URGENT HELP STILL NEEDED!

Yesterday I received a Best Friends email about the plight of a cat rescuer -- located 15 minutes from me, so I contacted her to offer my help. Tammy Rothrock lives in Brazil, Indiana, where she and her husband, in their home of more than 20 years, have been rescuing stray cats and providing them with safe, healthy lives. Right now they have 31 kitties in their large home, all spayed, neutered, and vaccinated, with regular vet care. Just look at some of these precious babies ...The Rothrocks are operating legally: the City of Brazil issued a kennel license to them last year, and they were in the process of organizing as a non-for-profit rescue shelter. Now the city has suddenly decided that her area isn't zoned for "business", that her kennel license isn't valid, and they've ordered her to get rid of all her cats. And they've also ordered her husband to immediately shut down the auto repair business he has operated on the property for more than 20 years!

This loving couple is using their own money to do the city's work by taking in and caring for stray animals that would otherwise be out on the streets breeding. And instead of thanking them and supporting them, the city is making Tammy get rid of the cats she loves, destroying the family business and taking away their income ... and ultimately making them give up their family home, because rather than give up their beloved cats and their rescue efforts, the Rothrocks have put their house up for sale!THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS and I ask the entire Cat Blogosphere to join forces to prevent what their city is doing to the Rothrocks. Here's what we can do:

1) First, I ask you to please read the full information and watch the news video:

Video & TV news: Rescue Shelter forced to shut down

Newspaper: The city of Brazil has gone catty

2) Then, I hope you'll join me in emailing the following city officials to protest their actions and suggest more humane solutions before their "work session" next Thursday, Apr. 24. Let them know the state you're writing from so they'll realize this is more than a local response, and please copy me at artsycatsy(at)yahoo(com) so I can compile a record of the emails for the Rothrocks. (Remember to be polite and courteous - anger could make the situation worse!):

Michele Altman, City Plan Administrator: michele@brazil.in.gov

Mayor Ann Bradshaw: ann@brazil.in.gov

Sam Glover, City Council Member: samglover@brazil.in.gov

Patricia Heffner, City Council Member: patheffner@brazil.in.gov

Karen McQueen, Clerk/Treasurer: karen@brazil.in.gov

3) You can also email a Letter to the Editor of the Brazil newspaper.

4) If anyone has any experience with this kind of situation and might have some advice for the Rothrocks, please email me at artsycatsy(at)yahoo(dot)com and I will immediately pass your info on to Tammy.

5) Finally, if you could put a link to this story, or re-post it on your blog or Catster, or anywhere else you can think of, it will help get even more emails to these people.

Thank you SO MUCH for anything you can do! This situation tears at my heart, because I could find myself in the same situation - the number of rescued cats in the Artsy Catsy household exceeds that allowed by my city's ordinances ... as may be the case for many of us in the Cat Blogosphere. As a recent Alley Cat Allies mailing said:

"Across this country, citizens are being punished for caring for stray and feral cats. These caregivers did not create the colonies of cats - they are serving their communities by humanely caring for them. But according to antiquated animal control laws and uninformed community leaders, each of these Good Samaritans deserves to be punished ... WE must change outdated animal control laws, policies and practices. WE must stop caregivers from being punished for doing the right thing."

~~ Sharolyn

Two Percent Tuesday

Only 2 more days to the Artsy Catsy

Thanksgiving-Christmas fundraiser

for

Cat Friends Helping Friends at the Cat Blogosphere

and the Rescue Farm!

Today I'm going to let Jodi tell you in her own words how Jeremiah the horse, and his seeing eye cow, whose name is Two Percent, came to live with Jodi and Matt at the Rescue Farm ....

"In 2001, we heard about a rancher whose wonderful horse, Jeremiah, his companion and riding pal for 9 years, had gone blind from a vaccine reaction. The rancher said he wasn’t going to spend money for 20 more years on a horse that couldn’t “do anything in return.” So, of course, we took Jeremiah.

We doted on him, but he just seemed lonely. We thought it was our lucky day when the police called and asked if we could take a stray horse they found near the highway. She was skin and bone! We named her Lurlene and she and Jeremiah hit it right off. After 3 weeks of vet care, she was a different horse; she was playful and filling out nicely and so happy to be loved! But I woke up one day and went outside to find Lurlene, and a colt, lying dead beside Jeremiah. The vet said she’d been so ill and thin a month earlier, she’d probably already lost the colt, so with no heartbeat they didn’t discover she was pregnant.

