Helping Outside Animals

09/02/2025

🚨 URGENT – Foster & Pledges Needed 🚨
📍 Location: Bristol
We have an emaciated, sick cat in desperate need of help. 💔
🐾 Extremely thin – ribs, backbone, and pelvic bones clearly visible
🐾 Noticeable limp, but still able to bear weight
🐾 Reported to be friendly and sweet despite condition
This poor soul needs immediate vetting and safe foster care.
➡️ We are seeking an urgent foster home and pledges to help cover medical costs.


Pledge ID: Emaciated in Bristol
Pledge Form: https://form.jotform.com/250728024720046

09/02/2025

Thankfully, they all got rescued.
If you see something, say or do something!

This cat had to give birth on the doorstep because neighbors wouldn't let her come inside 💔

09/02/2025

Please donate if you can. Veterinary bills add up quickly.

09/02/2025

An eviction notice shattered a home, and a 9-year-old cat named Snow was left picking up the pieces. Alone.

In the quiet, sterile hum of the shelter, a question hangs in the air, unanswered and heartbreaking. It belongs to Snow, a soul of pure white fur and nine gentle years, and it echoes in her confused, golden eyes every time the kennel door opens for someone else.

Why am I here?

For fourteen long days and lonely nights, she has waited. She remembers the comfort of a familiar lap, the sound of a voice that whispered love into her soft fur, the sunbeam that was hers on a well-loved rug. She lived nine years in that peace, a good life filled with quiet devotion.

Then, the world turned upside down.

An eviction. A heartbroken owner, forced into a homeless shelter, faced with an impossible choice. In a final, desperate act of love, they entrusted their beloved Snow to a neighbor, praying for her safety. But that trust was broken when the neighbor decided not to care for the cat any longer and wanted to release Snow, a cherished family member, onto the unforgiving streets.

With a shattered heart and no other options, her owner made the ultimate sacrifice: surrendering her to this shelter as a last resort to keep her safe. They did it out of love, but Snow doesn’t know that. All she knows is that she was given away, and now she’s here.

You would think a cat as gorgeous as Snow, with a heart as soft as her snowy coat, would be the first to find a new home. But she has been overlooked, day after agonizing day. Is it the medical issues that come with her senior years, making adopters shy away from future vet bills? Is it the cruel, unspoken thought that she ‘won’t last long’? How can a lifetime of love be measured in mere time?

This sweet girl, who has known nothing but a home for nearly a decade, is now a ghost in a cage, watching life pass her by. She doesn’t understand why her world ended. She just knows she is scared, she is confused, and she is so very alone.

But it doesn’t have to end this way. In a city of millions that never sleeps, there has to be one heart, with just enough room for a forgotten senior. One person who sees not a burden, but a beautiful soul yearning for a second chance to live out her golden years in peace, dignity, and love.

This is not her fault. She gave nine years of loyalty and purrs. She just needs one person to give her a chance in return.

Together, we can get her the happy ending she deserves. Let’s rewrite her story. Let’s make her feel loved again.

You know what to do. Share her story. Be her voice. Give her the second chance she never asked for, but so desperately needs.

09/02/2025

The past few days I have been pondering the Point of View that Commissioner Bill Braswell published in The Lakeland Sun and a few other sister publications regarding the efforts by Advocates to make Polk County a more humane environment for Animals, both dogs and cats. Mr. Braswell chose to focus on the requested Trap/Neuter/Vaccinate/Return program in his opinion article, basically regurgitating the usual party line from the Communications Director Scott Wilder, that TNVR programs don't work.

https://www.midfloridanewspapers.com/.../article_cb082aa2...

Even though we have provided tons of peer reviewed studies, successful program information from surrounding counties, successful implementation from National Animal Advocacy Groups, the cost savings to taxpayers vs. the trap/kill method, even showing that their own Statute states every possible means should be utilized to stop the breeding, he continues to live in his archaic 1980's sheltering mentality, which enables Polk Animal Control to kill over 275 cats and over 107 dogs each month in the first 6 months of 2025, under the thinly veiled guise of population control. After all, it's the publics fault that they must kill so many animals. Darn irresponsible owners. By not following the Statute to reduce euthanasia and breeding, Polk County Animal Control is actually knowingly breaking the law.

We all know that TNVR works. It's just the birds and the bees really. There will be less cats if we stop the breeding. In 4.5 years we have stabilized (no new growth) many colonies across Polk County. But the trap and kill method, which doesn't work as we can see, has left us in such a deep hole, it will take a much bigger effort and much more cooperation to impact the entire County. That is why we are asking the County to help.

But the bigger issue with Mr. Braswell's Point of View, is that it comes from someone who has no knowledge or experience in the shelter world. Just as we would never try to be Sheriff and fight crime, nor would we be a successful blueberry farmer, maybe the Sheriff and Mr. Braswell should not try to tell experienced Animal Welfare Advocates what works best with regard to Animal Welfare. A basic "stay in your lane" approach.

