Hey there, y’all!! For those of y’all who don’t know me, my name is Liv Romano and it’s always been my dream to work with and help animals. When I met my lifelong best friend, Olivia “Livvy” Caitlin Colby when we were in 8th grade, we instantly connected and bonded over our shared love of animals and dreamed of one day opening an animal sanctuary together. Livvy and I came very close to making our dreams come true before she suddenly, and suspiciously passed away back in March I’ve still been reeling from the immensely tragic lost of my best friend, my twin, over these past few months and have found solace in pursuing our shared dream together, making it finally become a reality. I rescued my first animal, a cat I named Mr. Wilson, back in 2016. Mr. Wilson and I just celebrated 8 years together on May 20th and he’ll be turning 9 in August!! In 2020, I adopted another cat, Jasper, and my first dog, Zulu. After the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade back in June 2022 was leaked, I knew I needed to do something more, so I tried fostering dogs. I ended up foster-failing 3 dogs (Chicago, Logan, and Bella Jean) from a high-kill shelter, the NYCACC. The last time I saw Livvy, back in September 2022, she came down from MA to visit me in MD, and to come with me as I adopted my third cat, Tiny Junior (TJ). I’ll always cherish that as a wicked special memory that we shared together When Livvy was visiting the last time we saw each other, we spoke about finally making our dreams come true to open and run an animal sanctuary together. We spoke about her moving down to MD with her cat, Calvin, so we could start rescuing more animals together and officially starting our business together. Y’all, we came so, so close to making it happen, and I desperately wish I could go back and do things differently so that I could have helped make our dreams come true and she’d still be alive today Since I had last spoken with Livvy back in October, I’ve rescued another dog (Jasmine), 3 cats (Oreo, Assata, and Valentino), and 7 kittens (Assata’s: Colby, Oliver, Caitlin, and April; Oreo’s: Shadow, Oreo Junior, and Amy). It costs a lot to care for all these babies, especially when unexpected, emergency vet visits come up, like when Caitlin almost died from hypoglycemia and sepsis almost 2 weeks ago and spent 2 nights with the amazing folks at the Veterinary Emergency Group. I’ve been paying for everything over the years out of pocket and am begging y’all for help now to keep up with all the bills these babies are racking up while we wait for grant money to come in I’m also currently without a source of income right now after starting a new job last month, and then having the job offer rescinded and the whole department I was working for cut within my first week So money is extra tight right now while I wait for unemployment benefits and grant money to come in I’ll be sure to post a budget and updates with this fundraiser to keep y’all up to date on what’s been going on with our sanctuary and the costs it’s upkeep ensues!! Thank y’all so, so much for all your unconditional love and support that has helped make this his dream come true!! I truly can’t thank y’all enough for everything or express how grateful and appreciative I am for all y’all!! I love and appreciate all y’all so much, stay tuned for more updates on our crazy, furry adventures!!