Please provide your name and address, and I will drop a card in the mail for you to start using right away. Remember, anything means everything, and we are very thankful for your contributions to the residents of SART.
Nov 05 2010
How Could Someone?
Yesterday at work I received a phone call. Some passersby had stopped at the Deep Cut Park by Spencerville and had gotten out of their car to read some historical information. Three little kittens ran towards them! Sorry to say, they did not bundle them up and take them, but they did stop at a shop in St. Marys and told the owner about them, who then called me to let me know we needed to rescue them. This was at lunchtime.
All afternoon I kept thinking about them, but also thinking about the 70 plus kittens we already have at SART and how long it takes each day to care for them and keep them healthy and thriving. I tried to reason with myself that we couldn’t take them, I should just hope someone else steps up and saves them.
At 3:15 as I was leaving, my heart got tugged, and instead of turning left to go home to help at the shelter, I turned right and drove the 8 miles to Deep Cut Park. It was cold and windy, damp and dreary outside. I got to the park and no little kittens ran up to me. I looked around each little thing they could have snuggled up to get some sleep, and I still had no luck. I started walking along the edge of woods, angry that someone had decided to not be bothered with little babies, and decided to dump them in a remote area to most likely die instead.
I looked along the edge of the woods and came to where benches sit so that passersby can sit and enjoy the beautiful landscaping along the woods and creek. I thought how awful for the little ones because something had probably already killed them. I was standing there looking, and feeling so sad, when something (God?) made me look up. Sitting in a pine tree were the three precious little babies (see picture). I stretched and reached for two that were sprawled out on one branch and got them safely out. They snuggled right into me, which told me that someone had loved them, and then decided to abandon them. How could someone?
I took those two to the car and tucked them safely inside. When I came back for the third one, which was up several branches, it scampered up the tree some more in fear of what I was going to do. I had to climb the tree, dress and all, and reach for the little one before it scampered up too high for me to climb to. As I reached it toppled, but luckily a pine branch caught its fall, and I was able to climb back down and get the little babe before injury happened.
I called one of the volunteers at the shelter and told them I was bringing in 3 kittens – I am sure everyone at SART wondered where they were going to safely be kept! When I arrived, we bathed them, fed them, snuggled with them, and tucked them in a warm bed for the night. We all looked at each other and smiled, knowing that we had done the right thing. How could someone?
