PURR-ANGELS NEWS OCTOBER 2020
PURR-ANGELS is an all-volunteer non-profit serving Siskiyou County since 2006.
Our mission is to provide compassionate care for and population control of feral/homeless felines through colony management programs; abandoned or abused cat and kitten foster and adoption programs and spay/neuter/vaccinate clinics.
As of October 1, 2020, we have conducted 141 free clinics and have spayed, neutered and vaccinated 5,466 cats and kittens!
WHAT WE DO:
Spay/Neuter community (feral) cats at no cost – we ask for a donation only!
Included for each cat: vaccinations including rabies and if necessary worming,
flea/tick treatment, ear mite treatment, and antibiotics.
Each cat gets an ear tip to identify it as one we do not have to recapture!
WHY WE DO IT:
Every year we see many unwanted kittens! They are found in backyards, in garbage piles, on the street, and even along the highways. Some of us rescue these kittens who are in dire need of medical attention and love. Then we raise them until they can be altered and a suitable home can be found.
GOAL: No more unwanted kittens!
This goal can be achieved in time through educating people on the importance of spay/neuter! It will also require volunteers to work together through clinics, trapping, transporting and finding cats that need care. Feral cats are very good at being invisible requiring us to wear our detective hats at times! PURR-ANGELS has been working ‘behind the scenes’ for the last 14 years to alter community (feral) cats that roam the streets and hide in various places. Most have been abandoned or ‘dumped’ by people unwilling or unable to find them a suitable home. Over time they become less trusting of humans (except for their food providers). It is so rewarding to be able to capture, alter, vaccinate and return these cats to their home in good health where they can live out their life as rodent hunters, not breeders!
We have volunteers who regularly feed these cats and also watch the colonies to help make sure any ‘newcomers’ are also fixed and healthy. This takes time, resources and lots of love! We are so grateful for our volunteers! (Please see Volunteer Tab).
CHANGES IN 2020:
WE’VE MOVED!!! We have acquired the former Yreka Veterinary Hospital at 106 E Oberlin Rd in Yreka as of July 1. We moved in the last 2 weeks of July and had our 1st Clinic on August 16th! (Thank you movers: Paula, Jan, Maggie, Cindy, Barbara, Nick, Denise, Kasey, Penny, JonMichael, and Bonnie!)
Dr. Nina Akana started working with us in February!
A TRIBUTE TO DAYNA
Dayna Ferrier was a vet tech and animal lover who was dedicated to caring for all animals. She started working with PURR-ANGELS at our very first clinic held at the Siskiyou County Animal Shelter in 2006. When PURR-ANGELS moved to the donated site at 100 Payne Lane in 2007, (thank you Rory McNeil for your awesome service to our community!), Dayna set up procedures and routines for the clinics and trained volunteers in the art of after-surgery care.
Dayna was a very important part of the PURR-ANGELS family for the next 6 years until her passing in late 2012. She graciously donated to local animal groups including PURR-ANGELS. We carefully invested our donation in the hopes that some-day Dayna’s money would be used to carry out the good works of feral cat spay/neuter for our community.
In March 2020, we had the opportunity to purchase the former Yreka Veterinary Hospital building at 106 E Oberlin Rd in Yreka with our investment funds from Dayna. It is here in our new home that we will continue this service for many years to come!
Dayna was truly a saint in her love for, and care of the animals. Sometimes without patience for humans, she soldiered on taking care and leading by example. Together WE CAN save them all. However she always reminded me that no one can do it alone. We must each do the best we can to help each animal in front of us wherever we find ourselves. She was so instrumental in PURR-ANGELS being what it has become today; let’s all continue her work and honor her inspiration.
- Jackie
I joined PURR-ANGELS about 13 years ago. I thought I knew cats, but boy, was I wrong! I wanted to work with what was then known as the ‘tipping station’. Dayna was the leader there, and I can say she taught me everything I know about feral cats, and the program in which we work. Dayna was straightforward and respectful in teaching, kind and positive in attitude in her belief in our mission. Not critical, just there to work together to do the job. She got very sick and even then came to clinics, sat on a stool and did what she could. I’ll never forget her as my mentor and the impact she made on PURR-ANGELS. - Pat H.
THANK YOU CORNER!!
Many thanks to Jayne Keller for making the connection with Drs. Robert and Denise Cook for the purchase of our new building! Many thanks to them for working with us to make the purchase happen—even through the pandemic!
Special thanks go to Lisa Nixon, Attorney, and Kim Eastman at Siskiyou Escrow Services for guiding us in the purchase every step of the way!
Thank you also to David Walton, VP of PURR-ANGELS, for successfully investing Dayna’s money and following it for the last 7 years to be sure we could purchase something when the time came and carry on in this most important work as was Dayna’s wish.
Special thanks to Dr. Amy Fousek who is our premise permit holder and continues to guide us in our mission. She has been working with us for the last few years. She has a very busy practice in Siskiyou County.
Also, special thanks to Dr. Nina Akana who started working with us in Feb. 2020. Dr. Akana grew up in Yreka, graduated from YHS and is now able to help her hometown community with her veterinary skills! Under her leadership, we’ve been able to have 6 clinics since May with over 230 cats altered!!
And THANK YOU to all our volunteers, supporters and clients who make our mission possible and successful!
