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Transcript

Special Needs Cat Sanctuary · Divas That Care Network

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_01: Well, hello, my beautiful divas out there.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for tuning in to Divas That Care Network.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_01: My name is Candice Gish, and I'm the host of the show.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, ladies, I'm just so excited to be back.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: I had such a great weekend, and we have such an amazing guest coming on today's show, and I know it's going to be a fabulous day.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: So I hope that you guys all have a happy Monday out there, and you are doing something great today.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: Well, ladies, we have, as I was saying, we have an amazing guest.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: She is brand new to our Diva family.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: Her name is Luann Pierce.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: And, oh, my goodness, she's going to talk about an amazing project.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: I would call it a project because it's absolutely– it's a beautiful cause.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: It's something that– I would say it's very dear to members of my family's heart because it's something that they are really wanting to get into and dive into.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: So I think Luann would be the perfect person to talk about what she's doing.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: And maybe we can grab some ideas here on how you, as our listeners, can help her out.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: So Luann, welcome to the Divas That Care.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_02: I'm glad to be here.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, my goodness.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so excited to get to know you better.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: You and I have had a chance to talk a couple of times here, and I love what you are doing.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: I absolutely love what you're doing.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: We got introduced by a mutual friend, and she really thought that you and I would hit it off, and I think we really have.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: So, Luann, I would love you to spend the next couple of minutes here.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_02: Sure, yeah.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_02: So...
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_02: My real trade, my real job is a master's level clinical social worker.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_02: So I've spent most of my career in the field of mental health and child welfare.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_02: And until 11, 12 years ago, I moved to Colorado, and during that time, I have worked with people who had multiple sclerosis as a therapist and workshop developer and trainer and also doing one-on-one counseling and things like that, group therapy.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_02: A few years ago, my husband talked me into moving out of the city into the mountains.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_02: So we moved from Denver to Bailey, Colorado, which is about 50 miles miles outside of Denver.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_02: And the condition was that if we moved to the mountains, I'm not a snow person, so moving to Colorado was big enough of a change for me.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_02: But moving to 8,000 feet, it was taking it a step further than I was comfortable.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_02: But the condition was if we move, I get to have an animal sanctuary.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_02: That was the deal, and we moved.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_02: We had one special needs cat at the time, and we did a good job with her.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_02: So I thought of myself as being semi-retired at the point that we moved here.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_02: That hasn't turned out to be necessarily true, but...
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_02: But I can do the work that I do from home and also basically run the sanctuary pretty much by myself, my husband and I.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_02: So I spend about, say, 80% of my time running the sanctuary and about 20% of my time doing training and counseling.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: You know what, I'm going to...
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: I love this part because what you have is a special needs cat sanctuary.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: Is there anything like that out there?
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: We talk about different types of animal shelters.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: We talk about nonprofit organizations that help.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: But is there anything like yours?
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: I have honestly never heard of a special needs cat sanctuary before.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_02: You know, there are a few, and most of them, like us, started out with one cat that has special needs.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, once you learn how to take care of them, they're always more and more and more.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_02: So there are some others, but they're not large scale.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_02: You know, they're small, like with special needs cats, especially for us without any staff.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_02: There's a limit to how many of them you can care for and do a good job, you know what I mean?
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_02: So there are a lot of very small sanctuaries, I think, that aren't on the radar like ours.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: Can I ask you why you decided to do a special needs sanctuary?
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I went to a cat sanctuary.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_02: shelter when one of my cats died and at the time I wasn't really a cat person you know I had always had dogs but I had a cat or two cats just aren't as you know they don't attach themselves to you the way the Dogs do.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_02: But one of my cats died.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_02: I went to this shelter, and I thought, you know, I'm going to get kittens that are littermates.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_02: I'd love to watch them play together and grow up together.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_02: So I went there, and I was looking for littermates.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_02: It was kitten season, which, you know, they're everywhere.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_02: But for some reason, when I went, there weren't any littermates, and the ones that were there were older or somebody already pre-adopted them.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_02: And this little cat kept jumping up on my shoulder and I thought, wow, she's really sweet.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_02: So I left and came back another time thinking there'd be more kittens there.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_02: Still no kittens or no litter mates.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_02: And again, this little white cat kept jumping up on my shoulder and I thought, man, she is so sweet.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_02: And it was during a time when I'd had a lot of losses and there were just a lot of things going on in my life.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_02: So I was really, really sad and grieving at the time.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_02: And this little cat just has like this magic.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_02: So I was holding her in her room.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_02: They had rooms, not crates, at the cat shelter.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_02: And it was just so comforting to have her.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_02: She's laying on my shoulder right now, laying on my heart.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_02: That's what she did then and continues to do.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_02: And I thought, you know, I just think I'll have this cat instead.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_02: So I talked to the shelter staff and said, you know, instead of kittens, I think I wanted to get this little cat.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_02: She's so sweet.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_02: And they said, oh, yeah, but she's not for adoption.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_02: And I said, what do you mean?
