PLAN TO ATTEND ONE OF OUR PET PHOTOS WITH SANTA EVENTS!

Come with your whole family or your best friends  (cats, dogs, bunnies, pocket animals) to have a great photo taken with The Real Santa Claus! 

Like every year, ORA is holding several Pet Photos with Santa events starting this Thursday, November 28th. Please see the places and dates hereunder and write in your calendar the date of the event that you are planning to attend.

These are fundraising events for ORA. 100% of the proceeds go to ORA-Organization for the Rescue of Animals towards the support of the rescued cats and dogs in ORA’s care. Help the animals and have fun!

The photos are taken by our professional photographer, Corinne Thaw. Corinne is very good and patient with the animals, even the most difficult ones, and always gets that perfect shot.

Family portraits available: children and babies are welcome! Get a printed photo in a decorated frame and an emailed copy to send out to family and friends as a gorgeous Christmas card. The photos are very high resolution and can be printed in very large posters.

Weekly reminders of the events will also be regularly posted on ORA's Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/ora.animalrescue/

We look forward to seeing you at one of our events! 


Thursday, Nov 28,
from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Dog Sense Daycare, 535 Wilson Heights Blvd. North York, ON M3H 2V7

Saturday, Nov 30,
from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm
Pet Valu, 1656 Queen St E. Toronto, ON M4L 1G5

Sunday, Dec 1,
from 11 am to 4 pm
Global Pet Foods, 1575 Ellesmere Rd. Scarborough, ON M1P 2Y3

Saturday, Dec 7,
from 11 am to 4 pm
Doggieville, 1166 Gorham St Unit 4 Newmarket, ON L3Y 8W4

Sunday, Dec 8,
from 11 am to 4 pm
Pet Valu, 75 Ellesmere Rd. Scarborough, ON M1R 4B7

Saturday, Dec 14,
from 11 am to 4 pm
Pet Valu, 6758 Kingston Rd. Scarborough, ON M1B 1G8

Sunday, Dec. 15,
from 11 am to 4 pm
Pet Valu, 1656 Queen St E. Toronto, ON M4L 1G5

Saturday, Dec 21,
from 11 am to 4 pm
Pet Valu, 184 Front St E. Toronto, ON M5A 4N3


For more information, please email or call us at 416 726 5762

Claudia Vecchio 
ORA-Organization for the Rescue of Animals 
www.ora-animalsrescue.org

ORA-Organization for the Rescue of Animals is celebrating a special birthday today… it is Claudia Vecchio’s birthday!  

Stop by https://www.facebook.com/ORARescue/ to wish Claudia a HAPPY BIRTHDAY and to make a donation this month for the many #rescuecats and #rescuedogs @ORA_Rescue!

BREAKING NEWS

ORA's and Animal-related news to keep you informed and entertained! 

UPDATE AT ORA - JULY 2018: The Robin family has vacated their nest and five new robins are enjoying the summer weather. We see many robins around now, patiently sitting on the grass, hunting for worms!

The cats have finally retaken possession of their favourite run at ORA and are enjoying the outdoors when the weather is not too torrid. Happy ending! 

Please see some of the photos of the cats in "their run" taken in the last few days:

Notice the diluted calico, Gloria, sitting in the highest perch and the abandoned bird's nest behind her.

--
Read Previous Breaking News

PREVIOUS BREAKING NEWS

ORA's and Animal-related news to keep you informed and entertained! 

Baby Robins Keep 15 Cats Hostage!

These beautiful and healthy-looking baby robins are soon going to leave their nest to the great relief of 15 cats (the oldest cats at ORA Residential Sanctuary) that have been expelled from their outdoor run by the Robin family.

 

Over one month ago we noticed a well-constructed and rather large nest built on a shelf of one of the outdoor cat runs. We were amazed by the audacity and intelligence of the mother and father robins. What better place to build a nest than on an already existing and solid shelf in a large cage? It is undoubtedly the perfect place to raise a bird family, inaccessible to predators and protected from strong winds. But what about the cats that from time to time in the nice days come to spend a few hours safely enjoying the great outdoors? Somehow the robins must have counted on our protection. How did they know that we would have kept the cats away? Perhaps they understood somehow that the inhabitants of the house care for all animals. Or perhaps it is because we feed the birds good food throughout the winter and the nesting season.