We have debunked all of his 6 points several times over and still he thinks he knows better. But the biggest issue I have with his POV comes before he lays out his 6 invalid points. He starts by saying that they are dealing with a group of "pet owners who disagree with how the sheriff handles animal control"… Not true. We are not just pet owners, we are people in the trenches, walking the streets of Polk County picking up injured animals, we are rescue owners, dog trainers, animal medical personnel, shelter workers, experienced shelter managers, former Animal Control employees. Not just crying cat and dog owners. Secondly, he says the "animal control groups constant theme is the BOC "owns" the animal control facility and therefore can tell the Sheriff how to run it". Obviously, he has missed the point, maybe because he is looking at his phone throughout most of our presentations. What we have said is YOU manage the buildings, budgets and ordinances that run this County. You can change them. You even state, "we administer all their budgets" and "we don't hire or fire these people, you do".

But the most egregious part of this POV is painting the picture that we are all just emotional complainers not seeing the big picture. I would turn that back on you, Mr. Braswell. You and the Sheriff are not seeing the big picture. All of the counties around us have moved forward. Polk is stuck in a time warp, and it directly trickles down from the Commissioners and Sheriff. The way it's handled now isn't working. This is an emotional cause. It's not killing blueberry bushes, which I'm sure would upset you. It's killing sentient, feeling, breathing beings, who have no control over your actions. You stated "we don't hire or fire these people, you do". Those words may come back to haunt you and your colleagues. Roughly 447,000 pet owning people reside in Polk County households.

P.S. BTW, just an FYI ......PETA is not a good source to cite with regard to domestic animal welfare. It just reveals how little you know about the issues.



PLEASE SHARE TO SPREAD OUR REACH INTO THE COMMUNITY.

09/01/2025

Thanks to team efforts, 5 more Waterbury cats got rescued today. Thank you, Harley's Animal Haven! ❤️

09/01/2025

09/01/2025

Must be the only pet..
Please share far and wide.

📍CT - Moo’s time is running out. We cannot stress this enough—and then people say “i cant believe a perfectly healthy dog was euthanized”

Yes, the finder of the dog knows it would be far more dangerous to hand this dog over to a random stranger on the internet and BARC has courtesy posted her twice already, this will be the final time because our wait list just for a courtesy post is
out of control 😢

Connecticut is overwhelmed with dogs just like Moo. It no longer matters the size, or breed, or age—theres just no place for these dogs to go. This is exacerbated everyday thanks to import rescue busine$$es that have taken over our state AND absolutely NO consequences for unlicensed breeding, selling underage puppies (as young as days old!) or breeding and dumping (aka breed n’ dump) Did we mention the cost if vet care in CT is among the highest in the country?

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📍CT - Moo needs a forever home NOW

This sweet little hippo was found by a Good Samaritanan. The finder contacted animal control and was told they cannot help. 🤯 Not knowing what else to do, they kept her safe and fed but now they’re forced to move and she cannot come with.

BARC CT got her spayed for the finder, as well as vaccines. And now the finder told us they have about a week to find a forever home.

The finder called her Moo 🐮

So heres her basics:

She’s great with all people ♥️
Excellent listener and loves to be given structure and direction
About 2-4 yrs old
Short legs and stocky build 🦛 🥔 😍
Spayed and vaccinated
Housebroken
Crate Trained
Calm disposition
Love human affection
**She requires a home where she can be the ONLY pet.

Please apply using the link in the comments. ***couresty post***

09/01/2025

You’re missed dearly, Chris.
Rest In Eternal Peace.

He ran back inside to save the cats. He never made it out—but over 150 cats did. In his final moments, Chris Arsenault showed the world what true devotion looks like. His last act was one of pure, fearless love—choosing the safety of his beloved animals over his own.

Chris wasn’t just a rescuer—he was a hero to countless cats that the world had forgotten. After losing his son in a tragic accident, he found solace in saving the most vulnerable. He turned his pain into purpose, creating the Happy Cat Sanctuary, a safe haven for strays who needed love just as much as he did.

Day after day, Chris gave his heart to every whiskered soul that crossed his path. Whether nursing a sick kitten back to health or transforming his entire home into a sanctuary, his compassion was boundless. For nearly two decades, he fought for the voiceless, offering warmth, comfort, and safety to those who had none.

On that fateful morning, when flames tore through his sanctuary, Chris didn’t hesitate. He ran back inside, determined to save as many lives as he could. He kept rushing back in to save the cats—until he didn’t come back out. His love was stronger than fear. He gave his life to protect those he cared for.

Chris’s legacy is more than just a story of rescue—it’s a testament to the power of love and sacrifice. He reminds us that every life, no matter how small or overlooked, is worth saving. As we mourn his loss, we also celebrate his spirit, which lives on in every cat he saved and in the hearts of those who carry on his mission.

We honor you, Christopher. Your courage and compassion have left an indelible mark on the world. You’ve shown us that love knows no bounds, and your legacy will continue to inspire us to protect the voiceless.

Rest in peace, hero. The world is better because you were in it.

09/01/2025