The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Cat sanctuary to celebrate 35 years
The non-profit Happy Tails Cat Sanctuary will celebrate “35 Years of Rescue” with a benefit from 5 to 8 p.m., July 22, at the American-Croatian Lodge, 34900 Lakeshore Blvd. in Eastlake. A ticket for the event costs $35 per person, and covers dinner and access to a silent auction and raffles.
Registration will begin at 4:30 p.m. with the family-style dinner will be served at 6. A cash bar will be available for alcoholic beverages.
For reservations, which are due by July 16, call or text Doreen at 440759-0076; send an email to HappyTailsCatSanctuary@gmail.com; utilize PayPal at www.HappyTailsCatSanctuary.org; or send a check or money order to Happy Tails Cat Sanctuary, P.O. Box 581, Chesterland, OH 44026. Tickets will be held “at the door.”
Tax-deductible donations to the sanctuary can also be mailed to that address or transmitted via PayPal.
In 1982, the sanctuary’s late founder, Jeanne Bones, began providing loving and often life-long care for abandoned, neglected, abused, and orphaned cats of all ages. The sanctuary is continuing to operate in a mostly cageless, indoor, “no-kill” facility.
Happy Tails President Tom Vasko said the sanctuary’s needs are ongoing for cat food, kitty litter, veterinary care, utilities, and building maintenance.
“Volunteers have come to the sanctuary every day, no matter the weather, to feed the cats, scoop litter boxes, etc., and to take cats to veterinarians when necessary,” he added. “No one at Happy Tails receives a salary. It’s a matter of love for, and devotion to, the cats. We have some adoptable cats, but we also have feral and semi-feral cats that many other shelters wouldn’t keep on a longterm basis. “Some of our elderly and ‘special needs’ cats are at the Cats’ Inn in Newbury, and we have a number of other cats in foster homes. We are also grateful to the South Euclid Humane Society, because that organization has allowed us to put cats up for adoption in their display cages when they have been available in several pet supplies stores.”
Reflecting on the past 35 years of cat rescue and care at the Chester Township-based facility, Vasko said, “Jeanne Bones devoted more than three decades of her life to saving and enhancing the lives of an incredible number of cats, and we are grateful that her compassionate legacy lives on at the Happy Tails Cat Sanctuary.”