In any case, the day after our discovery, we found five robins’ eggs in the nest so we informed the very disappointed cats that access to their run was precluded until the robins had flown away. The cats are counting the days, complaining every morning at the door that gives access to the run. That door will remain closed for a few more days.

All five eggs have hatched and five hungry, fast-growing robins are keeping both their parents busy with feeding sessions. We are honoured that this Robin family has selected our garden as a safe place to give birth at. They rely on our protection.

*Please note that in the photo only two robins are visible as we did not want to go too close to the nest for fear that the robins get scared and fall from the nest.

Reminder to Join ORA in Newmarket this Saturday!

Thanks to everyone who donated items, 
distributed flyers, spread the word, 
and signed up to attend or help out! 

-Claudia and ORA Volunteers

For details about Saturday, 

please visit Kijiji and Eventbrite.

Got questions? Call 416-726-5762, 416-726-8895, or email us. 

If you're unable to make it on the 23rd but would still like to help, please make a donation to ORA! Every donation saves lives and allows ORA to continue its work with the animals. Tax receipts will be issued upon request for every mailed donation over $25 and all online donations. 

Visit us online any time for more info, and be sure to stop by this Saturday to say hello and meet some of our volunteers! 

URGENT, URGENT: Please give Ari a home!

Claudia Vecchio, 19/05/2012
Founder of ORA

ARI was rescued in 2005 thanks to the Neighbourhood Cat Watch Program. This program provides logistic support to people who have stray and feral cats in their neighbourhood and are willing to cooperate with ORA to help them. The cats are sterilized and vaccinated and if tamable are placed in foster homes, otherwise they are returned to where they were originally picked up and the neighbours take care of feeding and looking after the released cats.

TNR (Trap Neuter and Return) is a practice universally used to provide a better life to the strays, ensuring regular checks and feeding - and no procreating. Feral cats are happier living outdoors rather than being taken indoors and having to live in strict contact with the humans whom they fear and mistrust.

Obviously released cats are still exposed to the risk of being killed in traffic or by dogs and wildlife and sometimes they may suffer abuse from people intolerant of animals.

Ari was part of a group of stray cats TNRed in Toronto's West end in a cat-unfriendly area. A neighbourhood leader with rescue experience took charge of deciding which cat, deemed tamable, should be housed in a foster home or await adoption, and which cat, being untamable, should be released back.

Ari, an older, large black cat, was going to be released. He was vaccinated and neutered; a tip of his left ear was cut off to indicate that he had been sterilized prior to release.

But he was not in the best of shape. He had spent many years already on the streets in an hostile neighbourhood. I had never seen him, but as I became acquainted with his story, I intuitively felt that Ari should not be released back to the streets, that he deserved a quiet, protected place to live out the last part of his life.

With all the ORA’s foster homes being full as always, and having to find a place for Ari on a minute's notice, I e-mailed and called anybody I could think of and finally found a place with a rescuer in Bayfield on Lake Huron. Ari spent one full year there, but he was not happy and over time he developed acute kidney issues.

We needed to take Ari back to Toronto right away to get him proper diagnostics and treatment. Again we did not have a single space in any of our foster homes, but we had Bev Smith, one of our best foster moms ever, who was always prepared to find a way to house a cat in need. When Ari arrived at Bev's home, his prognosis was not good, and it took quite a few months for Ari to reacquire his health under Bev’s vigilant eye.

This period gave Bev and Ari a chance to bond and Bev eventually decided to adopt Ari. Although she had quite a few cats in her lifetime and she had quite a few already at home when Ari came into the picture, she considered Ari her best cat - “My Big Boy,” as she used to call him. Ari spent plenty of time in Bev‘s lap and at nights, he would follow her upstairs and lie in bed close to her. Ari finally found happiness.

