Message from our President:
Welcome Friends!
I have so much good news to report to you, our wonderful supporters! Thanks to YOU, we have accomplished so much!
I’m happy to be able to begin my update by telling you that we passed a major milestone when we made our 9,000th adoption at the end of January!
Click on the image above to read or download this issue of The Scratching Post (pdf format).
Take a look at the joyful photo inside as Diana and Gregg Zwilling of Wake Forest adopted Hummingbird and Golden Sands. Golden Sands was abandoned at the shelter in a carrier in September of 2017 and Hummingbird was found in a person’s yard as a stray. Even though the average length of stay in our shelter is 4 weeks, Golden Sands waited 17 weeks for Diana and Gregg…but it was worth it!
Volunteers and adopters alike are always interested in knowing where all the cats at SAFE Haven come from. They are all stray, abandoned, injured or orphaned, and here is the breakdown: Of the 872 cats in our shelter last year, 467 were strays found by members of our community, and 236 were transferred to SAFE Haven from the Granville, Franklin, Orange and Wake County Animal Shelters. Finally, 29 were abandoned here, while 44 came from hoarders and 96 came from immediate life-threatening situations.
Beyond serving our community by directly taking stray animals our neighbors have found, SAFE Haven is a friendly place to adopt a cat. Our philosophy is based on an open adoption process that is conversation based, non-confrontational and welcoming. Cats can go home the same day! There are no off-putting home visits! We enjoy hosting families with children! The hardest part for you will be picking your new friend from among the 50 or so we have ready every day!
January marked another significant achievement for SAFE Haven when the 25,000th cat was sterilized at the SAFE Care Spay / Neuter Clinic. The photo below is Ann Dean and Dr. Jennifer Bledsoe-Nix, owner of the Clinic.
The 25,000th cat was a male, feral cat from Ann and her husband’s feral colony in Dunn. At that location they have a shop and take care of 10 other cats who have also used the clinic. The sign on the cage says “I love my sterile feral. TNVR Saves Lives!” (TNVR = Trap/Neuter/Vaccinate/Return).
At the SAFE Care Clinic, every customer is treated with respect, regardless of whether or not they can pay the already low fee of $85. In fact 30% of the clinic customers receive these services for free or half price. This is thanks to our supportive donors and national leaders in the field of animal welfare such as The Petrie Foundation and PetSmart Charities.
And, we simply can’t say it enough: Our hundreds of dedicated and hard-working volunteers are the key to our success, along with a veterinary and shelter staff of ten. Their $200,000 of time donated to the cats each year goes a long way towards helping us keep our overhead expenses at 17.5%.
Be sure to read about our education programs, our Pet Food Pantry (the only pet pantry in Wake County), and our upcoming events including the largest one of the year…The Tuxedo Cat Ball…all inside this newsletter!
Congratulations to each one of you in the SAFE Haven family on these stellar accomplishments. They could not have happened without you!
With gratitude,
Pamela Miller
Founder & President
