Happy Endings for CARE pets!

In December 2019, mid-Covid quarantine, the kids and I were having a very difficult time. I am a single mother of two kids that I have raised largely alone since ages one and four (now 16 and 19). Like everyone, we experienced a lot of loss over the many months of Covid. We were lucky enough that it wasn’t loss of people we love or of income; but there were many secondary losses including a prom, a high school graduation, vacations, plays, concerts, human contact, a significant relationship, a year of high school, and a first semester of college. Solution? A KITTEN! Pretty tall shoes for a 2 pound kitten to fill, but if anyone could do it, it was Rat! Rat, originally named Mae, came to us from CARE. She was re-named, in part, for her gray color. She is beautiful and full of life, and she has brought us so much joy every day. Our 8 year old cat, Cookie, was a skeptic initially — she hadn’t seen a kitten since she was one — but even Cookie is playing more, has lost some weight, and seems to be enjoying life more. Winchester-Seamus, a 7 year old, 80 pound black lab, has been thoroughly put in his place. Size is no object for Rat, who will defend her sister and her food with great ferocity (as much ferocity as a kitten can muster, anyway — but it is funny to the humans and does the job of keeping the dog away!) But with as much ferocity as she shows toward the dog, she shows love and affection to the people. She follows me down to the kitchen to make my coffee in the morning, and she sits under my chair while I work. At night, she crawls into the crook in my arms and sleeps there. She is dedicated to the kids and me, and I am every bit as dedicated to her. She is always ready when she hears the drawer that holds the laser pointer open. She will play with any toy. She has recently taken to carrying a dollar bill around in her mouth, and nothing makes her happier than being able to push a pink highlighter around. Nothing, except maybe the people that she loves. In the fall, one of the children will be at college and the other in boarding school in Vermont. For the first time, I will be an empty nester, except for my fur babies. The decision to get Rat, which felt somewhat ill-advised but irresistible at the time, has turned out to be one of my best decisions ever.

I’ve always been a cat person. It’s hard to imagine life without them. Three seems to be the magic number for my house and when I lost Andrew to a probable cancer the world was off axis. My 2 female cats Pandora and Phoebe felt it too. Andrew left big paw prints to fill, but I knew the best medicine would be to give another boy a happy home. Thankfully we found CARE and Louie—a handsome orange and white creamsicle. It’s only been a few weeks but I already love him dearly. He eats like a horse, squeaks instead of meows, chases the girls around the house and snuggles me at night. Life is good again.

Many years ago I committed to sharing a home with a wayward teenage pup who was all trouble and smiles. She had since grown into a wonderful mentor and I started looking for a pup to absorb all her goofy habits. CARE was there and ready to help our fur family find a great match. He’s a true gentleman with all, including the rescued barn cat, and is learning to be almost as adventurous as his big sister. I couldn’t be more proud of all of them and am so grateful to CARE for bringing us together. I know we always have a resource for advice and am just so thankful that we all found each other.

We lost our almost 16 year-old Lhasa Apso mix, Lady, in early February, and didn’t think we would look for a new family member right away. But, when we saw the pictures of the Peanuts gang on the CARE website, we were ready! We originally had our eye on Charlie Brown, but also had a real connection with Peppermint Patty. After going back and forth about whether we could commit to two puppies at one time, we decided the timing was right and we could do it (one small plus during these COVID times). The adoption process was thorough but efficient. Laura was great to work with as we made all of the arrangements including several pre-adoption visits. The pups have now been with us for just over two weeks. They are well adjusted; well on their way to being house trained; love to romp in the backyard; and are getting used to other people and dogs. Thank you CARE for the wonderful service you provide to animals in need…and their future forever homes.

We have been looking for an addition to our family for months. When Wooley was posted, we knew he would be the perfect fit! He gets along great with his older fur brother and loves playing in the backyard. We are so grateful we were chosen to love this goofy boy!

