SaL10 - Crystal Tabony

Save a Life Drive 2010!

I'm hoping to collect $400 for this drive in honor of Monroe. Monroe is a 2 year old Maine Coon mix who I fostered for just a week, but who deeply touched my heart. He had recently been declawed by a previous owner who did not understand the true nature of the declawing procedure. In case you don't know, declawing requires the amputation of the last joint of each toe. And since cats walk on their toes, they experience pain immediately after the surgery and possibly for the rest of their lives. Right after being declawed, Monroe was in pain and started biting people. He was surrendered for that reason. By the time he came to my home as a temporary foster, he had healed a little more. He was nothing but sweet to me, my husband, and our other cats and fosters. He hardly moved from the couch in our spare room, probably because walking is still painful for him. I would brush him and then he would lick my hand, as he is wont to do to those people who treat him with patience and kindness. He finally started to explore our home, hardly making a sound and not fighting with the other cats. I felt such joy at seeing him getting around and finally satisfying his curiosity. But, it was just a temporary foster assignment. As I drove him to his current location at the South Congress cattery trailer, he didn't meow once. He just looked up at me with wide eyes, and I couldn't help but cry a little, wondering if we were going to find a home good enough for such a darling kitty. Monroe is also FIV+, which doesn't necessarily mean he'll be any sicker or not live as long as other cats, but it does mean he's already had enough hard knocks in life. Monroe has caught a big break with Austin Pets Alive!. We've saved his life and will make it possible for him to find a place where he can continue to heal and feel safe. Most people can't foster and meet wonderful cats like Monroe, even if they dearly wish to do so, but you could donate $5 or $10 to APA! and still save lives. Not just save, but improve the quality of life! Thank you for reading.

As our new building is coming together, we are more and more capable of saving that many more pets from euthanasia. The Save a Life Drive gives us the ability to continue saving lives when adoptions and donations tend to decrease in the fall after school starts. As you can imagine, the numbers of animals needing to be saved does not correspondingly decrease this time of year so it is even more critical that we band together to give all those dogs and cats a happy ending.

Each animal costs us about $100 for spay/neuter, vaccinations, microchipping, testing, and parasite treatments. If we raise those funds, it will be that much easier for APA to continue paying the costs for housing, adoption sites, vehicles, and all the other costs that go into saving lives.

My goal is to raise $400 to save 4 lives!