We received this letter from teacher Lisa Lyons, earlier this week and today she showed up with tons of donations for us! She did all the shopping which is a great bonus for us.
I remember this class very well. They were really enthusiastic, participated greatly in the discussion and had great ideas, suggestions and love for animals.
We brought Jasper and Jake in as the class “dogs” and we also had a great time.
Imagine our thrill to receive the following email:
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Hi, Kerry and Matt!
You came into my classroom earlier in the school year to talk to my class about the importance of treating animals with kindness and empathy. My class donated coins throughout the year to help you guys out at Pets Alive and we totaled it up the other day and we have about 96$. It is literally a bag filled with coins. 
Would you like me to transfer that into cash or a check or take the money and get items at the store? Let me know. Thanks!
~Lisa Lyons
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Featured Letters by kerry on Jul 01, 2009. There are comments.
PLEASE CROSS POST
This is a Call for Action directed to any and all people who have feelings of respect, and love, and compassion for animals, and who care enough to help seek justice, and safety, for two horses who have suffered terribly at the hands of an alleged abuser.
The photos are graphic–but they are real. (Because the photos are so horrible, we are not including them IN this posting. If you wish to see them, and have a strong stomach, you can see them here: http://www.petsalive.com/leecruelty.htm - THEY ARE TRULY HIDEOUS - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!). They are documentation of just how much suffering was inflicted on these two innocent animals at the hands of the person responsible for their care. Look at them, and please: stand up for justice. Stand up with us to protect the future of these animals. Stand up with us to send the message, loud and clear, that animal abuse in New York State will not be tolerated, and will be punished, with a vengeance.
Stand up for Suzi, who has hurt so much, for so long. Join forces with others who care. Be her voice. Tell her story. Defend her right to live without pain and suffering. Send the message, loud and clear, that there are people who will fight for those who cannot fight for themselves, with voices, with letters, with phone calls, with faxes, with their hearts and minds, with their outrage–outrage that animal cruelty is not viewed as an accountable crime, that people can do such things, and simply–walk away: walk away with the very animal they tortured beside them, his/her heart hammering with fear and despair as people do nothing more than shake their heads and turn away.
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Animal Rescue by kerry on Jun 17, 2009. There are comments.
Sanctuary animal updates:
Since our last update on May 19th the following dogs were adopted: Terry2, Rebecca, Doris, Frenchy, Sammy, Denver, Sparky, Yogi (but was returned), Jasper, Dudley, Paisley, Strutter, Tangelo, Glacier, Zesty, Agassi, Forbes, Charmin, Treasure, Nanook, Denali, Scooter, Stewie, Finnegan, Moxie, Honeycomb, Lola, Dempsy, Samson, Scrappy Doo, Penelope, Clover, Bambi, Juniper, Breeze, Jazz, Sadie, Precious. Precious had an amazing story and you can read all about her here. She is now safely in her new home with one of our daily volunteers - Sonya. They are BOTH so happy and we are really glad. This was truly a great match. Foxy, one of our horses was also adopted this month.
Snausage was once again, NOT adopted. This is a picture of him telling everyone what he thinks of that. Sorry Snausage. We will try again this month for you.
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Updates by kerry on Jun 16, 2009. There are comments.
Dear Doggie Friends,
I hope this email finds you well and happy in your new home. The reason I am writing is because everyone at Pets Alive misses you. We miss you A LOT! This place just isn’t the same without your furry face. To show you just how much we miss you and how much we love you, we all got together and came up with a fabulous idea– WE’RE THROWING A BIG PARTY IN YOUR HONOR! Please come, and bring your people with you, of course. Enjoy this special day with your family as our guests.
