The Most Wonderful Way to Save a Life
Nate was found amongst 123 cats and 4 dogs - who knows what would've happened if he hadn't been rescued.
Resources to rescue stray and injured animals are one of the many inequities faced by Native Americans today. While 420,000 cats can theoretically come from one female cat and her offspring, regulation and awareness of overpopulation in tribal communities is crucial to animal and community health. Through Reservation Animal Rescue (RAR), a program of Partnership With Native Americans (PWNA), food and other supplies are provided to support animal rescue partners like Pet Allies in Show Low, Arizona, and their networks who foster, rehabilitate and place abandoned dogs and cats.
Contacted by residents of a nearby RV park, Pet Allies was alerted of a hoarder’s trailer packed with 123 cats and 4 dogs in August 2021. Rescued by animal control officers who entered the property in hazmat suits, all the animals — excluding 10 that died from the poor conditions — went through a series of vaccinations, spay/neuter procedures, dental exams and medical evaluations. Each animal has since been adopted except for two cats, inspiring Pet Allies’ new “Catlandia” raffle for 40 acres of donated land near Holbrook, AZ, with all proceeds going toward these rehabilitation costs.
Now about 5-years-old, Nate is loving, playful, smart and healthy and has taught Anne and Kathy a lot about fostering. “You can’t take them home one day and expect them to accept your environment right away."
Anne and Kathy, summer residents of Show Low and fosters with Pet Allies since 2018, are currently fostering Nate, one of the two remaining cats from the RV park. Nate was initially in poor health with severe malnourishment and dental issues because of eating his own feces in the trailer. After extracting some of his decayed teeth, Nate’s health has started to improve.
Primarily living in Dallas but escaping the Texas heat in Show Low during the summer, Anne and Kathy now try to foster with Pet Allies every year. After working as a paralegal for 23 years and a full-time personal chef for 14 years, Anne is now a Pet Allies board member and social media coordinator. Both retired since 2020, Anne and Kathy love fostering and seeing the joy it brings the animals: “Since we’re only here for six months, we do as much as we can while we’re here... It’s rewarding to us that we can help get them ready to go to a [forever] home.”
While Anne and Kathy love Nate just as much as he loves them, they understand they are not his permanent home and both encourage people to consider fostering.
Now about 5-years-old, Nate is loving, playful, smart and healthy and has taught Anne and Kathy a lot about fostering. “You can’t take them home one day and expect them to accept your environment right away,” Anne says. “The longer [Nate’s] been with us, the more comfortable he gets.” Anne sees how important it is to socialize foster pets as much as possible, because “if they’re socialized, they’re so much more adoptable.” They’ve noticed how Nate also loves being around dogs and people. “He loves people and he’s not shied away from anyone, which is amazing.” But he does not get along with other cats.
While Anne and Kathy love Nate just as much as he loves them, they understand they are not his permanent home and both encourage people to consider fostering: “It’s hard to give them up sometimes, but you know that you’ve helped them become more adoptable… If you love animals, it’s the most wonderful way to save a life.” Kathy adds, “It’s very rewarding and helps small communities like [Show Low] in the long run, too.”
Consider joining a foster program to help gentle souls like Nate find their forever homes, and donate to RAR today to support partners like Pet Allies in the fight for animal welfare in tribal communities.