March 15, 2006

GRAND OPENING

March 15, 2006 — When the Wicked Witch was dead and Dorothy longed to escape the Land of Oz, she clicked the heels of her ruby slippers and chanted, “There’s no place like home.”  For Lucky, a grey and white tabby cat, and his sister, Lucy, there are no ruby slippers.  They – along with more than 200 other homeless animals — are waiting to find the security and comfort of a new home.  Meanwhile, they are cared for and loved at Furkids, Inc. the largest cage-free, no-kill cat shelter in Georgia.

Who: Furkids, Inc. (www.furkids.org) a nonprofit organization that carefully  matches homeless pets with adoptive families.

What: The new Furkids shelter will have its grand opening during the first weekend in April, when donors, volunteers and members of the public will be able to tour the facility, meet the staff — and ruby slippers notwithstanding, perhaps bond with a homeless animal and provide a permanent, loving home.

Resembling a day care center, the shelter features:

• Clean, open spaces and bright colors;
• A central vacuum system;
• A separate HVAC system for the quarantine and isolation rooms that vents directly to the outside, keeping healthy cats healthy;
• Special fiberglass reinforced panels as wall coverings for maximum sanitation protection.
• A special room dedicated to FIV positive cats; the only shelter in Georgia with such a feature.
• Special shelving systems in the cat rooms where cats can climb, snooze, play and perch.

When: Saturday, April 1 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, April 2 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Reporters are welcome on Friday night for a sneak peek from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Why: More than 90,000 dogs and cats are killed every year in Atlanta area shelters.  In fact, more pets are killed in Atlanta shelters than in the entire country of Great Britain, New York City or the states of Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, Oregon or Washington.  Most of the pets that enter Atlanta shelters are family pets that have become lost or have strayed from home, and those animals have a 20 percent chance of making it out of most of our shelters alive.

Visuals: 200 cats of all sizes, shapes, colors and ages. (The dogs live in foster homes.) A bright, cheerful, safe environment for homeless animals, adoptive families and their pets.

Note: Until some of the 200 animals in its network are placed in permanent homes, Furkids is at full capacity right now.