Event: The Alumni Picnic
When: Saturday June 20th 11am to 3pm
Where: Pets Alive, 363 Derby Rd. Middletown, NY
What: Mostly we want to reminisce and love on you, but there will also be lots of good food and fun things for you to do, including:
- A Blessing of the Animals led by our very special guest Reverend Eleni: The Reverend is coming a very long way JUST TO SEE YOU (don’t tell the others, they think she is coming to see them, too). This blessing is for all your animal friends, and for all people who are friends of animals, and for you, too! (Yes, can you believe it? Even though you are already so blessed to have found such a wonderful forever home!)
- A Parade: This is your big chance to strut your stuff in front of everyone!
- Contests: Bone up (no pun intended) on your fast tail wagging and speedy sits!
- Human/Dog look-alike competition: They say people start to look like their dogs after a while, so get your most special person to spruce up a bit so he or she resembles you even more!
Everyone at Pets Alive is keeping their paws crossed waiting to hear that you will come! Please RSVP BY JUNE 13th, and tell us how many humans (adults/children) you will bring along, so we can try to figure out how much food to get! (RSVP by sending an email to volunteers@petsalive.com). If you don’t RSVP, you can still come but it would really help us to have a guess at about how many people to expect. Please also note that we will clear out the outside runs and put all of our dogs in the kennel for the day. Your dog can stay in the run all day so we can go to each one to visit with them!
YARD SALE A BIG SUCCESS!
You raised over $3500! Hats off to our dedicated volunteers, and to everyone who baked, sewed, donated items for sale, lent tables, tents, and devoted their time to making this day a success - without you none of this would be possible!
Special thanks to Becky, the organizer – she is the YARD SALE QUEEN! And to Carmine, who worked so hard all week. To Donna for her doggie bandannas, they were a big seller; to Melissa, who sent a ton of baked goodies; to Roxanne for another successful 50/50 and a merchandise raffle; and to Annemarie, for the awesome dog biscuits - dogs loved them so much that they sent their people back for more, to J&J Tent Rentals for coming and setting up and breaking down a tent that day - at no charge to us!
A BIG THANK YOU to all the volunteers who setup, worked the sale and cleaned up - Joy, Debby & Keith, Yvonne, Russ, AnneMarie, Andrew & Matthew, Debbie V., Linda, Simon & Stephanie, Nicole, Roxanne, John, Mimi, Larry & Chris, Stacey, Trudy, Alex, Danielle, Linda, Albert, Megan, Melissa, Carmen, Carmine, Barbara, John, Tom, Sara, Jen, Kim, Lucia, Linda. If we forgot to mention you, we’re sorry - but we thank you, too! Finally to Juan and Marcos, thanks for all your help – you guys are great!
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Updates by kerry on Jun 11, 2009. There are comments.
Dear Sirs,
My beloved dog, Baxter, passed away of a heart attack and I had just purchased many pills for him.
I would like to donate them to you, as you keep animals alive and I respect that so much. I know you have older animals and are in need of these meds, Please use them the best way you can for the most needed.
I am also enclosing a small check for whatever you need.
I hope it helps somewhat.
Thank you for caring for pets.
Sincerely,
Lorraine N.
P.S. If at all possible can you send me a receipt for the donation …for my tax records. If not, not to worry.
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Featured Letters by kerry on May 29, 2009. There are comments.
Sanctuary animal updates:
Since our last update on April 9th the following dogs were adopted: Terry (that is him in the picture with his new brother), Ellie (came back and was adopted again), Sarah, Chet, Apricot, Liberty, Jinx, Fiona, Slash, Magnolia, Banker, Sampson, Lil Ann, Greta, Bundy, Willie, Randall, Tanner, Sissy, Kelly, Winner, Alex, Swampy, Chester, Nyssa, Llaylia, Aggie (came back), Keena, Lab Lady, Shep Lady, Elvis, Deja, Jack, Bella, Moet, Vu, Bubba (went BACK home), Johnny Cash, Bertha, Max, Deja, Boxcar Willie, Chester, Hola, Amigo, Major, Lima Bean, Fresco, Limo, Sadie, Joe, Blondie, Memphis Belle, Sable, and Brittany. Cashew - A CAT - went home too! YES WE ADOPTED OUT A CAT! Almost 60 animals found homes this month. Nice going team. The staff at Pets Alive, and our volunteers - are AMAZING.
