First update: I sent Tanya the first installment ($580) from this fundraiser, and she immediately forwarded it to a cat rescue where she has taken 60 cats over the past couple of years. This money is going out to so many good places - thank you so much!
Hi, I'm Lorraine Sommerfeld. That cat is my baby, Sweet Pea. She's been missing since September 14th. This fundraiser isn't for her, however. Or me. A wonderful woman named Tanya Kucher found my post on FB and immediately contacted me. She does volunteer rescue here in Ontario, and I never could have gotten through the past few weeks without her.
Pea is not home (yet), but Tanya arrived with cages and cameras and tips for tracking timid cats who have spent their lives indoors. Night after night, hour after hour, Tanya set and monitored cameras, chased leads that came in from the 500 flyers we posted, and told me we would find her. I have not lost hope.
But people like Tanya operate without payment, and they also invest in all the gear - the cameras, the batteries, the chargers, the subscriptions, the gas - required to track elusive kitties. She also buys the food and treats and supplies needed to load cages, deal with other wildlife, and live out of a truck for as long as it takes. All while working full-time like a "regular" person. She loans out her gear to distraught pet owners and teaches them how to use it. She needs more gear.
I'm hoping to raise some money so Tanya and the people she works in cooperation with can afford more gear and supplies so they can help more cats - maybe even yours, one day. Every nickel will go towards acquiring gear and supplies; all time is volunteered. Until I lost Sweet Pea, I had no idea just how wonderful these people are. Thanks if you can help, from me and Sweet Pea.
Organizer
Lorraine Sommerfeld
Organizer
Burlington, ON