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It's the time of year to take a look back at the 2023 accomplishments of
Chatham Animal Rescue & Education (CARE). It is with immense respect and appreciation
for all who support CARE that we proudly share this information.
Volunteers, donors, and adopters are the foundation that keeps CARE thriving and successfully serving the homeless cats and dogs in Chatham County every year, in fact since 1975!
Please find time to see the highlights in the 2023 Impact Report,
as told through several of our volunteers and donors.
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You Made a Difference
Dear CARE Supporters,
2023 was a transformative year for CARE as an organization, but we never stopped doing the work that is so important to all of us. The lives of 725 needy cats and dogs in Chatham County are better off because you care. I joined the organization in June of 2023 and was immediately blown away by the dedication of our volunteer base and the scale of work that this group has been able to maintain. I want to thank Joan Cunningham and Carolyn Wood for their continual support and mentorship. I would also like to recognize a few dedicated board members who cycled off in 2023. First and foremost, thank you to Sheryl Reese for serving a multi-year stint as CARE's treasurer and helping to guide our financial stability. Also, thanks to Shelly Ryder and Amy Coughlin for their service on the board. Shelly has taken on the role of chair of our Marketing Committee and Amy continues her tireless work with the Cat Welfare Committee. We have been happy to welcome four new board members over the past few months and look forward to working with Elizabeth Thomas, Chris Bush, Leslie Walden, and Kelli Tesh Maturano.
We had a solid fundraising year in 2023 and it enabled us to make an enormous impact in the community. With a record-setting effort on Giving Tuesday and a successful Holiday Appeal, we entered 2024 primed to make a big difference. We are achieving that, but it has been challenging. The need for spay/neuter assistance has never been higher and vet costs have been rising.
All this is to say, that CARE is in great shape, but our work is not done. We will need to have an excellent fundraising year to offset higher costs and we need to grow our dog foster network to allow us to save more animals. In this report, I want to share some of the wonderful stories that you made happen. As we enter our 50th year of serving Chatham County, please remember the importance of what CARE does and stand behind us however you can.
CARE truly does save lives and it takes this entire network to make it happen. I am immensely grateful for each and every one of you and look forward to continuing the wonderful work CARE does.
Thankfully,
Jon Spoon
Executive Director of CARE
You Transformed Lives
Stella had pretty grim prospects for her future before she was taken in by a wonderful foster caregiver for CARE. Stella was shy but very sweet and she instantly bonded with board member and foster caregiver Joy Duquette. Having never lived in a home, Stella had to be potty trained and desperately needed to put on some weight to fill out her frame. She took to the house training and she started getting over her initial timidity as she bonded with her foster family.
Overcoming her anxiety may have been easy enough in a loving home, but Stella was also positive for heartworms and had a condition in her right eye. In large dogs like Stella, an advanced case of heartworms is often a death sentence. It takes a couple months of expensive treatments and monitoring to completely pull a dog through the process. CARE stepped up on the financial side and Joy was happy to provide the love and monitoring. After Stella was cleared of the heartworms, CARE paid for a successful surgery on her eye. Stella’s adoption was finalized 5 months after being welcomed into Joy’s home. She went to her forever home happy, free of disease, and 13 pounds heavier than when she came into the CARE system. She is loving her new life and it is all thanks to the wonderful volunteers and donors of CARE.
2023 gave Stella a new lease on life!
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Chance came to CARE with a diagnosis of neurologic Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP). FIP is a terminal disease, but recent advances have shown that treatment with an antiviral can cure many cats who then go on to live healthy, normal lives. Chance had been sick for several months, and when he arrived at his foster caregiver’s home he was cold to the touch, could barely move, and was skin and bones. We weren’t sure if Chance was going to make it through the night, but we were determined to do what we could. With the help of an international group of FIP experts, we immediately started Chance on treatment along with lots of supportive care and medications. Within 24 hours, Chance looked a little brighter. By the end of the first week, he was able to make it to the litter box on his own. Each week saw little improvements, as Chance got stronger, gained weight, and regained mobility. During 4 long months of painful daily injections, Chance was a model patient, as if he knew that we were helping him. Today, Chance is midway through his 3-month post-treatment period. He is a playful, happy, and healthy kitty with just a tiny wobble in his step!
Chance's story…No Challenge is Too Big with the Right Support.
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Volunteers - Fosters - Donors
People Who Care
You Make the Difference!
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Patti and John Liegl — Volunteers
Patti and John are the perfect volunteer duo. If CARE needs it to be done, they are usually first in line to do it. Patti is one of the leaders of our Cat Welfare Committee and is quick to help community members who have issues with community cats. From kittens to elderly cats, Patti has seen and treated them all. She is a tremendous resource for new foster caregivers and never stops learning about how to better feline lives.
John is the best support system Patti could ask for. Together they travel around the county and make sure feral cat colonies are safe and healthy. The cats in these colonies have generally been trapped, vaccinated, and fixed by CARE so that they do not spread disease or let their populations get out of control. Patti and John are also immediate responders when CARE needs volunteers to help at our public events. They usually pick a setup or breakdown shift and do the heavy lifting for all the CARE supplies that have to go to an event. On top of all this, Patti and John have been tremendous financial supporters of CARE. We count on them for so much and can not begin to express how happy we are that they are willing to share their time and support with CARE.