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Updates by kerry on May 19, 2009. There are comments.
Precious will be arriving at Pets Alive on the 23rd.
This is such a touching story and so many special people reached out to try to help this poor assiduous soul. I wanted to share her story with you and to introduce you to a very special rescue person named Anita. Anita is the one writing almost all the below. She takes very badly damaged dogs into her home and works with them before sending them on to rescue. We have taken many dogs from her in the past. Unlike many rescue people, Anita is still so kind and so courteous and so very compassionate. She isn’t pushy and she doesn’t play the “guilt card”. She never lies to you about a dog. She is brutally honest about all their issues and what she has done to try to help them. Many rescue people are NOT like that. I am not beating up on rescue folk. God knows that their hearts and souls are so damaged and so wounded that all they can often think about is how to save that next dog and if someone would just give this dog a chance…and it consumes them and it keeps them awake at night. So I am NOT beating up on them, but most have been doing it for so many years that they become jaded and weary and willing to do anything to save the animal. I do not sit in judgment of them. I applaud all their efforts and I grieve with them over their failures. Yet once in a while you meet someone different. Someone that has not become bitter and someone who can still tell you about a dog with feeling and emotion and passion and deep love and understanding. My hat is off to this very special woman. Anita …..thank you for what you do and for who you are. We look very forward to meeting Precious and finding her a person to love her and give her a chance. Thanks for loving her and caring for her and seeing past her wounds and her damage.
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Why we do this by kerry on May 17, 2009. There are comments.
So back in January we get an email from this guy named Anthony. He is an artist (well not in REAL life, in real life he does document handling or something that isn’t as interesting as his painting). He said the following:
First, I would like to say that I absolutely love this sanctuary. I would love to visit some day, hopefully with an adoption in mind. Currently, I am starting to work on a series of Acrylic Paintings, small ones, that I plan to leave at random places like bus stops or libraries, shelters, where ever, for people to just take if they want it, for free. These works will be my “Inspire” series, and have the number in which they were painted on them. In addition to the rest of the information about the paintings, I would love to place the web address for Pets Alive on the back of the paintings.
Wow. How amazing is this? Someone that never met us, found out about us, believed in what we do here and is using his talent to make a difference for us. We were amazed. Anthony and I chatted on and off in email for a while, then he donated some oils for our Penny Social and then we got around to asking him if he would do a mural for us on the wall, on the brick house stairs. We had wanted to do this for some time but the artist we had been talking to lived very far away and we couldn’t make it work out. Anthony started later that week. First he had to prime the walls - he did the entire downstairs and upstairs. It looked great. Then he came every weekend until the mural was done.
This past Sunday, he finished.
It is so cheery and so happy and really fun. It brightens the whole house and everyone who walks in stops to stare and they ALWAYS smile and say something akin to “wow”. Yep. Wow. In the past few months we’ve all gotten to know Anthony, he has helped us in various ways and attended our events, and now I wouldn’t hesitate to refer to him as a friend. Check out his website too when you get a chance: http://www.anthonytrott.com/
Thanks Anthony for doing this for us. It’s beautiful and greatly appreciated! Below is a picture (pending a better from Becky - I am no photographer) and of course that is Scrumpy (aka Tommy) sitting at the top. I LOVE it! Always puts a smile on my face when I walk in here (as if there wasn’t enough reason to smile before!).
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Updates by kerry on Apr 21, 2009. There are comments.