Unfortunately, Bev passed away, on June 23, 2011, and for Ari, there has been no peace since. We at ORA have taken in all of Bev’s cats, but due, as always, to lack of space, Ari has ended up at a foster home in Stratford. The new fostering woman is trying to do her best, but she has large dogs and Ari is afraid of dogs (probably due to some bad encounters during his previous life on the streets). To avoid the dogs, Ari spends all of his time in an unfinished and unhealthy basement sitting at the windowsill, looking outside, probably wondering what happened to his loving mom.

Ari is an old cat, probably 13 or older. It breaks our hearts that he is spending the last part of his life in such an unhappy situation and we are also upset that we cannot provide a proper home to Bev’s favourite cat. “Ari is very undemanding," his new foster home says, but we know he just wants a quiet home with someone to love him. If you do not have large dogs, please consider fostering or adopting Ari. He has had such a tumultuous life, please help him; Bev will smile to you from heaven.

ORA's Cats in Need Series: Tilley

"Please sponsor me and my buddy, Mungo!"

Claudia Vecchio, 5/11/12
Founder of ORA

Taking care of many special needs animals is not an easy task for a small organization like ORA. In strict compliance with the No-Kill principle, we provide all of the animals in our care with any needed medical treatment. Even though we have over 130 animals under ORA at any given time, each of them is treated like he or she was just an only pet, as every life is unique and each of them deserves to live life to the fullest. Obviously this implies high vet bills and as ORA does not receive any public funding we need the financial support of animal caring people who share our vision and our beliefs.

In the last few weeks we have been burdened by several medical emergencies and in just one week, after Mungo's sickness and long hospitalization, we have also had to deal with the inexplicable sickness of our darling Tilley. Mungo is recovering quite well, while Tilley is still struggling too, although he has considerably improved during the week-end.

Financial toll: last week, we paid over $1,500 to the vet and now we have been told that both Mungo and Tilley will again need urgent dentistry to be done within the next two to three weeks. This means another huge vet bill for both of them. Please consider donating to ORA and sponsoring Mungo or Tilley or any of the special needs cats and dogs in our care with a monthly donation. For more information, please email us or contact us at 416-726-5762 or 416-726-8895.

Let me introduce you to Tilley: 
Tillley is a little more than 8 years old. He was abandoned at just a few days old in a box with Mom and two siblings in front of a vet clinic in Mississauga. ORA was called and one of our volunteers promptly left work to pick up the abandoned family and house them. Tilley and siblings grew up into beautiful, healthy kittens. Tilley's young Mom and siblings were adopted out, but Tilley stayed behind, nobody ever applied to adopt him. All the same, Tilley has had, up to now, a great life under our care. He has bonded with some of the other cats his age, he is easy going and he pretty well loves everybody: cats, dogs and people. Tilley has never had any health issues until last week, when he suddenly stopped eating, became lethargic and developed a high fever. Tilley's temperature is now back to normal and he has started eating on his own. 

Tilley, the kitten nobody wanted to adopt, would be very proud to know that someone out there is sponsoring him.

Donate online with PayPal, or call 416-726-5762 or 416-726-8895 to find out how you can help special needs cats like Tilley. 

ORA will be running our Cats in Need series all month long this May! Although the objective of ORA is to work for the benefit of all animals, given the compelling need, ORA is heavily involved in the rescue of companion animals. The animals who, throughout the years, have not been adopted out (for reasons of age, health or behavioural issues), live in ORA's foster homes or in ORA's residential sanctuary until the ends of their natural lives. If you would like to help ORA's Cats in Need with a donation, please click here to give. If you would like to volunteer your time and talents to help ORA, please click here to learn more and to apply.

ORA's Cats in Need Series: Mungo

I've had a rough week!

orarescue.org | Mungo and Gizmo were given up just before the holidays in 2008 by their owner, a lawyer who had them since kittenhood. He was planning a move to his mother's home with his wife and their newborn child, he said, and they could no longer keep the cats. He signed a contract with ORA to pay a boarding fee of $3.00 a day for each cat until we could have them adopted out. The lawyer delivered the cats to us in cardboard boxes loosely tied up with rope. In the 8 years he has had the cats, he could not even buy a proper carrier for them! We managed to take them to our car somehow without them escaping.

