NOOTERS CLUB® was proud to be sponsor of The Cats’ Pajamas 48-hour adoption marathon – at which 107 cats and kittens went to great homes! The volunteers from Oakland Pet Adoption Center, which provided the cats, handled the adoption process. These gals are tough screeners, but wanted to make sure that all cats and kittens went to the best homes possible. They did an awesome job. I have to say that there were so many lovely people at the event. There were several couples who recently lost cats and they were there to open their hearts by giving a homeless kitty another chance. And don’t tell me that you guys are not just as cat crazy as us women. I saw a number of grown mean in tears over their lost companions. So glad to see new joy come out of our event. Makes you realize there are still awesome people out there. A special thank you to Cat Chat blogger Caren Gittleman who always shares information on our adoption events with her numerous readers. Follow her blog at http://opcatchat.blogspot.com. If you are a cat lover, you should be following Caren’s blog!
See some great video coverage of the event at http://bloomfield-mi.patch.com/articles/video-48-hour-cat-adoption-event-finds-new-homes-for-cats-in-need#video-7362450

You may not know the name Amber Sitko. As founder of All About Animals Rescue a low-cost spay/neuter clinic in Warren, Michigan, Amber stays behind the scenes making sure the clinic is running right and planning various outreach programs in the community. To date, her organization has performed about 10,000 spay and neuters for pet owners who otherwise could not afford this service. The group also recently launched a feral cat program. Amber is a very low-key person with a mission – to help end pet overpopulation by making spay and neuter affordable. A Microsoft IT professional by day, she does all of this in her “spare time.” Under Amber’s leadership, All About Animals Rescue has consistently grown and is now in its third (or maybe fourth) building. The new facility offers much more room for clients to bring in their pets for spay, neuter and vaccines. Amber is our hero for all she does and for the very unassuming way she does it. She is brilliant, humble and has accomplished more for the animals than anyone we know. To find out more about All About Animals Rescue, go to www.allaboutanimalsrescue.org

Get your dog or cat spayed/neutered for only $20 July 2-4! This includes rabies and distemper vaccines! Open to families and individuals on public assistance in Michigan. Clinic being held by All About Animals Rescue and Michigan State University. Please pass this along to anyone you know who has an unsterilized cat or dog. Clinic being held at All About Animals Rescue in Warren, Michigan; transport also available from Waterford, Michigan. For information, call 248-212-0781 or email clinic@allaboutanimalsrescue.org.

Pits bulls who live in Pontiac and Detroit, Michigan are being spayed/neutered for FREE July 2-4, 2011.  Clinic is being run by Michigan State University and All About Animals Rescue.  Know of anyone who has an unsterilized pit bull in Michigan?  Have them call  248-212-0781 or email  clinic@allaboutanimalsrescue.org.  Please spread the word on this. Dogs can be transported to All About Animals Rescue clinic in Warren, Michigan  or there will be pick up service in Waterford, Michigan.   All About Animals Rescue has done more than any group in southeastern Michigan to help curb pet overpopulation.  Founder Amber Sitko is awesome and directs the clinic in addition to having a full-time job. And she does it all for NO pay! (More on Amber in a future blog.)

All About Animals Clinic in Warren, MI and Michigan State University are offering a FREE spay/neuter clinic for feral cats on July 4, 2011. How appropriate! These cats deserve the freedom to live out their lives. Please forward this to everyone you know in Michigan who may be trapping feral cats and needs help getting them fixed. A better offer is not going to come up – that’s for sure! Offer available to anyone trapping feral cats. The clinic is being held in Warren, MI, but they will even pick up cats July 2 and 3 in Waterford, MI. For more information, call 248-212-0781 or email clinic@allaboutanimalsrescue.org. All About Animals Rescue is a fabulous group. They have performed thousands of spays/neuters so kitties will be in great hands.

NOOTERS CLUB® is proud to support the seventh annual Wigglebutt Walk that will be held from
10 a.m. – 3 p.m., September 11, 2010, at Brighton Dale Park in Kansasville, WI, near Kenosha.

We met Shorewood Cocker Rescue Secretary and foster mom Karen Allness at the Chicagoland Family Pet show in March of 2010. Karen and her colleagues at SCR are working hard to put together what sounds like it will be a fabulous event.  Last year 162 Cockers were registered from five states including Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana and New Mexico. They walked with their families to raise money for Shorewood Cocker Rescue, Wisconsin Cocker Rescue and Illinois Cocker Rescue. This year’s activities include a silent auction, raffles, natural instinct testing, lure coursing, contests for Cockers, refreshments and bake sale. Photos of dogs and their families will be offered by a professional photographer and music will be provided by a DJ. Watch for additional info at www.cockerrescue.net/.