The day we found her was Christmas Eve, and Matt & I were so devastated we stayed in like hermits for the whole holiday.

Jeremiah wasn’t himself after losing Lurlene, so we started looking for another horse that needed to be loved. Then came Cody, an 8-month-old male horse who was born with a twisted backbone, and his owners were ready to send him to “sale” (aka slaughter for meat.) We brought Cody to the Rescue Farm and fell in LOVE with him! He was so sweet and loved his treats and basking in the sun.

Because of his defective spine, sometimes he couldn’t get up from lying in the sun and Matt & I would have to get him back on his feet – it often took us hours. After a year, he started having more and more trouble until we were pulling him up every day. One day we tried for hours and hours, but Cody was just done fighting and he passed on. How we mourned our sweet Cody.

We tried and tried to find another special-needs horse, with no luck, and Jeremiah was so lonely. Then in late 2003 our vet called to tell us her neighbor had two newborn calves who needed to be bottle fed because their mother died giving birth. We brought one of them home and named her Two Percent because that was her milk choice.

Two Percent has grown up with Jeremiah and she doesn’t know she’s a cow – she thinks she’s a horse! He immediately fell in love with Two Percent, and she quickly started serving as his “seeing eye cow”! She leads Jeremiah wherever he wants to go, and if Two Percent is led away from him, Jeremiah just panics.

Ironically, we discovered that Two Percent is a hermaphrodite. That means she can’t give milk and can’t have offspring. Hermaphrodite cows, in ranchers’ eyes, can’t “do anything in return” and are killed. If they could see Two Percent with Jeremiah, they would realize what a precious gift she is giving in return for just being loved! And Matt & I have been blessed with two of the greatest big pets anyone could have!"

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS!

From Sharolyn: Rocky has relinquished our blog to me for the next week so I can announce some exciting activities here at Artsy Catsy. We've been very busy organizing new programs, creating new products … and capturing and finding refuge for the mama of the four feral kittens (here, here and here) we most recently rescued, along with two more of her kits.

Artsy Catsy’s mission is to help raise funds for kitties in need by offering artistic creations by cat lover for cat lovers. We’re pleased to announce two new ways to get those funds into the paws of the cats who most need them:

Cat Friends Helping Friends

We've been working with Robyn at the Cat Blogosphere, and we're excited to announce that, as of today, Artsy Catsy will donate 10% of all sales from our blog to Cat Friends Helping Friends to help blogging cats and families in need!

We hope that over time, as we launch our web site and expand Artsy Catsy, this will evolve into a substantial ongoing donation!

The Rescue Farm

As you know, Rocky has forbidden me from hiring any more cat staff members, so it's been a constant battle to find homes for the cats and kittens that we rescue here at Artsy Catsy. A few months ago I discovered the Rescue Farm, a non-profit no-kill rescue working to end euthanasia of adoptable animals. It's an unbelievably lovely organization run by a couple, Jodi (a former v.e.t. tech) and her husband Matt, who have dedicated their lives to becoming the "Best Friends" of the midwest. I've posted a few photos here, with lots more to come.

Artsy Catsy will donate an additional 10% of our proceeds to help the Rescue Farm with their important work.

Although they don't usually accept animals from the general public, Matt and Jodi gave the feral kittens we recently rescued a loving home on their 40-acre Rescue Farm. And this week they'll be welcoming with open arms the very feral mama of those four kittens, along with two more from her last litter. The Rescue Farm works diligently to arrange adoptions for their rescues, but in the case of ferals, they spay/neuter, give them vet care, and provide them with a loving home on their farm. From January through October of this year alone, Jodi and Matt have found loving homes for more than 650 cats and dogs.

I knew the Rescue Farm was a very special place when I met the blind horse they rescued and its rescued seeing-eye cow! I'll be telling you this special story this week, as I post lots of pictures and information so you can get to know the wonderful people at the Rescue Farm and meet some of their rescued animals. And every Friday we'll be featuring one of their kitties who needs a home!

Exciting New Products for Cat Lovers!

The biggest shopping day of the year, the day after Thanksgiving ("Black Friday" ) is almost upon us. To quickly start raising funds for the Rescue Farm and the Cat Blogosphere -- and to help you shop for Christmas without getting crushed in mall stampedes -- starting Thanksgiving evening, we're going to feature some great new gifts and Christmas items for all you cat lovers and the cats you love!

So try to visit us lots this next week, even though it's going to be a busy one for all of us! And please accept my apology for so blatantly inviting you to shop, but we'll use one-fifth of everything you spend to help your kitties and friends!