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Janis
Lepelis
Foster Guardian
Co-Chair of Fundraising
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| Janis
with her 3 adopted dogs Mr. Little, Haley and Ringo. |
"I began my
work with animal rescue in September 2000. It all began with a drive
to work one day. While commuting, I heard a local shelter representative
on the radio talking about the need for volunteers. Realizing that
the shelter was located only a mile from my office, I stopped by that
day and began volunteering.
Just over a year later, I began working
with a local rescue group as a foster guardian when a pregnant cat
landed at a high kill shelter and needed placement immediately in
order to avoid being "put to sleep". Five years, and over
100 cats, kittens, dogs, and puppies later, I continue to love every
moment that I devote to Animal Alliance and the rescue community. |
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Mr.
Little and Ringo
Mr. Little is
such a conversation piece that I couldn't resist him. I had never
seen a dog so small in person, and he just captured my heart. He
was my second dog, and joined Sweetie and the four cats in the family.
Sweetie loved Mr. Little, and would shower him with kisses, which
Mr. Little would happily accept for as long as they were offered.
Sweetie passed away in May of 2005 and left a huge hole in our
family. Mr. Little and I decided that we were ready for another
girl join our family so we adopted Haley July 21st.
She's sweet,
toothless, and a total cuddle bug. She fit in immediately and helped
ease some of the pain that Mr. Little and I were feeling.
Ringo
had been living with me since July 4th weekend as a foster dog
and was a wonderful companion. He and Haley became good friends
and devoted playmates. Ringo had been adopted a couple times unsuccessfully,
but with me he was perfect.
After three months, I knew that I no
longer considered him a foster dog. He was such a joy to me, and
such a great companion for Haley, that I finally decided that he
would become a permanent addition to our family as well. I think
I'm done growing my family for a while, but I won't promise anything!
Watch a video of Ringo playing
with his favorite "toy", Henry! |
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Valentine
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| Valentine |
Valentine was the
first cat that I adopted. She came from the Burlington County Animal
Shelter. My roommate had left, and taken her cat with her. It was
the very first time in my life that I didn't have an animal in the
house. It only took two weeks to realize that I couldn't live without
a cat in my life. It was Valentine's Day 1995, and off to the shelter
I went. There weren't many cats there that day, but there was a young,
pretty, black cat that caught my eye. Valentine joined my family that
day. |
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Sasha
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| Sasha |
Sasha is the only
member of the family that wasn't adopted. Before I joined the rescue
community, I had no idea that purebred Himilayan and Persian cats
wound up in shelters. My narrow view of the world lead me to believe
that the only cats that were available in shelters were strays that
had been born outside and never known homes. It would be five more
years before I learned the truth. |
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Shadow
and Kiki
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| Shadow
and Kiki |
Shadow joined the
clan in 1999. I was walking past the adoption center in my local PetSmart
store one night, as I always did after loading my cart with cat food,
litter, and toys. Shadow was a 2 year old male that was showing no
interest in the people that hovered around his cage, until I arrived.
I bent down to talk to him, and he stood up, rubbed his head against
the bars of his cage and reached his paw out to me. He had chosen
ME, and he was letting me know it. I filled out the application, and
two days later, Shadow came home with me. The two current residents
of the house were none too thrilled with their new brother. He was
young, playful, and way too interested in wrestling and running for
their taste. Less than one year later, it became apparent that Shadow
needed a playmate...enter KiKi. |
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| KiKi was a resident
of the shelter that I had started volunteering at, and at the end
of a record breaking "kitten season", she was still there.
I was working with a very timid cat in the cage next to her, but KiKi
wanted my attention, and kept swatting me with her paw. I brought
KiKi home with me that night to introduce her to Shadow. It was love
at first sight. I placed the carrier on the floor in the kitchen,
and Shadow approached it immediately. I opened the top. KiKi popped
her head out and sniffed at Shadow. Shadow licked her chin, and the
rest is history. I always tell people that Shadow adopted KiKi, I
just pay the bills." |
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