Thank you Petco! Hurricane Dorian & Sheltering in Place

We are facing a difficult time with the Coronavirus rampaging across the world leaving destruction and tragedy in its wake. As we all “shelter-in-place” it may be helpful to reflect on what was happening last year…as we faced another challenge: the destruction of Hurricane Dorian. We offer the following summary of these events in gratitude to all of our Paws and Love family and to the Petco Foundation for their support of the Sanctuary’s recovery.  It is a reminder that we are all in this together and that we can all “Pause and Love” our neighbors – even while we are socially distant! Be safe and well!​

Remembering Hurricane Dorian and the Spirit of Recovery!
During times of natural disaster, we often see the very best of people as individuals and community members rally to support each other. In the case of Paws and Love, the support included a population of vulnerable cats: the 115 Sanctuary residents! Volunteers Jessica and her husband Dusty Radcliff came with front end movers and gloves to help sort out the tree limbs. Julie and Ed Adams came with other volunteers from their church to offer a hand in patching the fences. The team brought chainsaws to help with limb removal (see picture).
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Hurricane Dorian downed trees, damaged Sanctuary buildings, and destroyed much of the perimeter fencing needed to keep the cats safe. In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Dorian’s destruction, the outpouring of community support included: donated generators by Phil and Mary Ruth Coleman, volunteers to move cat food and supplies to a safe area, help with removing tree limbs, and patching the fence to safe-guard and protect the cats.

While the cats were wet and scared, they were okay.  Ally, Brianna, and Penelope were heartbroken to see their favorite tree completely uprooted. This tree was their safe shelter where the three of them often took refuge snuggling within a den at the base of the tree (see pictures attached). We found these three under a building soaking wet, muddy, shaking and disoriented. When everyone had left the initial cleanup Ally, Brianna and Penelope found each other again, cleaned each other, ate together and established a new den under one of the buildings!

As a result of the quick community response, no cats were lost or hurt. The remaining property, however, was left with serious damage from downed trees. Thanks to a generous donation from the Petco Foundation, Paws and Love was able to restore the Sanctuary. We are grateful to the Petco Foundation for this support!​

Paws and Love operates on a small budget and without the Petco Foundation’s support, the tree removal and needed repairs to our property would have jeopardized our ability to care for the 115 Sanctuary residents, cats with high needs (i.e. seniors, cats with disabilities, cats who are extremely shy/feral, and those who would not likely survive a typical feral-colony). The Petco Foundation’s support allowed us to repair the Sanctuary while continuing care for the Sanctuary residents and our commitment to TNR efforts across our county (in 2019 our TNR included over 460 cats). We are very grateful for the support of the Petco Foundation in response to Hurricane Dorian’s impact on the Sanctuary and our Eastern North Carolina communities. We all continue to shelter-in-place! ​