Peninsula Friends of Animals
Organization with pet adoption, foster home, spay/neuter and sponsorship programs
Mission: “To prevent the birth of unwanted cats and dogs through progressive spay/neuter and educational programs; and to place as many homeless, neglected and abused animals into good, safe, permanent homes.”
Executive Director: Danette Grady
Phone: 452-0414
On the web: safehavenpfoa.org
I’ve had many different species of pets throughout my life. I’ve had critters that are fuzzy, feathered and scaled, but undoubtedly one of my most memorable pets was Jumper. Jumper was a big gray, longhaired cat my parents got for me when I was 5 years old. Although Jumper is long gone, whenever I see a big friendly cat I can’t help but be reminded of the endless nights Jumper curled up next to me in bed, the way he would sit below my feet and beg for my bacon at breakfast time, or the way he’d purr and bump his face against my hand in his tireless need for attention.
I was reminded of Jumper a lot when my colleagues and I participated in a tour of Safe Haven, the place where Peninsula Friends of Animals, a nonprofit cat shelter, operates. The trip to Safe Haven was my first time inside a two-story, multi-room house devoted to cats. The house sits on a sloping, well-manicured 35 acres with two houses. The main house is essentially a kitty condo complex with a smaller house for the onsite caretaker.
With one full-time director, Danette Grady, a couple of part-time employees and many volunteers, Peninsula Friends of Animals rescues and accepts cats of all ages and provides them with veterinary care and shelter until they’re adopted. The organization has a variety of programs and community services beyond its adoption program, including a low-cost spay and neuter program, trap/neuter/return program, foster home program, sponsorship program and a pet food bank for both dogs and cats.
Upon my arrival at Peninsula Friends of Animals, I was greeted by the three “office cats” named Tippy, Rosie and Tony. These three friendly faces were the first of about 35 cats and six kittens I was able to meet. To kick off the tour my colleagues and I were escorted to the “kitten room.” As with all of the rooms within the house it simulated the feel of a living room, definitely not an animal shelter.
Within a few minutes of our introduction the kittens were quick to display their different personalities. Rainbow, a spunky, slender orange tabby, had endless energy and it seemed as though her paws were made of bouncy balls as she leapt, nearly doing backflips in chase of a feathered cat toy. Then there was Tailspin, a black kitten with a tail that was permanently bent in three different directions with no reason as to why or how her tail developed into such an odd shape. Tailspin was a bit more shy than Rainbow, but nearly as quick and was more apt to pause long enough to soak up a few cuddles.
After at least 20 minutes of playing with and petting the kittens, slipping out the door without them in tow was difficult. A few of the kittens lined up at the glass door and meowed for more playtime.
Once I was able to pry myself away from the kitten room, the tour of the cat castle continued. Each cat “suite” was thoughtfully decorated both inside and out. The cats can leisurely enjoy a grand view of the Safe Haven property from their private balconies on patio furniture fit for a person.
After taking in the sights with the cats upstairs, we continued with the tour to the first floor and I met many more cats. There was Joey, Sitka, Billie Blue, Sonny, Alex, Gravy, Junior, Peeka and Boo … just to name a few.
The cats’ suites varied in sizes, but nearly all the rooms were far bigger than my own bedroom. Each suite housed two to three cats, and similar to the upstair suites, the cats are able to roam inside their plush apartments or venture into their personal outdoor area with handcrafted jungle gyms.
Outside, wide planks above your head connect one wood sculpture to the next, allowing the cats to climb or lounge whenever they please within the intricately designed structures with varying levels and hide-away places for the more shy cats.
The tour completed once we arrived at a wall nearly twice my height stacked with bags of cat litter. The organization gets a better deal if it orders cat litter in bulk and with many mouths to feed, every penny saved helps. I was amazed by the amount of resources it takes to keep Peninsula Friends of Animals going.
My first time visiting Peninsula Friends of Animals, and marking my personal best at the most cats pet in one day, was a bit of an emotional roller coaster. One moment I was filled with excitement in the opportunity to meet this many cats and the next moment I was overwhelmed with an unforgiving urge to give them all a home. Each cat had a different story, some sad, some just simply a matter of unfortunate circumstances, but the silver lining to each cats’ story was their shared ending — being at Safe Haven.
For information on Peninsula Friends of Animals, call 452-0414, e-mail pfoa@olypen.com or visit www.safehavenpfoa.org. Also, Peninsula Friends of Animals actively is seeking volunteers with computer skills to assist with office management.
Reach Alana Linderoth at alinderoth@sequimgazette.com.
