Want to help puppies and kittens while you sip your coffee? Now you can!

Photo by Yours For Good Fermentables.com.

Zoe’s Animal Rescue is running a Kicking Horse Coffee fundraiser.

Your purchase of 1 lb bags of whole beans will bring money directly to Zoe’s so we can continue our important work.

At only $14/bag, the varieties available are 454 Horse Power (dark roast), Kick Ass (dark roast), Smart Ass (medium roast), Three Sisters (medium roast), and Z-Wrangler (medium roast).

Contact [email protected] to purchase your coffee today! Fundraiser ends April 19.

And, if you’re looking for a cute mug to enjoy that delicious coffee in, one of our photographers, Christie Jones, is running a mug fundraiser. Visit her Facebook page for more details.

It was late afternoon on my day off, when I received a message asking me if I was willing to help someone trap a cat that they had been feeding near their home. The usual knot appeared in my stomach, but of course I said yes. Rescue is full of trials and errors, mistakes and conflict. What if I couldn’t do it? Where would he go if I did catch him? What if he refused to be helped? What if he had an owner? My days with rescue are always full of uncertainty and self-doubt. It’s that familiar pain of knowing you are needed, but being helpless to do it.

Nonetheless, I sent a message to the wonderful woman who had been feeding the ginger cat. We discussed meeting the next day, when he would be around for food. He wasn’t friendly, but he ate near her window. She suspected he had been dumped or abandoned a few months ago. The idea didn’t stick – soon after, I received a plea for help – “bits of skin hanging… huge damage… please please try to help me with him”. It was worse than we had expected; the ginger cat appeared to be missing a large portion of his face, yet he wasn’t ready to be picked up and whisked away to a vet. The hunt for a humane trap began.

The character Groot has an interesting background, full of good and evil, rebirth and emotion. Groot is able to communicate with other plant life with his mind, a power that our cat seemingly had over his wonderful caretaker as he looked her in the eyes and said “help me.”

It didn’t take long- the ginger cat was trapped that night, set up in a little room of his own as his caretaker read softly to him all night. He is certainly captivating, telling us all with only his mind that he is so grateful for our help. Groot, in the Marvel world, is a tree-like being with the power of regeneration. Groot, the cat, faced us with a plant-like mass caught up in an open wound on his face, but his power of regeneration has already begun to shine through as his face heals more every day. 

Groot tells his foster mom how happy he is to be inside and healing. His body tells a story of survival and determination, marked with scabs and cuts, memories of fights and attacks. Like his cartoon counterpart, Groot has fought his way through his trials and landed himself in a world where he can begin to heal both physically and emotionally. He is a gentle giant, purring and head-butting as his bandages are changed. Like the Marvel Groot, our boy is of few words. He is Groot.

As Groot heals (regrows?), the hunt begins for his happy ending. We hope that one day, our Groot will find his Rocket Raccoon, a best friend that he can get into all sorts of mischief with – but indoors only!! Groot has lived through more than many young cats ever will, and he deserves a life where he is safe from the dangers of the outside. Rocket, we know you’re out there, and Groot is waiting for your application to give him his forever home.

Groot is in need of the following:

• A Sponsor!! Are you interested in sponsoring Groot’s remaining surgeries? Monthly sponsorships are available.
• Canned Food! Groot likes Pate, especially the HALO brand.
• Soft Cones, as the plastic ones can be hard on his exposed skin.
• Litter! Clumping- he uses clay but wheat or corn based is also great. You can even purchase this item in our estore.
• Lots of prayers and happy kitty vibes!! Let’s send our own positive mind messages to Groot and tell him he isn’t alone! He is Groot. We are Groot.

Tawnya Summers
Cat Lady, BA (Hon.)

Here is a little video showing just how sweet and loving Groot is. WARNING: It is a little graphic as you can see his open wound.

Well hi! Frenchie here, the lovable fluffy orange cat. I thought I should keep everyone posted on how my life with my amazing foster family is going. My paws are still crossed that I will find my forever home soon. Although I am a cat with some street credit, I am loving my new life indoors. I am pretty much the king at laying around, and I always love a good cuddle. I have made some new friends here too! I love my other cat buddies, and my foster family. There are no dogs here so I am safe. (phewf, they really freak me out) You see I pretty much love humans of all sizes and cat friends but I definitely cannot handle dogs. *shudder*

So I have a confession to make…you see, I was adopted once and, well, I had a few accidents, so I was returned. But. my foster mom will totally vouch for me, I haven’t had one since. Yes sir, you are looking at an accident free cat, never miss the pan, it’s all litter. My foster mom told me it`s a common, and often treatable, problem. Ooo you know I was checking out a blog on the Zoe’s website about litter box issues, you can read it here:

www.zoesanimalrescue.org/correcting-common-litter-box-issues/

Super helpful and informative for anyone else with a cat who may need some direction for their…well, uh, pee. Well there you have it folks, I am doing well, and getting lots of love while I patiently wait for my forever home. Thanks for checking in!

Frenchie

Fundraising is arguably one of the most important parts of running a rescue, but it is often one of the most underutilized resources we have!

Rescue is full of long hours, hard labour, driving, and paperwork, so we rely heavily on the support of our volunteers and our followers to help aid us in our fundraising efforts. Fundraising is an invaluable gift that you can give to any rescue, whether you sell your handmade crafts, or put on a small-business event, your contribution to helping us raise money is a much appreciated gift of time and effort!