Sanctuary animal updates:
Since our last update on March 12th the following dogs were adopted: Owen, Lilah, Arnie, Xandy, Swampy (but came back), Dylan, Clarence, Augie, Connie, Darla (but came back), Pokey, Daffodil, Jasper, Murphy, Blue, Kylie, Miriam, Doty, Diamond, Williard, SunLi, Suzy, Miley, Isis (but came back), Abby, Meadow, Garth, Rufus, Jillie, Middy, Rigsley, Lil Pip, Smokey, Zippy, Sounder, Kendall (came back and was adopted again), Sonny, Pancake, Blossom and Astor. Yes, that is 40 dogs. Nice going everyone!
We even adopted out two cats. Not only that but they were FIV cats! Sweet Pea and Ginny went home. Two FIV cats…it is just so wonderful that people are starting to understand that FIV cats are not something to be terrified of. We’re going to add a section (thanks Sandy!) to our website (as soon as I can find ten minutes to get to it) about FIV cats and the myths, etc. Unfortunately we also had a cat that died this month - our older feral cat Zack passed away. R.I.P Zacky.
One of the standouts as far as adoptions goes is Middy. Middy got adopted by Extreme Canines. Check out their website. They have videos that will blow your mind. Our little Middy is going to be a performance dog. GO MIDDY! They are also interested in coming back here at the end of the summer to do a fundraiser with us. How cool would that be?
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Updates by kerry on Apr 10, 2009. There are comments.
Giant Egg Hunt at Pets Alive - with special guest
On Saturday, April 11th (from 11am - 3pm), Pets Alive will be holding our first annual Egg Hunt and Family Fun Day!
The Easter bunny has agreed to make a special appearance at Pets Alive on April 11th. He is coming to run a giant egg hunt and many games and prizes for the kids. There will be face painting, prizes, photos, food, cotton candy, and much more! We will also have a spring flower sale and a bake sale. Event will run between 11 am - 3 pm. Fee is $2 per child (extra donations always welcome as well as bake sale items!) This should be a really fun event, we hope you will come!
Yuk it up to benefit Pets Alive
Middletown’s own Manhattan Comedy Club (YES! - this is in Middletown, just ten minutes away from Pets Alive) is hosting a night of comedy to benefit Pets Alive.
The event will take place on April 19, at 7:00 PM, at the Manhattan Comedy Club, 400 rt 211 East, Wallkill Plaza, Middletown, NY. There will be three comedians, a 50/50 raffle, door prizes and a short live auction with an auctioneer, and cocktails! Steve Schaffer from the Tonight Show, and Comedy Central’s Tony Darrow and Rich Franchasi will be performing that night. Tax deductible snickers, chortles and guffaws, and the money goes to Pets Alive. What could be better? You can buy your ticket right now by clicking the link below - or from the main page of our website (which allows you to buy multiple tickets). Tickets are $45:
We must sell 100 tickets to this event! Please ask your family, friends and neighbors to come along. We have only sold 25 tickets so far and if we don’t sell at least 100 more, we will have to cancel the event and refund those purchases. Please help make this event a success. We are trying very hard to raise money by giving something back - a dinner, an all day event, a comedy night - anything to try to raise much needed funds but also provide you a day or an evening out along with a tax deduction. We know the economy is in a bad way, which is prompting us to try to be more creative in our fund raising attempts - so please help support us in this way, as well as the businesses offering up their halls and clubs to us for the night.
Allura Designs Fundraiser to Benefit Animals of Pets Alive!
Pets Alive will receive 25% of the total sales of all orders placed in April through Debby Renna (one of our regular volunteers). Please go to www.Alluradesigns.com, and take a peek at all of the unique jewelry and gifts. Click on the individual pages of the catalog. The online catalog just doesn’t do the jewelry justice. The gems are gorgeous, are made of dichroic glass and all Allura gems are Made In The USA!
For only $4 shipping you can have your order shipped directly to your home. Contact Debby Renna at drenna2000@gmail.com to order. She accepts paypal or credit card payments. Thank you for helping Pets Alive! (If you are local or are a volunteer at Pets Alive Debby can deliver items to you).
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Updates by kerry on Apr 01, 2009. There are comments.