From the moment we met Lucy, we knew we were in love. She is a blessing to our family, and especially to her fur brother, Kenny. Kenny was so excited to have a playmate, and he and Lucy love to play all day long (with naps in between!) . The entire adoption process with CARE was wonderful. The level of attention to pairing the right dog with us was exceptional. We were impressed with the care that Lucy had received before coming home with us. From her veterinary care to her crate training and simple command training with her foster family, it all made Lucy’s transition into our home easy for her and our family. I highly recommend CARE for adopting a pet.

It’s been many years since I’ve had kitties in my house, but it finally felt like it was the right time. I was hoping to find a sweet pair of bonded girls – and Biscuit and Hushpuppy were the perfect fit! Biscuit has some eye damage due to the feline herpes virus, but you’d never know it. She loves to play, and chase her feather wand. Paper balls are a special favorite of hers. Her eyes did have a mild flare-up after coming to my home, but a trip to the vet and some medication helped get things under control very quickly. If there are any other flare-ups in the future, we’ll be able to handle it just fine. Biscuit loves to sit very near me during the daytime, and she gives licks. Hushpuppy is a very active little kitty that loves to snoop around and explore things. She loves to be picked up and held, and she gives little love bites. Every evening Biscuit and Hushpuppy love to chase each other up and down my stairs. Even though they’re quiet girls that are doing well in my calm home, they’ve been great with visitors. I’ve had lots of family visit my home, and they haven’t been shy scaredy-cats at all. Both of them were even patient enough to let my 2- and 3-year old nephews pet them! They’ve fit into my life and routine so perfectly, I already have a hard time remembering what my life was like before them. Biscuit and Hushpuppy have become the perfect little roommates for me!

Leo (Willie Nelson) & Thea (Dolly Parton)

We adopted these two beautiful & loving pair of kittens as they were hand raised together by the wonderful Rose and her mother. We were adding these two to our home that already had two rescued cats from the Wake County SPCA. These kittens have brought so much joy and love into our lives, especially after a tough year of COVID and my lower back fusion surgery. They have been the perfect recovery companions. When Rose says that these cats were held a lot and taught to be loving lap cats you can be assured they are! Leo plops down wherever he is for long naps, but when it’s play time he goes at 150%! Thea is such a vocal kitten. She announces herself when she enters a room. I can even tell by her different vocalizations if she is lonely looking for someone or just playing. Thea meets me every morning for coffee on the couch and climbs up on my chest and falls over under my chin to cuddle. Both kittens are happy to be held and walked around the house… it’s like having kids at the baby stage again. I find myself doing the baby “sway”. They have bonded with all of our family members and now even with the older grumpier cats are playing with them!
I can say that these are two very special kittens that amazingly found our family. If we were to ever add another pair of kittens, it would only be hand raised rescue kittens from Rose and her mom. Like a proud parent we have kept in touch with Rose and inundate her with tons of kitten photos! We look forward to reuniting the kittens with their first parent, Ms Rose once this COVID craziness ends. This has been the perfect match for our family and I can’t imagine our family without them! Thank you for saving these sweet kittens and enriching our family with their love!

We met our dog, Salvador, on April 18th at Dix Park in Raleigh. Our good friends, Tammy and Dahr, were fostering Salvador through CARE and they met my family at Dix Park. My three daughters (ages 6, 9, and 11) had NO idea that we were about to adopt a dog. They thought we were there to fly kites (which we did). We immediately fell in love with Salvador and he has become another member of the family. Salvador has joined us for camping trips, hiking at Grandfather Mountain, and even tubing on the New River. We can’t thank Tammy and Dahr enough for bringing this fun-loving pup into our lives! Please consider adopting a foster pet. You won’t regret it!

How many times can you tell someone thank you? Thank you for making our days brighter and fuller. Thank you for helping us heal. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to enjoy late night zoomies, constant kisses, a BFF for Rose, be entertained by hoarding, and making our family whole again. CARE has gone above and beyond to give Juniper (aka Bunny) a chance to live her best life (and us too). From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.