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Joy Duquette — Volunteer
Joy is a wonderful asset for CARE, and she brings a lot of expertise and experience to the table. Joy serves on CARE's board of directors and is an active member of CARE's Dog Welfare Committee. She deeply loves animals, especially dogs, and has been a dedicated foster caregiver for many years. Joy is a rare “breed” as a foster caregiver, in that she is always willing to take in and care for large dogs – Great Pyrenees, Newfoundlands, and the like – as well as dogs with serious medical issues. She offers them a wonderful and loving home while they learn to accept love and affection. Joy is a fantastic caregiver and a patient trainer. She is able to take on large assignments like Stella and guide them to great results. Many dogs in Chatham County have a better life because of Joy and CARE is certainly better off because of her commitment to our cause.
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Anne Tomins
Anne Tomins has been a tremendous supporter of CARE for many years and in many ways. In addition to adopting 4 dogs from CARE and providing them with a loving home, Anne consistently and generously contributes funding to the organization. She gives in a variety of ways: for example, she promptly responds to our annual fundraising appeals, she contributes through CARE’s Facebook page, she participates in Giving Tuesday and she has made memorial gifts to CARE. One of Anne's primary methods of giving is through her employer, Progressive Insurance, which matches her frequent donations. Many large employers have this sort of donation matching program and, as Anne has proven so well, it is a great way to maximize your giving to CARE. Thank you to Anne for her many years of support, both financially and as a model adopter of CARE dogs!
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Ada and Laura Woodam
Ada Woodam found a unique way to celebrate her birthday and help CARE improve lives for cats and dogs in Chatham County. Her mother Laura takes a novel approach to celebrating her kids' birthdays. They select a local non-profit together and create a party to support the organization. Rather than getting traditional gifts, guests are asked to bring donations for the non-profit.
This year, Ada chose CARE and we couldn't be happier. She had a fun party and collected lots of donations that helped support CARE's animal community. Thank you Laura for finding a fun way to teach your kids to give back to their community and thank you Ada for sharing your generosity with CARE!
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Chloe Solum
Chloe Solum is an up-and-coming young leader in animal welfare. She took her love of animals and used it as motivation to make a real difference. Chloe led an effort to create an animal welfare club at her school and brought together other students with a similar passion for cats and dogs.
Once they formed the club, they decided to get active and make an impact. Chloe helped lead a bake sale to raise funds for CARE. Her group raised over $350 and donated the funds to help CARE carry out its mission. Her passion and dedication at such a young age are inspiring and it teaches others that everyone can make a difference when they put their heart and mind to it.
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CARE is Working for Community Cats
In 2023 CARE’s Community Cat program helped 233 cats that were feral or abandoned and taken in by caring citizens of Chatham. Most were neutered, vaccinated and microchipped. Some received much-needed medical attention. Abner was hanging out at a local farm and the resident cats weren’t too happy about it. Here is Abner’s story from his new mom.
"I’d wanted a “working” cat for rodent control on our property for years, but my husband wasn’t on board. One day I told him a friend had trapped a feral cat at her farm. Once he learned a three-year-old girl who was at the farm that day announced that the cat had told her his name was “Abner,” my husband agreed to take the cat. With CARE’s help, we kept Abner safe on our back porch for about a month while he acclimated to what we hoped would be his new home. On January 1, we let him out. On January 19, he let me pet him. Abner has now become King Abner and enjoys exploring the woods around our house as well as the comforts of a couch, a bed, or any other cozy area he majestically claims. He is immensely charming and finally has become an acquaintance with our cat Linus and is an ardent fan of our coonhound mix Keffie. We are very grateful that CARE helped us provide this previously homeless cat a loving home! We hope Abner’s story inspires others to realize that shy, homeless cats can become awesome pets."
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Our Community
A Banner Year for Lillie's Fund
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We accomplished a lot, but we need help to keep it going!
The importance of Lillie's Fund was on prominent display in 2023. Through Carolyn Wood's thoughtful stewardship the fund was responsible for spaying or neutering 567 cats and dogs last year. Just think of how many unwanted puppies and kittens that CARE kept from facing difficult and painful lives. CARE is the primary facilitator for spay and neuter support in Chatham County and the work is not slowing down.
It is, however, becoming more expensive. With NCSU dropping back from community cat work and other mobile clinics ceasing operations, CARE has had to scramble and pay more to make the impact that we do. As such, our costs have exceeded what we budgeted for, but we cannot stop doing the work.
If you are able, please consider making a donation to Lillie's Fund and help support CARE's proactive approach to reducing pet overpopulation in Chatham County.
Your generosity is humbling and we thank you.
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Take time to check out our adorable, adoptable cats and dogs. | |
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About Chatham Animal Rescue & Education (CARE)
The mission of Chatham Animal Rescue & Education (CARE) is to promote the health and safety of all dogs and cats in Chatham County, NC. CARE foster caregivers provide loving, stable homes to homeless cats and dogs, helping them become the best possible pets for their future forever families. CARE works with the Chatham County Animal Resource Center to save the lives of unwanted cats and dogs, manages feral cat colonies, and serves as an educational resource. CARE’s Lillie’s Fund is a targeted spay/neuter program, subsidizing sterilization surgeries for pets owned by lower-income families in Chatham County. CARE is a nonprofit animal welfare organization that has served the community since 1975 and relies on individual and corporate donors for support.
As a volunteer-based organization, we are completely reliant on the dedication of our wonderful volunteers to support our mission.
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