BECKLEY, WV (WOAY) – The community has a soft spot for Laela’s Hope Cat Rescue and adoptions have taken off, thanks to their partnership with Dream Away Cat Rescue and Pet Supplies Plus. They are celebrating 103 and counting!
“Very grateful for them and the Pet Supplies Plus folks because they have been very welcoming and it’s been great, said LHCR founder Debbi Miller. “We started at the beginning of January and things escalated quickly. So here we are, over 100; we’re excited and the community’s excited. It’s a wonderful place for us to showcase our kittens and our cats.”
According to Miller, the majority of her kitties are strays, found dumped on the street, abandoned, left on the side of the road… found in boxes and laundry baskets. Sometimes folks get into dire situations.
“They have medical rescues or have to relocate quickly, or mom or grandmother goes into a nursing home and they might need to rehome their pets,” she said. “So we also do that. Most of our adult (cats) are coming from situations like that.”
They will then reach out to LHCR who will get the kittens and cats vaccinated, dewormed, tested, spayed and neutered so that the organization can stop the cycle and find the kitties wonderful homes.
“We launched Pet Finder at the same time so in addition to our Pet Supplies Plus population going up and our adoption numbers going up, we’ve also reached out to people all across the country,” said Miller. “I’ve had people drive seven hours each way to get a cat from us.”
She says up north the spay/neuter laws are enforced. They don’t have the overpopulation that we have here in the south.
“These little homeless and abandoned kitties, if they were in a shelter — after so many days if they weren’t adopted they would be euthanized,” Miller said. “So we are doing our best to put a dent in that part of the population that doesn’t have a chance.”
When you come to the adoption center at Pet Supplies Plus, the QR codes for adopting and donating make it an easy process.
“We just appreciate the community support so much,” said Miller. “And Pet Supplies Plus has been so welcoming. What a blessing.”