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_02: And they said, she's got, you know, special needs.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_02: So they told me what was wrong with her, which is feline spina bifida.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_02: also known as Manx syndrome.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_02: And some Manx cats are born without the last two or three vertebrae, which causes...
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_02: some problems for them so she explained what it would take to take care of her and it sounded really difficult but I was in love with her you know and I decided that she'd chosen me to be her person because she kept jumping on my you know jumping in my arms so you know we talked about it and I said let me get my husband to check it out and you talk to your board of directors and see if they would let us adopt her.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_02: She had been adopted three times and returned, which is why they weren't going to let her be adopted again.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it was hard on her.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_02: She was six at that time.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_02: So that's how we ended up with our first special needs baby.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, once you get the hang of it, it wasn't that bad.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_02: So...
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_02: When my 18-year-old cat died, I said, I think we should do another one with special aids, you know.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_02: And it turned into a sanctuary.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_02: It turned into a sanctuary.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: And this is amazing because, you know, I would be honest, a lot of people would not have thought to do something like that.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: They're always looking for, I wouldn't say necessarily easier, but...
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_01: You know, in a lot of ways, yeah, easier because it's, you know, people have busy schedules.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: They don't know if they can do that.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_01: And what you're basically, you're teaching people is like, you know, we can do it.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: And these animals, you know, need a loving family and a loving home also.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: Their forever home, like you call it.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_02: And not all forever homes look the same, which is one thing I, you know, we're just...
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_02: starting to grapple with there's a movement to by 2025 to stop killing animals basically in shelters for population control and have at least 90% of dogs and cats that are in shelters be adopted and so those 10% of course I'm concerned that the special needs pets may be in that population.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_02: So we're looking at how do we prepare people to take care of these special pets.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_02: And not all of them have MIG syndrome, obviously.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_02: Some have diabetes.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_02: Some have You know, paralysis and all kinds of things, the same things that can be wrong with humans, especially as they get older.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_02: A lot of people don't start out with special needs pets, but as they age, they may develop, you know, special needs.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, a lot of times they end up at shelters either because they outlive their human and the family won't take care of them.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_02: Or the human can't take care of them, so they end up taking them back.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: Luann, I'm going to ask you something then.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: So you're finding that a lot of these families have had these animals, and then they're actually giving them up now?
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, a lot of cats and dogs are returned to the shelter or rehomed.
• 11:11
  UNKNOWN: Okay.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_02: And sometimes it's life circumstances, you know, things change.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_02: With Izzy, her first adoption was by an older woman who then had to go to a nursing home.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_02: So it wasn't really because of Izzy's special needs that she was returned.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_02: It was because of the, you know, the human's special needs, you know, that Izzy was returned.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_02: But many times, especially with special needs cats, they are returned for behavior, are considered behavior problems.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_02: And for those that have litter box problems, the return rate is very high and the rate of euthanasia for those cats is also very high.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_02: And nobody wants the smell of cat urine in their house.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_02: I don't want it in my house either.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_02: So you really have to...
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_02: Figure out what to do about that, you know, and how to take care of them so that that's not an issue.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_01: And this is a big undertaking that you're doing, and it's kind of you have a movement that you're starting.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: Is that correct?
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_02: I am.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_02: Because I am concerned about the role of special needs pets.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_02: in the no-kill movement, as it's called, to make sure 90% of animals in shelters have homes, that 10%, especially pets, are obviously going to be high risk for not making the cut because there are a finite number of homes for animals.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_02: And there's going to be a lot more competition, if you will, to get pets into those homes.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, the special needs pets are more likely to be last in line for the limited number of homes that are available, which means places like ours, you know, the small sanctuaries where you could have 10 or 15, 20 cats are going to be in higher demand and of course finding homes where people are willing to go through some training and learn how to care for the cats or the dogs with special needs, you know, is a big part of success.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_02: We were successful with Izzy mainly because, well, for one thing, I was so attached to her, there was no way I was going to ever, you know, let go of her.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_02: But they prepared us.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_02: They had us come to the shelter every other day for a month and learn how to take care of her before we could bring her home.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_02: So we We had training.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_02: They provide a lot of support when I didn't know what to do.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_02: And even, you know, some of their staff were willing to pet sit her when we needed to go out of town because a normal pet sitter can't take care of her, you know.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_02: It requires skills that most pet sitters don't have.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_02: What an amazing thing.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_02: So we need to prepare families.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we have to prepare people if we want them to take in pets that need special care.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_02: They're going to need more than, you know, here you go, here's your leash, and good luck.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_02: I have a
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_01: question for you, Luann.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: Is there something, you know, I know we have listeners all around the world.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_01: Is there an online, I don't know, YouTube webinars or anything for people to watch pets to learn, to understand?
