January 2019

State of the Sanctuary

As I reflect on 2018, I am thoroughly pleased with the progress that our little non-profit organization has established. Smokey Acres has enjoyed fantastic support, made new friends, both human and feline, and established some important milestones on our journey. This was an important year to us for a variety of reasons that I’ll describe below.

Support

2018 was our most successful year yet with respect to community support.

During the fourth quarter, we received two exceptionally generous gifts from The Paul and Susan Bloom Family Fund and the Foren Family Foundation.
In spring 2018, we began receiving our first ever recurring monthly donations from Rose O’Hara and Lynda Stanecki.
We are proud to report that Nancy Frye and Marguerite Davidson selected Smokey Acres to honor lost family members, both human and canine.
Both Kaitlin O’Hara and Kathy Plesuchenko chose us to celebrate their birthdays on Facebook and we received donations from a variety of their friends and family.
We also received generous one-time donations from several others including Rosanne and Brendan O’Hara, Maki Watanabe-Colombo, James Hoctor, Celia Simba and Jim and Lois Gibbons.
Several individuals supported us with in-kind donations including Charmaine Gibb, Diane Morianti, Karen and Jonathon Strause and Pamela Cohen. Thanks also to Tail Waggers and Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit for transfer of food and litter.
In 2018, we placed our first Smokey Acres cash collection box at the Flower Bar, a coffee and gift shop at the intersection of North Territorial Road and Pontiac Trail.
Lastly, we received distributions from Amazon Smile and Kroger Community Rewards. Thanks to all of those who selected us as their charity of choice when shopping.

Our Facility

As many of you already know, we’ve received a gift from The Paul and Susan Bloom Family Fund to build a facility specifically designed to house our Smokey Acres cats. During the summer of 2018, we spent a very hot and sweaty evening, both physically and mentally, before the Building Commission for Northfield Township. We were fortunate to have the vocal support of our neighbors, Beverly and Alan Patterson, Susan Bloom and Pat Kabel. I am very pleased to announce that the Northfield Township Building Commission granted us approval to construct our facility. Our builder is now working on the next phase of the plans and we hope to report further progress during the year of 2019.

Felines Served

As of February 2019, we have provided a warm and loving home for 30 cats beginning with our beloved Smokey. Our current colony is numbered at 16 and we anticipate welcoming 4 new family members in the near future.

As our cats are feline leukemia and/or feline immunodeficiency virus positive, costly veterinary care is critical to the health of our colony. Our ability to effectively maintain a growing number of residents is based upon our improved community support.

The Kubby Story

Kubby captured our hearts this past year albeit for only a few short weeks. Kubby began his life as a homeless kitten in April 2018. Luckily, some kind humans gathered him up with his siblings and placed him in foster care via Animal Rescue Project in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Unfortunately, Kubby did not thrive and when he visited the veterinarian, he tested positive for feline leukemia.

When we received the sad call about Kubby, we agreed to welcome him into our sanctuary. On June 9th, we drove to Gull Lake Animal Hospital and happily returned to our home with sweet, quiet Kubby. During the next few weeks, we did our best to give Kubby a chance at survival; however, he did not gain weight and did not respond to veterinary treatment. When the seizures began, we knew that it was time to say goodbye. Kubby was humanely euthanized on July 11th.

Frustrated with this outcome, I felt personally compelled to take further action. I sent the body of our little Kubby to Michigan State University for necropsy. The results demonstrated that Kubby had congenital organ abnormalities and was accumulating fluid in multiple areas of his tiny body.

We’ve learned to accept euthanasia as a critical component to our Smokey Acres program. We truly feel that this is an expression of love for our cats. Peaceful endings are just as important as hopeful beginnings.

Our Friends and Family

I am fortunate to have an animal-loving husband, family and friends who are all helping to build the Smokey Acres dream. I feel privileged for the opportunity to meet and work with many selfless individuals whom have become my “rescue friends.” Thank you to those who bring warmth and happiness to my heart by being the kind souls that you are.

Regards and well wishes for the remainder of 2019,

Marcianne White

Smokey Acres Founder and President