Their health was not good. We noticed right away that Mungo had crusts all over his skin. At first we thought that this was possibly due to an allergic reaction to fleas. "No," said his owner, "just dermatitis." But in fact, the two cats were fed the cheapest of dry foods, which caused and continually exacerbated Mungo's severe skin allergies. He has greatly improved on a healthier and cleaner diet since then.

Soon after his arrival, Gizmo experienced severe diarrhea and had to be put on an IV in the hospital for several days. He made it through, but he still suffers from mild bouts of it every now and then.

Mungo and Gizmo have been with ORA now for almost three and a half years. They are not adoption material. They are older, in precarious health and do not have consistently proper toilet habits (to this day, Gizmo occasionally likes to defecate in front of the litterbox).

The lawyer stopped paying their meager boarding fees after only four months.

Last Tuesday, we noticed that Mungo was unusually quiet in a basket and that he was not going to his food. We took his temperature: 40.4, and nursed him with loving care overnight. The following morning, however, Mungo's temperature went up to 41.2, so we immediately arranged for his hospitalization. Mungo was put on an IV and a series of antibiotics until last Sunday when he was released. Total tab on Sunday: $1,500.

Can you help my big bro, Mungo?

Today, he finally began eating on his own. He moves around actively again and constantly asks for attention - sure signs of a healthier cat! We hope that everything will continue well for Mungo.

At ORA, we spend an average of $2,000 to $2,500 a month in vet bills, but lately we have had several surplus vet emergencies on top of the usual - and this latest one with Mungo has proved too much for us to handle.

Gizmo, in particular, has been very worried about his big brother Mungo, and would be very appreciative of any contribution you would like to give towards Mungo's vet bill, if you can help.

Donate online with PayPal (works best for Internet Explorer users), or call 416-726-5762 or 416-726-8895 to find out how you can help cats like Mungo and Gizmo.

ORA will be running our Cats in Need series all month long this May! Although the objective of ORA is to work for the benefit of all animals, given the compelling need, ORA is heavily involved in the rescue of companion animals. The animals who, throughout the years, have not been adopted out (for reasons of age, health or behavioural issues), live in ORA's foster homes or in ORA's residential sanctuary until the ends of their natural lives. If you would like to help ORA's Cats in Need with a donation, please click here to give. If you would like to volunteer your time and talents to help ORA, please click here to learn more and to apply.

Counting Down to April 14th with ORA and Nathan!

April 4, 2012 -- In ten days' time, Nathan Winograd will be in Toronto for one day only to present his exciting and inspirational "Building a No-Kill Community" seminar and leadership workshop at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre's South Hall (222 Bremner Boulevard) in Room 714.

Only a few tickets remain at this time, and NO tickets will be sold at the door - so don't delay - be sure to contact ORA at 416-726-8895 or info@ora-animalsrescue.org to get your names on the guest list ASAP or buy your tickets online soon at http://orarescue.org/.

ORA's 10 DAY COUNTDOWN begins today! Count down with us here on Blogger, on Facebook or on Twitter over the next ten days.

Special Thanks from ORA and Jackson to Moore Park Veterinary Clinic

Dr. Lindsay Paterson of Moore Park Veterinary Clinic in Rosedale recently performed a pro-bono dentistry on ORA’s Jackson, a sweet nine-year-old kitty. Jackson needed teeth cleaning to remove tartar accumulation and prevent periodontal disease.

Dental work is needed more than once in the life of a cat or dog and is very important as it helps to prevent bacterial infections that can lead to liver, kidney and even heart disease. ORA is sheltering a number of special needs and older animals and therefore, we have several animals needing dental procedures every year.

We really appreciate Dr. Paterson’s help to our organization and we hope that more vets will join in performing pro-bono dentistry on rescued cats. Dentistry is an expensive procedure that can range from several hundred dollars to $1,500-$2,000 or more if dental extractions are required. Any vet who performs just one free dental procedure a year helps us tremendously in our efforts to preserve the good health of the animals under our care, so ask your vet if he/she is doing any community work and let us know if he/she is prepared to help rescued animals in need by donating one hour of their time and expertise.