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_01: Because what if they come across an animal that they really want to take into their home, but it does have a special need?
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_01: Is there some type that these people can connect, listen to, or something out there for them?
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_02: You know, there are a lot of people...
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you could do a YouTube or a Google search and find all kinds of resources depending on what kind of disability, you know, they're dealing with.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_02: And there are a lot of online groups like on Facebook, for example.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_02: Instagram is a huge kind of collection of people who have special needs pets.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_02: just individuals and families who support each other.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_02: and help network to find homes for them.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_02: So there are online communities and things like that.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_02: We have a Facebook page.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_02: We don't do adoption because– and we don't do rescue because our mission is to take care of cats that have already exhausted all other options.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_02: So we're not the people you call when you have a cat on death row.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_02: Although we have taken some when we first started that were, you know, a day or two from being euthanized.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_02: But now that we have so many, we just, you know, we can't do that.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_02: But we do try to help people network, you know, and find a place or find a human that would be willing to learn how to take care of them or who already have, you know, one or however many special needs pets are willing to take in another one.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: I'm listening to your beautiful cat in the background here.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: Let's talk about your sanctuary because you're saying that you don't adopt them out and that you are growing your cat.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: How are you doing this?
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_01: How is this working?
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_01: I know that it takes money to do something like this.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_01: So how are you working this in and how can our listeners perhaps help you out?
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we have always been self-funded, so we put all money into the sanctuary.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_02: But two years ago, our house and sanctuary burned to the ground.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_02: So that was a huge setback, obviously.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_02: We lost two cats in the fire.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_02: We had a third one that was missing for a month, but then we found her, and she was okay.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_02: But at this point, it's been two years, and we're all still in temporary housing.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_02: So we are at a standstill here until we can rebuild and rebuild.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_02: But there have been some situations where, even though we really don't have any space for another cat, like after Hurricane Harvey, there was one little guy in Houston who'd been on our waiting list for a year.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_02: And I said, you know, we just have to find a way to get him there.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_02: Getting him here frees up at least one space for a cat that's in danger because of the hurricane.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_02: And then you know so there were just some situations that have come up we have taken two or three cats but we're at a point right now because we can no longer self fund with all the expenses that we now have due to the fire that you know we're trying to do fundraisers but we do live out in the middle of nowhere literally and so we don't have a lot of volunteer help and trying to find grant money, but all the grants now, especially with this no-kill movement, all the grants are for adoption and trap, neuter, return programs.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_02: And, of course, they want to fund the programs that are going to have the biggest impact.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_02: We don't qualify for those grants because, A, we don't have a huge number of intakes and releases because once we take in a cat, they stay forever.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_02: And so we don't qualify for most of the grants.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_02: There is a...
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_02: a humane society you know a large well-established organization here that um you know most everybody's already a part of so we're trying not to you know get into turf issues there um so we are really relying on donations at this point doing some small fundraisers like uh you know right now we're we're going to publish a second edition of a coloring book, an adult coloring book that has cats with special needs.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_02: It also has some dogs in there, you know, for adult kind of relaxation.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_02: So it's a way to raise awareness.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_02: It's also a way to raise some money for us.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, just those kinds of things.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_01: And you're looking for volunteers all the time.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_01: I know that you're probably, people are like, oh my goodness, I would love to volunteer at something like that.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_01: But it is a difficult thing.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_01: You do live in the mountains.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: And there's not a location really close to you.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_01: So people, they drive a long distance to volunteer with you.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_01: And what I think is it's an amazing thing that these volunteers are doing.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_01: It's an amazing thing that you're doing.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm going to be posting a lot of that on our Facebook today.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: But I actually want to dive into something else.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_01: Right now, Luanne, you and I had talked the other day about, you know, because a lot of people are trying to do these causes.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of people are like, okay, I want to start my own movement.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_01: I want to start getting out there and making the world a better place.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: You and I had talked about that, and you had some really great ideas in regards to, okay, why not...
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: Work with somebody else.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_01: You know, sometimes it's hard to get an organization out there and running.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_01: As you were saying, you have to do a lot of fundraising.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_01: You have to look for donations.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_01: How can people join forces in their quest for having these causes?
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's a great question.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_02: Partnerships, of course, are really important.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_02: And in the U.S., our tax system is complicated.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_02: In order to be considered a nonprofit, a charitable organization, you go through a process.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_02: It's really just paperwork.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_02: And And once you get that established, you know, in the past, people could make donations and they were tax deductible and all that.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_02: Some of the changes to the Tax laws here have really hampered that in that a lot of people who would be writing off their donations as tax deductible will no longer be doing that.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_02: So that's going to hurt charities in a big way.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_02: So what a lot of nonprofits are doing, certainly partnering with others when people are of like mind, But also, many nonprofits are starting what basically is a side business, if you will, that generates income for the nonprofit because raising money is so time-consuming.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_02: And And because here in the U.S., things, of course, have changed a lot in terms of tax-deductible funding.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_02: So we just happen to have a cabin on our property.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_02: We have 10 acres, and this cabin is...
