October Newsletter

View this email in your browser FRIEND US! FOLLOW US! VISIT OUR WEBSITE! Happy Fall and Happy Halloween! A note from Amy Strickland, President and Founder   This is my favorite time of the year. I love the cooler weather, the holidays and, of course, Halloween (when you get to be a kid again!), but mostly I love Fall because every October we at Animal Shelter Relief celebrate another successful year of saving the lives of unwanted, abandoned & neglected animals. October 2015 marks our 7th year; since 2008 we have saved 1,336 lives! This is no small feat considering we have zero salaried employees and zero government funding. ASR survives on donations, adoption fees and a few small grants each year. Yet, no matter how tight our budget, we continue to help animals receive a second chance at life.    Currently, we are helping a little kitty named Latte, who needs very expensive surgery to live a long and healthy life (read all about Latte below). Although Latte's condition is rare and we do not often have to raise quite so much money to save every animal, we still depend on donations to provide just basic care to the animals that we rescue. Basic care can often far exceed the adoption fee we charge.    Won't you consider making a tax deductible donation to help us save the next animal that needs our help? Any and every amount helps!   THE MORE MONEY WE RAISE, THE MORE LIVES WE CAN SAVE! You can make donations via PayPal or contact me to donate supplies at: [email protected]. HELP LATTE STRAIGHTEN HER INSIDES OUT! Latte is a 5-month old, caramel tabby kitten, who flabbergasted our veterinarian. When he examined her, he couldn't feel any organs in the places that they should be!   X-rays revealed she has a diaphragmatic hernia, which means almost all of her organs are pushed up into her chest cavity, on the wrong side of the diaphragm! This explained her unique frame—expanded chest cavity with a skinny back end—and the breathing issues she's had since we rescued her.   The surgery to correct this has a very high success rate, but is also VERY expensive: $5000 in total. So far, we have raised $1800 through mostly IndieGogo and some cash donations. Please spread the word to help darling Latte before it's too late! Without it she faces a myriad of complications and will not survive.   How YOU can HELP save Latte:      ↣ DONATE to Latte's IndieGoGo     ↣ SHARE Latte's story on social media!     Elise, age 12, is a loving  Junior Foster Parent as well as a talented seamstress! This Halloween, she hand-made amazing kitty costumes for our adoptable animals!   Clockwise from top left: 1. Foster parents Robin & daughter, Elise (age 12) 2. Igor in his French maid costume! 3. Elvira, the little witch; Beatrix, thoroughly enjoying her witch costume 4. Neptune as a sweet flower! Interested in becoming a foster parent to a cat or dog in need? Click here to APPLY TODAY! Finally... thank you for helping ASR reach our 7th birthday! Through donations, fostering, volunteering and spreading the word, you help us continue to save lives. Have a safe and happy Halloween!  Sincerely,  Animal Shelter Relief is an ALL-VOLUNTEER, 501 (c) (3), California, charitable non-profit. Every donation goes directly to saving the lives of abandoned, homeless and injured animals.   Our mission is to relieve overcrowded, open-door animal shelters through rescue and placement into foster homes; thereby, reducing the euthanasia of homeless cats and dogs. Support ASR every time you shop on Amazon.com! 0.5% of every purchase you make will be donated to help our rescued animals. Buster, a one-eyed, 4 month old boy who loves to talk & get belly rubs! Anabelle, a 5 1/2 year old, rare Blue Merle Chihuahua purebred Reese, a sweet, shy, 6 month old, gray tabby boy Manson, an 11 week old comedian who loves to snuggle! Click here to see more of our adoptable animals. Adoption Fairs! Visit our adoptable animals: Every Saturday (except major holidays; 10/31 fair moved to Sun. 11/1) 12:00pm - 4:00pm PetSmart  490 River St. Santa Cruz 95060 ASR Adoptions Include: Spay/neuter Microchip (including registration) Age-appropriate vaccinations FeLV & FIV testing Routine flea & worm treatments Free pet wellness exam w/ participating vet 1 free month of pet health insurance BIG THANKS to Damien &  everyone else at Aptos Feed & Pet Supply for helping our foster care  program!  Aptos Feed is a wonderful, local pet supply store that supports its local animal welfare community and is a great place to shop! Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list *|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|*