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Wonderful and the update idea is a good one. It is noce when people can pull together for the animals.

Absolutley WONDERFUL news!

We just received an update on the total donations received from you wonderful Zootooers. Since the journals started, Bobbi and the Strays has received $745 in checks, cash and online donations! That's just in a week's time.

Some of you sent the nicest notes of support. Bobbi was in tears as she read them. The outpouring of love and support has been really wonderful.

I know I've said this before, but it really is giving us hope that we will be able to meet our deadline.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

from everyone at Bobbi and the Strays

The outpouring from people from all over the country has been absolutely amazing. Go Zootooers!!!!! You guys are just GREAT - simply great!!!!

Remember – every little dollar can add up to Bobbi and the Strays new “forever home”. : - )

THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!!

I've just been told that Bobbi and the Strays has received an additional $135 in online donations.

THANK YOU ZOOTOOERS FOR YOUR GENEROSITY AND SUPPORT! Every dollar brings us closer to our goal.

We should have realized all along that it would be individuals such as yourselves that would care enough to help us reach our goal of a new home for the animals before the deadline.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

There is another place where you can make contributions to Bobbi and the Strays, but the fee may be a little higher, and there's a twist.

www.fundable.com

From what I understand, you make a pledge, and if at the end of the time period the goal hasn't been met, you don't have to pay up. If it does get met, then you pay. The goal on that site is quite modest--$1,100--so that it can be met. I also think that if the time limit is drawing to a close that the goal amount can be dropped so that the donations can be collected.

It will keep being relisted with a small amount until we reach our $1,000,000 goal.

I hadn't been aware of this site, and have no experience with it. Maybe anyone who has used it can tell us more.

Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions!

I just received a donation update from Bobbi.

She received three contributions for the Building Fund through the mail today. They totalled $45.

Thank you Zootooers. Your generosity is moving us closer to our goal!

So this is my plan. I have been planning to stop smoking for a while now and am almost there (just a few a day) I am going to figure out what I would spend on a weekly basis on cigarettes then send that money to Bobbi and the Strays. I would much rather have the money go to them than my lungs!

Thanks hymcheng for all the updates....I am still amazed at how well this is coming along.....GO TEAM ZOOTOO!!!!

I don't think many people read Laura's journal in April, but I've copied portions of it (it was too long) because I thought it was worth sharing. She speaks from the heart about conditions as they are now at the Vetport, & her dreams of what could be. Maybe with your help those dreams could come true.

Apr 8 2008 9:50pm
Excerpts from "Our Dream Shelter"
Posted by Laura M. (vamp773) in Shelter Makeover

Hope. That is what I am feeling now since Zootoo came to visit our shelter today. After last week seeing so many animals depressed in the shelter, staring out from behind cage bars, I began to feel sad myself. I have so many dreams & plans to help the animals but suddenly I felt like all the energy had been sucked from me.
What we do is not easy. As many as we adopt out, there are a hundred more in our city that need rescue. I get Euthaniasia lists every night from the NYACC. Its heartbreaking. Our shelter can only hold about twenty five dogs. Our cages are small, our one room of cages tiny. We have no indoor space to show animals for adoption or to let them stretch on rainy days. We don't have an office.
We have no storage space. Laundry is taken away & done offsite every night. Our food supplies take up a cage space because there is no place else to put the dog food. Our outdoor runs are great but there are only three, they are small & animals are often agitating each other there because they are frustrated with being confined.
Despite these obstacles, Bobbi & the Strays manages to save hundreds of animals every year. They do quality adoptions that involve an application, reference check & home check to ensure no animal will end up in a dire situation again. We spay/neuter even more than that every year, preventing thousands of litters and thousands more from ending up in shelters. We transport our animals off site to see vets, to get groomed, for training classes, to parks for socialization and exposure, for adoption events because the location of our shelter is so obscure. We work hard advertising on Craigslist, 1800saveapet, pets911 andpetfinder.org We make posters and flyers and hand them out everywhere. We are contstantly networking. We are always in a rescue state of mind. We are relentless. We are always brainstorming ways to save another animal though we are out of space. We scramble to find money for boarding costs, we beg for foster homes. Everyday its another emergency and our team works together to save another life.
If we can save so many with so little, imagine what we could do with a million dollar makeover? I dream of a shelter that has extra large cages that are like small rooms, with walls inbetween so the animals don't agitate each other. I dream of a seperate room for puppies and nursing mommies, a seperate room for sick animals so if one is sick they all don't get sick, separate rooms where cats can be cage free. I dream of an indoor playroom where the animals can socialize with each other and with people. I dream of a large outdoor area where the animals can really run free to play,sprinting across grass and rolling over to enjoy the sun on their faces. We could set up an agility course, have training classes out there, we can play frisbee and fetch and flyball. I dream of even simpler things like an office, or even better yet an office with a computer system that keeps track of all of our animals so we don't have to write everything by hand in files. I dream of a bathtub to give baths! If its not warm outside, our animals have to be transported to groomers to get baths which is time consuming and expensive! It would also be great to have a small store to help support our operating costs. We are a private no kill shelter and fundraising is always an issue. There are so many, many, many things we could have that would help our animals have a more comfortable, stress free stay and that would allow us to save so many more.
But why do we deserve it? For one, Bobbi has started with nothing and built this shelter out of pure love for the animals. With so little, she has managed to save a lot. We are small group, but we have big plans to help NYC achieve "no kill" status. Would you believe that there is no Queens city shelter in NYC? Queens is a huge borough and there is no city shelter. There is a great need for a shelter here to alleviate some of the overcrowding in the Brooklyn Animal Care and Control where they euthanize daily for lack of space. So if there is a need for a shelter in Queens, why not let it be a great no-kill shelter with a rescue mentality? The saving potential is off the charts! New York City needs this more than anything right now. There are too many dying EVERY DAY.
We are just a small group. There were people who doubted we would make it into the top twenty but we didn't let that stop us. Out of thousands of shelters all over America, we made it into the Finals. If we can

Good update.The word is spreading.I been e-mailing and telling my friends outside of Zootoo about them.I had my Bf send out a check from us.Great how everyone came together with this.

I've just received a wonderful update. Because of the many journals spreading the word and encouraging people to donate, Bobbi has already received $145 from online donations! I'm sure that envelopes will start arriving in the next few days as well.

THANK YOU ZOOTOOERS!!!! With every donation we inch a little closer to our goal, and our ability to buy a new home for the animals.

YIPPEE!

Mary, I dont know what to say. Thank you doesn't seem to express my gratitude for your journal entries about Bobbi and the Strays needing help with a new shelter. I want to give you a big hug! Thank you, thank you, thank you times a thousand.

Mary, this has really put a buzz in you bonnet! Thanks for the updated info you have supplied.

Excellent. Thank you.

Thank you Mary. What a great way to keep everyone current.

I just wanted to add a little note--there is a minimum $10 donation if you choose to make a contribution through the Donate for Good option on the website. I'm sorry if this causes a problem for anyone. If you'd like to send a check for $1, we'd still very much appreciate your contribution.

Thank you again to everyone who is helping us get a new home for the animals!

GO TEAM!

Wow, I'm impressed with what has happened in such a short time. Thank you for the terrific update.

Fantastic Journal Entry Mary...........