Build A Shelter For A Buck
I am posting this on this board because I know all of you are passionate animal lovers and I know I can count on some donations from you guys! Especially considering Mickey was adopted from Funds For Furry Friends. If it weren't for this astounding woman, I would never have had Mickey brought into my life (he may never have even been RESCUED if FFFF did not exist) and I most certainly would not have been as aware of the rescue world as I am today. - Jessica
Help build a shelter..
Shahna's Shelter of H.O.P.E. (Having Opportunity to Prolong Existence)
http://members.shaw.ca/shelterofhope/
Who is Shahna?
Shahna Rice is only 36 years of age, a mother, and a wife. She is also the angel of mercy to many dogs in her home town of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada.
Shahna is fighting for her life, as cancer tries to steal it.
Shahna began volunteering at the local humane society in 1997. She volunteered there every Sunday for quite some time. Shahna even took on the job of setting up their initial website, which she maintained for several years, until she became ill with cancer for the first time in 2002.
Autumn of 2001 was when Shahna first began rescuing dogs on her own as well as still volunteering with the humane society. She had been a fostering for the Humane Society too.
The Beginning of Funds For Furry Friends
One day, the Humane Society got an email asking them if they could take in 2 cocker spaniels needing rescue from New York. The lady asking even volunteered to fly them out here if the Humane Society would take them. The board said they could not do this as they only work with local animals. Shahna knew there was a waiting list of people looking for small dogs all the time in Brandon. She took it upon herself to rescue these dogs on her own, at her own expense. And so was born Funds For Furry Friends! Shahna vetted the cockers and adopted them out herself. From that point forward she began taking in dogs from all over Canada and the US. FFFF has had dogs from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and many states as well as their home province of Manitoba, Canada.
FFFF tries to pull all of the dogs from their local pound and has had great success. In 2004, only 6 dogs were euthanized at the local pound, because Shahna’s team of FFFF pulled all other dogs and found them homes!
Shahna’s Dream
Her dream was to build a beautiful shelter, where they could house harder to place animals, and a retirement home for old and unwanted pets. A safe haven, a port in the storm. Funds For Furry Friends is a rescue group who takes in all animals including the old and infirm. They have rescued a 13 year old border collie, a 14 year old shih Tzu, a 13 year old terrier with its 10 year old poodle friend, and a 10 yr old schnauzer. Currently they have a 13 year old cock-a-poo. They do not deny animals a chance just because they are old.
Shahna and her husband Dean purchased 40 acres of land with the intent of having a large rescue facility, retirement home and off-leash fenced in dog park for the city of Brandon. They wanted to have large yards for the rescue dogs and comfortable rooms as well as runs for the older dogs to rest in during the day. They had a huge vision, a safe haven for the lost and forsaken animals that they loved so dearly. Their local humane society is unable to keep up with all the animals needing a second chance as they must serve all the local rural towns as well as the city. Shahna, Dean and their son Andrew have often taken dogs with issues or problems into their home and retrained them to make them adoptable.
The Dream Crashes Down
In August 2002 she was diagnosed with breast cancer Stage 2 so not yet metastasized. She underwent the trauma of a mastectomy, 6 cycles of chemotherapy and radiation in the hope it would cure her and the cancer would be removed. Unfortunately, this was not the case. She continued rescue work where possible during her first treatment sessions. She was forced to hold off during the worst of the chemo, as it made her violently ill.
Once Shahna’s treatments were finished, she immediately fell back to the business of saving furry lives. Funds For Furry Friends was incorporated in the Fall of 2004 and in Jan of 2005 Shahna was diagnosed with incurable Stage 4 breast cancer metastasized to lungs, liver, bones, skin and lymph nodes. The prognosis for this kind of cancer is 2-3 years life expectancy after diagnosis. Shahna has been doing chemotherapy every 3 weeks for a year now. It has been working and some of the cancer has receded but far from all of it. She still has extensive bone lesions/tumors and her liver is effected still. In spite of her illness, in 2004, FFFF had a highly successful year and along with the Humane Society, rescued approx 140-150 dogs in total. They could have rescued even more if they had a shelter, in addition to foster homes, for often there is just nowhere for the dogs to go…all foster homes being full to capacity. Prior to 2005 all of the rescue work was paid for from Shahna’s and Dean’s income. For almost 4 years they ran the rescue strictly on their own money. They went in debt $3000 doing it.
As of 2005 they became a registered charity so they now receive donations that are funding a substantial portion of the costs. This is a blessing to Shahna and Dean, as Shahna no longer has an income due to her illness. She used to work full time for the City of Brandon.
Restoring the Dream
Our goal is to restore Shahna’s dream, to give her the wonderful vision she had planned before cancer became a reality in her life. Who are “we”? We are the people whose lives have been touched one way or another by Shahna, people who are inspired by her strength and love of animals. We are her friends.
Our goal is to restore the dream, and to get Shahna’s Shelter of Hope built as a legacy to her, something she could pass along to her son, a tribute to her life. We wish to inspire others to carry on the tradition of saving those animals that society has let down. If you feel that you would like to be a part of this legacy, please consider giving to our fund…SHAHNA’S SHELTER OF HOPE. We also ask that you would please post a link to our website, and post it to many other forums…let’s not let the dream die.
Now What?
A lot of people cannot afford to make a large donation, but EVERYONE can afford one dollar, right? One dollar and the cost of a stamp..
We are asking that you to spare some time in your day and donate just ONE dollar to help us build Shahna's Shelter of H.O.P.E. and then to pass along this message to family, friends, co-workers.. anyone!
Our goal is $250,000.
Send your dollar to:
Help Build Shahna's Shelter
Funds for Furry Friends
733 19th Street
Brandon MB
R7B 1K7
* Donations can be sent via paypal. When doing so, please state that it is for the building of the shelter! =)
Every dollar counts.
Info pulled from: http://members.shaw.ca/shelterofhope/ and all content © Sally Naumko