We  met a neat lady named Raven Hannah who runs a cool website for pet lovers called The Gifted Pet.  Her site says, “Cool Stuff for Cool Pets & Cool People” and she is right!  You will see a huge variety of interesting, playful, fun and unique items at a reasonable price.  The Gifted Pet recently began selling NOOTERS CLUB® items, so I guess this means that our stuff is now officially COOL too!

At The Gifted Pet, you will find many great information resources for pets and their people.   An added plus is that The Gifted Pet also supports animal rescue, nature conservancy & environmental preservation organizations, as well as select law enforcement & military causes. They donate proceeds from ALL of their sales (after minimal inventory & administrative costs) to the worthy causes that they support. Check them out at www.thegiftedpet.com.

Sand Hill Crane Vineyards, an award-winning, family-owned vineyard and winery in rural Jackson County, Michigan, hasn’t met a dog it didn’t like.  When you visit the winery for a tasting (go to www.sandhillcranevineyards.com for hours – open seven days a week), look for the labels dedicated to the family’s dogs. For example, the  Abrazo, a  2008 soft, off-dry red wine blend,  developed in honor of the Cascades Humane Society which rescued Rusty (pictured on the label) from the County animal pound on his last day. Rusty, one of the world’s great huggers, now lives with Holly, the Sand Hill Crane Vineyards winemaker.   Each purchase of Abrazo benefits the Cascades Humane Society.   Also look for 2007 Legacy, a limited edition dry blend of Chardonnay and Vignoles with $4 from the sale of each bottle going to Legacy Land Conservancy, a 37-year-old accredited land trust protecting local nature and farmland, and 2007 Blushing Crane, a cherry-berry wine with 50 cents from each bottle going to Haehnle Bird Sanctuary.  Next time I visit, I will wear one of my Nooters Club t-shirts – maybe our dog will be their next label!

This weekend, I got dozens of phone calls and emails to NOOTERS CLUB from people wanting to “unload” their cats.  The reason was that our local county daily newspaper, The Oakland Press, which covers Oakland County, Michigan,  ran a brief article on my work in running a trap-neuter-return program in my small town.  I am not sure where they picked up the information, perhaps from our local newsletter, but the response has been overwhelming – and not in a good way.  I have been fielding dozens of calls from people as far as 30 miles away who no longer want their cat or have a stray they do not want or cannot keep.  Even though I explained to them that I already have way too many pets of my own – plus three cats in foster care and being socialized for adoption – they could not understand that I could not take one more.  One lady asked me then why did I “place the article in the newspaper?”  Out of all the calls  there was one bright spot.  His name was David.  David called me, not to surrender a cat – but to help.  He thanked me for caring for the homeless cats in my community and said he wanted to send me money.  I explained that I was not a nonprofit organization and did not feel comfortable accepting cash.  He persisted, and told me about his four rescue cats.  So I asked him if he could gather some spare cat food, towels, blankets, that sort of thing – it would really help.  David, you made my day.  My weekend.  It is rough out there.

With three Pet Supplies Plus® stores to run in southeastern Michigan, you would think that store owner Addy Shattuck has enough to keep her hands full.  But when it comes to homeless cats and kittens, Addy opens her arms to help as many as possible find good homes.
Since she began adopting cats and kittens out of her Pet Supplies Plus® stores, Addy has found homes for more than 2,000 lucky pets.  Each of her stores features a front lobby adoption area where customers can choose from a variety of cats and kittens that come to her from Oakland Pet Adoption Center in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Bloomfield Twp. Animal Control and Elizabeth Lake Animal Rescue in Waterford, Michigan.  In addition, Addy organizes large-scale adoption events each year.  The most recent was the Cat Days of Summer, co-sponsored by Nooters Club®, which featured more than 200 adoptable cats and kittens along with in-store promotions and perks for cat lovers.  Nooters Club® was on hand to help with the adoptions and sell its pet lover apparel and gifts.
Addy is also known to take any sick cats to her local vet and pay for them out of her own pocket. Her staff nurses motherless and sick kittens and takes them home with them at night.    If a rescue group needs food, she donates it.
If you are in Michigan, visit Addy at her Pet Supplies Plus® stores in Bloomfield Hills and two in White Lake Twp, Michigan.   You just might leave with a cat or two!