Jackson’s Story: Jackson was rescued from the notorious Hamilton Animal Control (HAC) by ORA volunteers in 2003. The HAC was then, and sadly still is, a high–kill shelter (see ORA's Volunteer Blog for the HAC-STK http://hac-stk.blogspot.com). Jackson, just two days old, was rescued along with his Mom and two siblings. Just born, they were marked to be killed. Jackson, his mom, Dodi, and siblings grew into wonderful, healthy cats under the care of ORA’s foster Mom and they all found great adoptive homes. Unfortunately, two years ago, Jackson’s adopter suddenly became very sick and returned Jackson to ORA. Jackson has not found a new adopter, but he has adjusted very well in our “sanctuary”: he is a sweet cat who gets along great with everybody, be they cats, residents or volunteers.

To sponsor Jackson with a monthly donation, please call 416-726-5762, 416-726-8895 or e-mail VecchioCT@aol.com.

ORA-Organization for the Rescue of Animals
http://ora-animalsrescue.org

ORA on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/ORArescue

ORA on Twitter
http://www.twitter.com/ORA_rescue

HAC-STK: Sound Off With Guest Writer, Eva McDowell

As you may know, there is a public meeting on Tue Nov 15 with Hamilton mayor & council regarding the new bylaw for Hamilton Animal Control. They have posted the proposed new bylaw on the Hamilton Spectator website. After reading through it carefully, the only positive change is the removal of the 2 pet limit. They have also stated they are running a public education program. Other than that, nothing will change.:

No public adoptions
72 hour hold time
inconvenient hours for public to reclaim their pets
Still picking up people's pets
No high volume/low cost spay neuter program
no volunteers

What does that mean? The killing of thousands of animals every year will continue.

Yet, they state they are working towards no kill. How can this happen without the necessary changes.

They are depending on only the rescues to save the animals. They would rather pay the vet to kill the animals than save them. The rescues are faced with the high vet bills, as almost every animal coming from there is sick. The rescues are not paid a City salary to save these lives - they do it out of love for the animals. They blame the rescues when they have to kill - no one spoke up for him, so what else could we do?

Bill Bruce of Calgary has a proven method and in fact no city funds are used to support the Calgary Animal Services. He is more than willing to share his method. Hamilton Mayor, Councillors and animal control were all offered tickets to come and hear Bill Bruce, yet not one of them came.

The public are allowed to give a 5 minute presentation. We need as many people as possible to come and speak up for the thousands of animals who are killed by HAC each year. By just removing the pet limit, we will be faced with the unending cycle of killing for who knows how many more years.

The time is now - let's stand together and let Hamilton know that this is not acceptable.

-Eva McDowell

HAC-STK

ORA | Urgent Cross-Post | Call to Action: Stop Welland's "Operation Kill Kat"

Date: Sun, 2 Oct 2011
Subject: Fw: Stop Welland's "Operation Kill Kat"

"Have you heard about the City of Wellands's secret?

There was a secret meeting on Thursday evening September 29, 2011, at the Welland Community Wellness Centre of all places. Tony Porcaro, of the Welland Feral Cat Support Group, attended the meeting. Mass trappings, complete with a "Trapping Committee" paid with tax payers money, are going to trap the neighbourhood and feral cats - and kill them. Included are a colony of Tony's feral cats that have all been fixed, vaccinated and vet checked through his TNR program which is similar to Hamilton/Burlington SPCA's TNR (Trap Neuter Release) program. More Trapping cages are being ordered by the City. I think there needs to be a story done on this.

The City has stated they will use police enforcement if Tony or anyone else continues to support/care for a feral cat. Tony is 70 years old. Tony has continued anyways.

You just can't make this stuff up! This needs to be exposed before it’s too late.

You can contact me or Tony via his website Welland Feral Cat Support Group (http://www.feralcatsofwelland.com/) for more information or comments.

Attached are the mass trapping instructions handed out to citizens at Thursday's meeting.



Please email the following links stating that you have viewed the mass trapping instructions that have been handed out and that you want the mass trapping decision to be reversed immediately.

