THE STORY OF RUBY

My name is Bari and, as a volunteer for Last Hope at the Petco store in Syosset, I get a chance to help care for lots of cats and kittens. Last year we adopted a brother and sister, DOTTIE and DOBIE, who are just the best and sweetest cats ever. RUBY, who was called Rockie, came to Last Hope with her brother Ray and sister Robin in August, having been living outdoors before being taken in by a Last Hope foster. When I first saw RUBY there was an immediate attraction between us....she was the strawberry-blonde, reddish cat I had been waiting for.

A few days before we decided to adopt another cat, my neighbor Marietta stopped by with cat food coupons, which I save and send to Last Hope, and she noticed a tiny red flower growing out of the concrete foundation of my home. There were no other similar flowers anywhere nearby. We thought it was amazing that such a tiny flower could thrive like that. I noticed two days later that the flower had given birth to a couple of babies....now I had 3 tiny red flowers.

My husband Bob and I decided to adopt Ruby, and I started thinking about names for our new furry baby, and wanted it to be special. I thought of things that I loved that were red...strawberry-rhubarb pie, which is really strawBARI rhuBOB pie and one of our favorites, but I couldn't see calling a cat Rhubarb! I also liked garnets and rubies. Then I remembered the tiny red flower that had such a small chance for survival, growing out of nothing....I suddenly thought of RUBY for her name. Further thoughts led me to remember that Dorothy, from the Wizard of Oz, had used her RUBY red slippers to get her home -- and that's when I decided on the name. RUBY would be "coming home" to us, and would be just as loved and nurtured as our other four cats.

What is so amazing was all the things that seemed to predestine our adoption of little red RUBY. My brother Scott and brother in law Anthony from Australia had recently been in NY and LA pitching a new TV series called OVER THE RAINBOW that they wrote and will produce. You all may very well be able to see this show in the future. Anyway, the show's star is DOTTIE (short for Dorothy, of course) and her brother's name is DOBIE (just like our other two Last Hope kitties' names). Now we were naming our new cat RUBY, and I thought what a "good luck" omen it was for them, to have their new "niece" named after the ruby red slippers that brought Dorothy home to her family. The red flower, flourishing in front of our house, the pie, the new TV series....all somehow linked to our new little RUBY. A coincidence? No, something that was meant to be. So, Ruby is now part of our family and joins Fuzzy, Bunny, Dobie and Dottie.

OUR NEW FAMILY MOTTO: When you have four....what's one more?

"BLESSED ARE THE PURRR IN HEART"

This is Ruby

Final days in a cage at Petco

Ruby comes home

Forget the kitty condo or new pink bed...Just give me a stack of clean clothes to sleep on!

I've only been here for 24 hours, and already I'm doing a photo shoot! Can't you see I'm sleepy? You can take your pictures, but don't expect me to smile!

Ruby's Flower
 

August 29, 2007

Cashew is doing great. Gained some weight.
Has so much love from the family.

D and Dr. V
August 22, 2007

Dear Friends of Last Hope,

Good news for Harry!!

Harry, a non-conformist feline, has found a home!! Harry was rescued from the streets of New Castle by an independent cat rescuer. I became involved with Harry when the rescuer told me she was going to put him back on the street. Since he was tame, I was very upset by this news. Working with
our adoption coordinators I was able to get Harry into our program.

But this was only the beginning.

Harry hated the cage at our adoption center, was very high-spirited and refused to "follow the rules". He wanted out and made it difficult for volunteers to put him back in his cage when other cats were to be let
out. As a result, Harry developed a reputation as an trying feline, which didn't help him in finding a home.

Fortunately one of our volunteers, Sandy, took an interest in Harry and when an opportunity arose she put in endless time matching him with a suitable family.

I visited Harry today and was heartened when several members of Harry's new family were telling me that they couldn't understand why people were
wary of him. They appreciated his spirit and spunk and were very happy with him. Harry exhibited a contentment that was a pleasure to see.

Harry's successful placement makes all of us in Last Hope so happy.

As supporters of Last hope you, too have helped Harry to find a loving and caring home. Without your support we would not have been able to rescue
Harry from a life of hardship and pain.

On behalf of Harry, I thank you all.

Maureen
August 19, 2007

JET- SETTING BABY ONYX

Hey Daylia,

Sorry it took us so long to get back to you, but we had to go to Puerto Rico on short notice. Baby Onyx is well, happy, and loving life. We actually brought him to Puerto Rico with us, and Jasmin's whole family loved him, including the Chihuahua puppy. We are very happy with Onyx and very happy with the way that you and Last Hope/Petco handled our adoption. They really made us happy parents of a beautiful bouncing, cuddly baby boy kitten whom we love very much.

LOVE ALWAYS,
BRIAN, JASMIN and ONYX
August 2007

Hi Daylia,

Sarge (Toby from Petco)  has the such a great personality!!! He and Pepper chase each other around all day and it's hilarious. They have adjusted to each other quite nicely.

This morning I had both of them cuddling with me - one under each arm! He is so affectionate. Sarge is also very helpful! He found a box of papers that needed to be shredded and began to shred them for me!!! My boyfriend and I were cracking up!

Anyway, just wanted to let you know that everything is great and that he is a perfect match for us. Thanks again.

J
August 2007