Thanks to the generosity of PUNK GLOBE, each month I get to profile an animal rescue group that could really use your help. Of course everyone knows of the larger organizations that air commercials breaking our hearts, ruining our day and making us cry...meanwhile there are plenty of smaller, grass roots rescue groups that are kicking ass and saving lives on a daily basis. THEY DESERVE YOUR SUPPORT! The people that run them don't make six figures annually or have the opportunity to hold fancy benefits, however they do make huge sacrifices in their personal lives just to help our furry friends survive and thrive. Best of all, these smaller non-profits see that your contribution goes directly to actual care, such as feeding, vetting, transportation costs, housing, etc. - instead of office supplies, advertising or other miscellaneous expenses that the well-known, big name organizations spend their funds on. Please consider sparing a few bucks for the kind and dedicated people who give their time and energy on the front lines doing the serious hands-on work in order to save as many lives as they can.

I am thrilled that this column's debut features HAPPY CAT SANCTUARY. A sanctuary that lives up to its name! These cats are happy for a reason, these wonderful people are doing it right!

See what HAPPY CAT is all about in this video!!

How HAPPY CAT SANCTUARY came to be:

Chris Arsenault is the founder and executive director of Happy Cat Sanctuary, founded in 2007 and officially incorporated as a nonprofit in 2012. Chris started Happy Cat Sanctuary when his son, Eric, died in a tragic motorcycle accident when the throttle on his bike stuck. Chris started the sanctuary in Eric's memory. He said "I'm doing something positive with my life after that. I've dedicated the sanctuary to him and his memory. Eric loved animals."

Also helping run Happy Cat is Melissa Cox, Director of Communications and Development. Linda Malkiewicz is one of their dedicated on-the-ground volunteers and is seen in alot of their videos.

Happy Cat adopts out roughly 40 cats/kittens per year. People in the New York City metro area can adopt cats or kittens through their website, http://www.HappyCatSanctuary.org

Happy Cat is located in Suffolk County, New York (Long Island). The sanctuary houses about 250 cats, most of which have come from extreme and dangerous situations. Most are rescued from hoarders, shooters, poisoners, abusers, and even gangs who try to trap the cats to use them as bait in dog fighting rings. Their mission is to identify and find the worst cases of animal abuse in the Suffolk County area and rescue the most at-risk cats and adopting out as many as they can. They supplement this with TNR (Trap Neuter Release) for colonies that are living feral lives but are not directly at risk of harm from humans.

It costs roughly $1,600 a month to feed the cats. That's not including everything else they need to pay for. Overhead is extremely low because Chris and Melissa both work other part time jobs, and take virtually no money off the top. 95% goes DIRECTLY to the cats. When people donate to big animal rescue organizations like ASPCA, their overhead on salaries is so high that as much as 50% of donations never reaches the animals directly. So when someone makes a donation to Happy Cat, that's going directly to food, medicine, and shelter for the cats, and helps cover TNR and rescue. Donations can be made through their website, www.HappyCatSanctuary.org. On there they can pay with credit card, or JustGive, or they may send a check made out to "Happy Cat Inc" to: PO Box 688, Coram, NY 11727

Please Support HAPPY CAT SANCTUARY!
Thanks!! See you next month with another great rescue group I'd like you to know about…

Photo Credit: Dava She Wolf by Masayo Hisatomi Photography 2013