letters-2

November 4, 2006

Dear Last Hope:

In early 2002, my girlfriend, who had recently moved into a small apartment, begged me to get her a kitten. I was hesitant to do so, as I never owned a cat before, and knew that any animal that I bought for her would most likely become mine in the future.

Nevertheless, while on a lunch break at my job in Woodbury, I drove by your cat adoption center and decided to take a look. One particular cat, a nine month old orange and white male, caught my interest when he came up to the front of his cage, and licked my fingers, which still stunk of the fast food that I had just eaten. Within two weeks, BINX was dropped off at my girlfriend's apartment and immediately stole our hearts.

After returning to your center a few weeks later to give an update on BINX, I noticed another cat who was more shy than BINX, but still gave off the same feeling when he was petted. Suffice to say, BUTTONS, Binx's brother and litter-mate, joined his brother at my girlfriend's apartment a short time later. As expected, BINX and BUTTONS quickly became playmates and best friends.

In the four years since their adoption, my girlfriend, Kristen, and I married, moved into two different apartments, and, in September 2005, became the proud parents of a wonderful little girl named Catrina. During all of these events, BINX and BUTTONS have brought immeasurable happiness to us and have proven how incredibly important organizations like your own are to the community.

Currently, BINX and BUTTONS live with us in my mother's home in anticipation of buying and moving into our first home. Catrina's third word (after Mama and Dada) was "Kitty-Cat", and she loves both of her kitties. BINX, especially, is so loving, that he will attempt to get next to her at any opportunity. Catrina cuddles with him like she does with her favorite blanket, and he always comes back for more.
People are amazed by our cats' friendliness. (Photos attached)

In short, I wanted to let you know how much my family appreciates the work of LAST HOPE, and their assistance in providing two wonderful cats with the opportunity to find love and happiness that will last for the rest of their lives.
Even if an adopted cat or dog remains with you for only a short time before joining their new home, the time you spend caring and helping them pay off for many years thereafter.

Thank you again,
Rory Alarcon

(P.S.- Please feel free to post this message on your website.)

We've had Sugar, now renamed Sophie, for 6 weeks now. Here she is lounging on the back of our living room sofa with her new big brother, Zachary. Zachary, our "resident cat", has accepted her totally.

Sophie Sugar is getting less and less shy and timid. She sleeps on our bed at night and lets us pet her and play with her. She loves to eat Sheba cat food. We haven't picked her up yet as we want her to feel totally secure. She has an entire year of being afraid and timid to get over.

We followed your "recipe" for introducing a new cat and it has worked wonderfully.

We thank everyone at Last Hope for taking such good care of Sophie Sugar so that by the time we finally arrived she was still there waiting for us. She is a delight and it makes us so happy to see her so content.

Thank you again.
Aileen and Fred Reuther

Hi,

I just wanted to tell you how happy I am with Gracie! I'm attaching her picture. When I first met Gracie, I only agreed to foster her because she wasn't quite what I was looking for. She's older and smaller than what I had pictured for myself. Two weeks later, Loretta called to tell me that Gracie would be in a Newsday ad that week and I had to tell her to cancel the ad. I had already grown attached to Gracie, and she to me.

I encourage others to open your heart to an older dog - they need love and still have a lot to offer. Thanks Last Hope (especially Loretta)!

Chris Halloran
August 23, 2006

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