Zoe’s has the ability to help you make your fundraisers as successful as possible. We have a team of media experts, waiting on the side to tweet, share, and sell your event! We have experienced fundraisers, ready to give advice and helping hands.

What we don’t have, however, is a fundraising team at our disposal. Ultimately, we want to make your fundraiser effective, successful, and easy for you, but we don’t have the manpower to do it for you.

This being said, we have come up with a list of ways that we can help you help us! Here are some things to know when you decide to give us a helping hand:

1. You are responsible for your fundraiser. From beginning to end, you are in charge of the whens and wheres and hows. We do not have the manpower to run your fundraiser for you, though we are here every step of the way to support you.
2. Timing is so important! We know you want to help – and we want your help!! In the past, we’ve seen too many fundraisers running at the same time, or two fundraisers of a similar nature, and the public can get overwhelmed. Check with our media team to see if any fundraisers are in motion and when, and set yours up so it has it’s own time to shine.
3. Marketing is essential. We do have a media team who can promote your event and help with some advertising, but you need to provide us with content and pictures. Use your networks to help you create posters and graphics, and then let us know what you want and when you want it. Telling us you’re doing a fundraiser doesn’t help us help you – we need to know what to share with the public and how to direct them to you.
4. Online is more effective than offline. Create a Facebook event or a website we can direct people to. Sell products using an online ordering system, or provide an e-mail option to order products. Don’t expect the public to show up to fundraiser nights, rather, give them the most opportunity you can to get their business.
5. Consider possible legalities and stipulations. Raffles and similar fundraisers often require a license from Alberta Gaming and Liquor, as well as age minimums surrounding who can purchase tickets. There are ways to avoid having to get a license, but they are relatively easy to get and may be necessary. Look into how to protect yourself before starting a fundraiser.
6. Realize that what you can offer greatly impacts how likely you are to be supported. While we, and the public, appreciate and want to support all fundraisers, knowing that 40% or 60% of a small business purchase goes to Zoe’s is a lot more inciting than 10%. Every penny helps, and we want all those pennies – but the majority of people want to give as much as they can from a fundraiser. It’s just one of those facts that we want you to know.
7. Sell at events! Our adoption events aren’t huge- but they are an opportunity to draw in a completely different crowd who is often looking for alternate ways to support rescues. Sometimes you aren’t ready to foster or adopt, but you’d love to purchase that dog print to hang in your living room, knowing 100% of it went to our animals!
8. If you are a volunteer, look to expand your audience. There is a huge network of over 6000 supporters on Facebook alone, and thy are often an untapped resource for help! Keeping fundraisers to the Zoe’s volunteer group can at time be relatively disappointing. We are often exhausted from rescue work, and broke from the last fundraiser! Use these tips to expand your customers and clientele.
9. Run everything by us first. We appreciate the help and want you to know how grateful we really are! However, you don’t know what is going on behind the scenes in terms of fundraising, marketing, or even ability to promote your fundraiser at the time. Using an example from a previous experience, we had a volunteer do a small-business fundraiser within the volunteer group only. As soon as she finished, a supporter told us she was doing the same small-business fundraiser for us and asked us to advertise. We did, of course, as she had already set it up and had posters and events on Facebook. Sadly, her fundraiser was ineffective as a core group of fundraiser supporters had already purchased her product a week before, behind the scenes.
10. Join us! If you are interested in helping us kickstart a huge fundraiser like a silent auction or a festival, put in a volunteer application or ask to join the events team. We do a few large fundraisers a year, put on by and for Zoe’s Animal Rescue, and are always looking for more hands and ideas!

Looking to pick up some neat items and support Zoe’s at the same time? This Saturday from 10am to 4pm there will be a HUGE vendor event at Beaumont Composite High School. There will be lots of shopping with prizes to be won!

The vendors confirmed so far are:
Arbonne Products
Silpada Designs
Zoe’s bakery goods
Steeped Tea
Discovery Toys
South hill designs
It Works Wraps
Spikerdog Woofware
Tupperware
Parklane Jewelry
Partylite
Passion parties
Sparkle Tattoos
Hidden City Imports
Avon

A convenient way to get some shopping done all in one place and support Zoe’s!

This Saturday, Zoe’s is breaking all the rules and having an on-the-spot adoption event – for stuffed animals! Stop by North Town Petsmart from 1 to 3pm to adopt a new friend for you, your children, or even your pet. Hey, stuffies deserve loving homes too!

There will also be a few adoptable Zoe’s dogs at the event. Rocky and Prince William may make an appearance.

Rocky

Prince WIlliam

Stop by and say hello!

Zoe’s was recently asked to help in a case where 31 cats and kittens were in desperate need of a rescue. While we’ve helped transfer and arrange transportation for many of the cats, seven of them will be staying with us (stay tuned for their profiles!).

With this influx we are in desperate need of supplies. We have a wish list of items we are always looking for, but these are some of the specifics at the moment:

• kitty litter
• litter pans
• kitten milk replacement (powdered or canned)
• cat trees
• kitten food

To make donating super easy, these items can be purchased through a donation in our Estore. The money donated will be used to provide our animals with the care they need.

They also make a really cute gift – give your friend or family member the gift of milk to feed hungry kittens! How cute is that?
We’ve also reached the limit on our vet bills and will be holding off on intakes until we can pay them back. If you’d like to donate in a more traditional way, you can do so at ATB Cares where they match 15% of every dollar!

All of the volunteers that make up Zoe’s Animal Rescue would like to send a heartfelt thank you to everyone who continues to support us. No donation is too small – we appreciate every penny we get!