To The Rescue

On September 7th, right in the middle of a worldwide pandemic and everything else plaguing our world, the beautiful Pacific Northwest began seeing yet another huge hurdle, widespread wildfires. In the Albany and surrounding areas, we were considered ‘safe’ and not been placed on an evacuation order. Areas around us were not so lucky as hundreds of families were asked to flee their homes and pack their most important belongings. SafeHaven knew we had to help. We began immediately sending donations and staff members to Linn County Fairgrounds to help with those displaced. SafeHaven also began accepting pets of those displaced due to the wildfires and, in the end, was able to house over 50 animals. This included having an emergency evacuation plan for not only SafeHaven pets, but also those in our care temporarily. Our staff was prepared for anything which, fortunately, everyone was used to from working in a shelter environment. SafeHaven also staffed the shelter 24 hours a day in case someone needed to evacuate in the middle of the night. But we could not have done it without you. Once our community caught the news that we were able to help in this capacity, donations began coming in to the shelter in the form of online donations, but also people dropping off much needed supplies. We were happy to report that after a few days, we were running out of space to store donations. Our hearts and our shelter were, quite literally, full!

SafeHaven was also excited and honored to partner with Exotic Bird Rescue of Oregon to temporarily house a few unique visitors during this tumultuous time. SafeHaven typically does not have the resources to care for exotic birds but, with the assistance from Exotic Bird Rescue, we were able to help 8 birds. These beauties were displaced from Santa Clara (Eugene). The African Grey is the only survivor in his flock of three that had to escape the fires in a shoe box clutched by his owner.

After several weeks at SafeHaven, these birds along with the other displaced animals all were happily reunited with their owners. SafeHaven is forever grateful to be able to help!

GRAT·I·TUDE noun the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. Gage Ziehmn Ardağ, Volunteer/Foster Coordinator

It’s that time of year when we begin thinking about everything we have to be thankful for. Although it’s nice to count your blessings on Thanksgiving and during the holiday season, we try to remember that being thankful throughout the year could have tremendous benefits on our health, which seems especially important these days.

In fact, gratitude may be one of the most overlooked tools that we all have access to every day. Cultivating second for granted."

gratitude doesn’t cost any money and it certainly doesn’t take much time, but the benefits are enormous. We asked staff members at SafeHaven what they were thankful for this year and this is what they had to say:

"I’m thankful for our supporters who give selflessly to help us provide the best care to homeless pets in need! I’m thankful for our adopters who open their hearts jump to help each other, communities rallying for their

and homes to a shelter animal! I see pure joy all over SafeHaven’s alumni page and it is so good to see each animal so happy with their new families." Carly Storm, Events & Development Coordinator

"I am feeling extra thankful for the health and safety of my family, friends, and coworkers!" Sara Girres, Marketing Coordinator

"I am thankful for all of our Staff and Volunteers that work so hard at SafeHaven." Jim Storm, Director of Operations

"I am very thankful this year to have a job working with SafeHaven. I am extra thankful for a wonderful family, including my dogs, to spend the holidays with." Rose Ainsworth, Lebanon Gift & Thrift Store Employee

"I am thankful to have a job that is meaningful and to the community. I’m especially grateful for all of our wonderful volunteers and foster parents. From our thrift store volunteers to our dog walkers to our neonatal kitten fosters, your support is the backbone of SafeHaven and essential to the thousands of rescue animals that get a second chance at SafeHaven each year."

"I am thankful for my amazing family who supports me unconditionally. I am thankful for the difficulties in life that we all endured this past year that have made us wiser, stronger, and recognize to not take one single Molly Jimenez, Human Resources and Finance Manager

"I’m thankful for a year that allowed me to see what matters to us most. While the importance of toilet paper was unexpected, the amount of love and support of one another has blown me away. I’ve seen neighbors be able to pursue my passion of helping animals and

local businesses, and when we thought that people were holding on to more, I’ve actually seen them give more than ever. I’m so proud to work at SafeHaven and witness the daily hearts of others." Steph Lesire, Development & Event Coordinator

Meet Buddy! Buddy came to SafeHaven all the way from Texas on a "Rescue Me" transport. He was happily adopted in September 2019 by his new mom and dad. They came to visit us for Buddy's Gotcha Day to show off his sweet ride. They told us he was a little shy when he was first adopted but now he’s feeling confident in his sidecar with dad and sometimes on mom's lap if she joins them. We think it's clear as day that Buddy is living his best rescue dog life!

Adopted by Barry and Lynn Reed of Albany

"Opal and Patrisse (now Millie) are doing wonderful! They have brought us so much joy and happiness since they arrived. They immediately settled right in and have adjusted really well. Both Opal and Millie love snuggling with us at any opportunity and hang out with me during the day in my office. We have spoiled them with plenty of toys! Some days it's harder to get work done as they want to crawl and take naps on my lap at the same time. They had their vet appointment at Willamette Vet Hospital and are in great health. We had them screened for FIV and it came back negative. Yay!

We are so thankful that we were able to adopt both of these two lovable kittens. Thank you SafeHaven for providing a quick and easy adoption process while we all are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. This was our first time adopting from you and we are so extremely grateful we did!"