New low-cost spay & neuter options for MetroWest & Central Mass!
Are you looking for a more affordable clinic to spay or neuter your cats? Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society and Second Chance Fund are bringing to the streets of MetroWest & Central Massachusetts a second Catmobile. The trailer will soon help stem cat overpopulation in the area, by providing low-cost spay and neuter procedures. Based out of North Grafton, the Catmobile 2 will travel to locations like Acton, Milford, Natick, Fitchburg, Attleboro, and many others.
Click here to view the schedule for Catmobile1 and 2. You can call 978-465-1940, visit www.catmobile.org, or e-mail catmobile@mrfrs.org to make reservations for either Catmobile. Please pass this information along to your friends!
Some things we accomplished in 2011
In 2011 we were able to help so many dogs and cats. To give you an idea of what we did during the year, we’ve selected a few stories to share with you on our newsletter. Click on this mini-newsletter below to read it as a PDF. Enjoy!
We delivered 1K Lb of pet food today!
Today a group of Phinney’s Friends volunteers gathered in Belmont, MA, to distribute a thousand pounds of pet food to pet owners in need. The Science Diet food was generously donated by Hill’s through a PETCO Foundation program, called PETCO Foundation Food Drive. Dog daycare Crate Escape, in Belmont, donates space for us to store the pet food. Isn’t it amazing? Thanks to these three incredible companies and a wonderful group of selfless volunteers, we made sure many families going through hard times won’t have to surrender their pets because they have food!
We had a wonderful morning of sorting and distribution of pet food in so many neighborhoods. Our volunteers drove to Boston, Jamaica Plain, Mattapan, Chelsea, Salem, Beverly, Dorchester, Roxbury, Melrose, Malden, Medford, Cambridge, Brookline, among other towns. A HUGE thank you to Crate Escape, Hill’s and PETCO, and Christine, Daniela, Ellen, Heather, Joan, Julie, Leah, Marilyn, Shannon and Stephanie! Enjoy some pictures now…
This is a few days ago, when a truck delivered the Science Diet food to Crate Escape…
Here are some of us moving food to our cars…
We had two huge pallets of food before we started moving bags and cases…
An entire pallet was gone by the end of the morning.
That’s Stephanie’s car before she headed to Dorchester… All our cars were full!
This is Crate Escape entrance, with its cute metal doggies…
By the end of the day, all volunteers reported that the food had been delivered. Wonderful, huh? Team work!
A special thanks to Crate Escape, Hill’s and PETCO, and Christine, Daniela, Ellen, Heather, Joan, Julie, Leah, Marilyn, Shannon and Stephanie!
Lily got her heart checked today
Phinney’s Client Liaison, Starr, took Lily the cat to Angell Memorial Hospital today. Lily needed to have her heart checked out because of a murmur. And she behaved so well — she let the doctors shave her belly, do the exam, and we heard no growls or complaints whatsoever. What a wonderful Phinney’s client she is! :-)
We were also happy with the good news from the vet. Lily has a significant murmur, but the doctor said that she has no major heart problems. With two tiny pills every other day, she’ll keep on enjoying a good life in Boston with Matthew, her owner.
Matthew wouldn’t have been able to transport her or pay the bill. Thanks to our donors and volunteers, Lily and Matthew can be together.
Happy Holidays from Matthew and Lily
Beth, our president, visited our longtime client Matthew and his cat, Lily, last week. Matthew asked her to extend holiday greetings to all of us, Phinney’s volunteers, from Lily and him. He said that he thinks of us all often and wanted to wish us all Happy Holidays.
A couple of years ago, Matthew’s cat died. When he was ready, he came to us to ask if he could get another cat. We brought him Lily, who was looking for a home, and they quickly bonded. Lily spends all day lounging on Matthew’s bed with him now (Because of an illness, he is bedridden). She’s very affectionate, and Matthew loves her deeply. It’s so good when we get to help a pet and a person at the same time. And seeing them so happy now is the best holiday gift we could ever get. 
Lily got a new home thanks to Phinney's. And both Matthew and her are really happy together.
Happy Holidays from Elizabeth, Morty Twinkie & the fish
Today we received such a nice note from Elizabeth. She is a Phinney’s Friends client who lives in Brookline with her dog Morty, her cat Twinkie, and her fish. Volunteers Starr and Corinna visited her this morning to take pictures of her furry babies, and they all had a blast together. Here’s what Elizabeth wrote…
Dear Daniela,
Thanks so much to Phinney’s Friends for taking (so successfully!) Morty’s pictures this morning. Starr and Corinna were so lovely and patient and took some great pictures.
What a wonderful legacy to rescue dogs and for dogs to be able to stay in their “forever homes” because of the help of Phinney’s Friends. I just cannot imagine having had to give up Morty because I could no longer afford to care for him, after numerous unexpected illnesses. Thanks to Phinney’s Friends that did not need to happen. Morty (I think I can speak for him) and I are very grateful to you all.
May all of you good folks connected with Phinney’s Friends have a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year. Continue the much needed a great work. And, a forever THANK YOU.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth, Morty, Twinkie, and the fish.
Susan, Toga & Ace were happy to see us
This week, Adrienne and I visited Susan, who has been a Phinney’s Friends client for many, many years. She lives in the north shore with her two Siamese cats, Toga and Ace. We brought them some kitty food, updated their information and had a wonderful conversation about life.
Ace, hanging out, while we talked with Susan.
Toga is very outgoing and sweet, and came to us right away to say hi. Ace is shy, so he decided to watch the squirrels outside on top of his cat tree while we chatted with his mom.
Toga decided to lounge on her chair after we petted him.
That was the first time I met Susan in person, and I’m sure that was the first of many visits. She is lovely, just like her feline family, and I hope we get to talk again soon. Being a Phinney’s Friends volunteer is such a gift. I get to meet and help amazing people and animals, and by doing it I make sure they will never be apart.
Toga (and Ace, of course) is Susan
- Daniela Caride, Board Member
Sasha got a new bed and toys
Whiskers goes to the vet
This is Whiskers, one of Phinney’s Friends clients. We took him to the vet this week. He hasn’t been feeling well and hated leaving the comfort of his home. But his owner, Jack, was very happy to know that Whiskers had nothing serious and will be fine very soon.
Thanks to Phinney’s, cats like Whiskers can get vet treatment when they get sick. A special thanks to volunteer Starr, for taking them to the vet!
A poem for you, volunteers
Thought you would like to read this poem. It reminds me of Phinney’s Friends volunteers!
To be of use
by Marge Piercy
The people I love the best
jump into work head first
without dallying in the shallows
and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.
They seem to become natives of that element,
the black sleek heads of seals
bouncing like half submerged balls.I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,
who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward,
who do what has to be done, again and again.I want to be with people who submerge
in the task, who go into the fields to harvest
and work in a row and pass the bags along,
who stand in the line and haul in their places,
who are not parlor generals and field deserters
but move in a common rhythm
when the food must come in or the fire be put out.The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.
Greek amphoras for wine or oil,
Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums
but you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real.