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_02: sort of on an outcropping kind of just out there in the sky with mountains surrounding it.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_02: And so we have transformed that from what used to be a hot tub house to a cabin that we can rent to people, short-term rental on Airbnb and places like that to generate income for the sanctuary Not nearly enough, you know, to run the sanctuary.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_02: But, you know, it covers some of the expenses.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_02: So we're looking at other ways that we can spend our time more wisely instead of looking for grants that we're not likely, you know, to be successful, you know, in winning.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_02: We're looking for other ways to generate income that doesn't involve traditional fundraising.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_01: Because I know that we've had a lot of amazing on our show and they, they're, they actually say the same thing is that they're the ones that have funded these passions, these dreams.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_01: And I know with the divas that care network, I myself, you know, I funded the program for the last eight years.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_01: It's because we have this passion and this, It's belief in the things that we're doing.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_01: So we're willing to do that.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_01: And it is amazing.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: And I salute you and all the amazing women out there that do that because that's what it is.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_01: We're funding our passions because we know that what we're doing is wonderful and we're going to help others.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_01: So I definitely want to thank the ladies there.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_01: Luann, I want to know how our listeners can get a hold of you because I We're going to be wrapping up our show here, and I want them to be able to connect with you, to be able to connect with you in regards to your cat sanctuary, but also because you do, as you mentioned at the beginning of our program, there is other things that you do also.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: So how can our listeners get a hold of you?
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_02: Well, first of all, we have a website.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_02: And the name of our sanctuary is Colorado Companion Animal Sanctuary.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_02: The website, the easiest way to get to the website is specialneedscatsrock.com.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_02: So special needs, plural, cat.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_02: Cats, plural, Rocks, specialneedscatsrock.com.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_02: That is also the name of our Facebook page and our Instagram account.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_02: So you can certainly learn more about the organization there and always reach me through any of those accounts.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_02: And...
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_02: If anybody wants to be, you know, if you have a special needs cat and you want to have them in our calendar or coloring book, now's the time to submit those entries.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_02: We have about a week left for that.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_02: So, yeah, that's the best way to find out more about us.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_02: And really right now our main push is, to get funding for the cats is sponsors.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_02: So people can sponsor one of our cats for$50 a month or even$10 a month, any amount.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_02: It takes over$4,000 a year per cat for us to take care of them.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_02: So sponsorships are one of the main ways that we're going to be able to do that.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_02: And we're also unfortunately at a point where we are now having to ask for a sizable donation for new cats that are coming into the sanctuary to establish an emergency medical fund for them so that they have what they need if there is an emergency.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_02: These animals can be expensive.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_01: That they can be.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, Luann, we appreciate, oh, my goodness, you being a guest today.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going to be posting, for any of our listeners today, I'm going to be posting some of this stuff on our Facebook page.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going to ask Luann to post some things on our Changemakers Cafe.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_01: So if you are a member of the Changemakers Cafe, please look for that information because, you know, this calendar and this coloring book, that would be such a fantastic thing.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: to either get an animal to be a part of that, but even to pass it on.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: And perhaps if you have this all ready for Christmas land, they can buy it and send it as a Christmas gift to one of
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_02: their friends
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_01: and family.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_01: So this is fantastic.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, we're also taking pre-publication sales orders now as well.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_02: All
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_01: of that, yes, definitely.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_01: We'll definitely post that on all of our social media stuff.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_01: Luann, oh, my goodness, thank you so much for sharing with us today about your special needs cat sanctuary.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_01: I just loved it.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_01: My children, my divas, are absolute cat fanatics.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_01: So we've also been taking in cats in our home.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_01: So when I heard about your story, I just– to have you on our show.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_01: So please, I want to thank you very much for being my guest and I hope that you're able to come on again sometime soon.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_02: I appreciate it.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my goodness.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_01: And you know what?
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_01: I just want to do a special thank you to all the listeners today.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_01: You know, We've been running this show now for eight years.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's because of you amazing listeners, you beautiful divas out there, that we continue to do this.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_01: We thank you for sharing our programs with your friends and family.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_01: We have all of our shows are recorded on our diva site at divasthatcare.com.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_01: We do have our Changemakers Cafe, which is an amazing group of these divas divas that have been on our show, and other divas that are wanting to change the world.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_01: So make sure that you come and join our group, join our tribe, and get to know these amazing women.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_01: Again, thank you so much for tuning in today, and I hope that each and every one of you has a great day.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_01: Bye-bye, everybody.
• 30:28
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