I had a pretty good sales month in October! Sold 12 items! $1 from every item sold is donated to a rescue organization. Always gotta round it up, so this month's donation is $25.00 to Odd Paws Rescue.
I was able to reach out to Scarlet, the founder of Odd Paws Rescue for a short interview. Honored for their time and grateful for the help that they provide for animals in need. Check out the interview below:
I ask everyone this question first: Why cats? Did you grow up with them?
Scarlet: I grew up with all sorts of animals- cats, dogs, guinea pigs, sheep and other farm animals, parakeets, fish, you name it. I love all animals and will gladly help anything that needs it. I don’t work only with cats- just mostly. They seem to be the most in-need species, and I feel a closer bond with them. Cats have so much personality. I also volunteer for a wildlife rehab and care for opossums.
When did you start Odd Paws Rescue and what was the motivation that propelled the project?
Scarlet: I’ve been fostering cats my entire adult life. When I bought my house, I also inherited the neighborhood colony, which I’ve been TNRing. The tipping point to go from 2-3 foster cats to full-blown mini rescue was when I went to pick up a few kittens from someone and ended up walking into a full-blown hoarder situation. I took 14 cats from that residence and had to enlist help from two other fosters. I ended up with 6 kittens for a while, and they *all* had URIs and diarrhea at the same time. All over my house. I’d been looking into sheds for a while and finally took the plunge and bought a 12x20 shed to become the kitten foster zone. Then of course winter was approaching, so I had to have electric run out there to climate control it, and I had to make it nice and cozy for them and waterproof and put in flooring for easier cleanup, and then oh well since I have so much space I can take in all these OTHER needy kittens…. And then I partnered with Axanar, another local rescue that places cats in a local pet supply store, and it just snowballed so quickly that it became a bit more than I could handle alone.
I do ALL of my rescue work out of pocket, and I started to get in over my head. So, I decided to make my rescue work more official and pursue nonprofit status, which I’m hoping to obtain sometime early next year, to help offset the astronomical costs of caring for multiple animals and enable me to take on other fosters and volunteers and maybe, hopefully, some sort of grants to expand.
What is your background working with animals? Did you work with animals previously?
Scarlet: Both of my parents were big animal people and my grandparents had a farm in Colorado, so I grew up around and working with animals, and have been in rescue and rehab my entire adult life as well. I’ve worked with every critter from cats and dogs to opossums to ten foot long snakes. I am in the process of getting my wildlife rehabilitation license in the state of Georgia and very much looking forward to being certified to work with vector species, as I’ve never been able to before. Previously I was working in California and Germany.
If you could mention in a few sentences what you would like to see change in the rescue organization world?
Scarlet: More governmental support for rescues and stricter laws regarding breeders/consequences for backyard breeders. I lived in Germany for many years and animal welfare there was astronomically better than it is in the States. Spay/neuter and vaccination costs should be much lower than they are.
Is there anything you would like to say about rescuing animals?
Scarlet: I believe it is our duty to be custodians of this planet and her creatures. Every little thing makes a difference, and every little life is worthy.
Thank you Scarlet!
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