City Mayor and Councilors to contact are as follows.....

Mayor of Welland (Barry Sharpe) mayor@welland.ca
City Councilor Mark Carl mark.carl@welland.ca
City Councilor Maryann Grimaldi maryann.grimaldi@welland.ca

Media to contact are as follows.....

CHCH News (905 645-2011) tips@chch.com
Welland Tribune vgray@wellandtribune.ca
Hamilton/Burlington Spectator Editor-in-Chief pberton@thespec.com

Thanks.
Brian Phelan"



"What you are hearing/reading is absolutely true and is one of the most backward and regressive moves by a municipality and OSPCA affiliate that one can possibly imagine. In spite of my success with TNR in my own neighbourhood and in all parts of the city, the city and humane society are claiming that TNR does not work and that they will not support groups and feral cat caregivers; they have actually argued, quite erroneously, that we are the problem in that we feed and shelter feral colonies rather than support them in their ongoing failure of catch and kill policies; in their 10-page booklet (which is full of misinformation) they outline their approach in terms such as "feral eradication" and "mass trapping and euthanasia," the euthanasia term used deliberately incorrectly because they are clearly promoting KILLING and killing in the broadest possible definition because ALL CATS FOUND AT LARGE WILL BE TARGETED and vulnerable to the trapping... Traps will be given to any and all residents who request them and there will be a trapping committee formed to ensure the trapping will continue street by street until the entire ward is covered; what they are doing will not have any benefit at all and is both inhumane and illegal; the impetus for this action came from a small number of very vocal and inflential residents in the ward who are clearly cat haters and who have convinced the two ward councillors to pressure the city and humane society into taking this ill conceived action against innocent animals.

I believe this issue has implications for the welfare of all cats and animals everywhere and therefore should be known by as many people as possible, especially when those agencies which are mandated to protect our animals are operating in a diametrically opposite manner. Don't forget OSPCATruth. All the best...Tony"

Contact Tony Porcaro: tony@feralcatsofwelland.com | Contact Brian Phelan: jbphelan@cogeco.ca | Article in Welland Tribune: http://wellandtribune.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3320963

ORA Member News: Surgery for Beau

ORA Member News--Beau, a nine month old black and white kitty, is the unfortunate proof of what neglect and negligence can do to a poor defenceless creature at the mercy of an uncaring human. Beau had been living in terrible pain for several days due to a neglected leg injury. Beau's caregiver did not tell us what the injury was caused by or when it happened, but unfortunately, the guardian's neglect allowed the paw to become severely infected. As soon as we found out, we immediately took Beau to the vet but the paw was already gangrening with a general infection spreading through the bloodstream. Following a week on three different antibiotics to bring the infection down in Beau’s blood, the veterinary team concluded that the entire leg had to be amputated.

Thursday, September 15, 2011. 12:10 AM. Post Surgery Update: Beau’s leg was amputated earlier this evening, and he is eating and recovering well.

Monday, September 19, 2011. 3:38 AM. In the pre-surgery photos (warning: graphic photos!) you can see the bone of the back paw digit exposed, with one digit falling off in the examining room at the vet office. It is unbelievable that someone could be so negligent and uncaring.

Beau must have been in excruciating pain.

Amputation is a serious surgery. Though he is on several painkillers, Beau is eating and recovering well under the direct care of ORA. We thank Dr. Memon, Dr. Bhatti and the staff at Lorne Park Animal Hospital for their amazing care and professional attention given over ten days, day and night, to little Beau, and for helping ORA by greatly reducing the bill. However, the bill is still very large at over $3000, so please help us if you can, with any donation.

Make a donation to ORA any time via PayPal at:
http://ora-animalsrescue.org/donations.html - scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the PayPal Donate button to get started with your donation today.

--
ORA on Twitter: "It's Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week @petfinder! DSH black cat 3-legged Beau. Less adoptable, but no less lovable. 416-726-5762 @ORA_Rescue"

ORA: "Help a Pet, Without a Sweat!"

ORA Trio: Ready for Sponsorship

Suppose you would like to adopt a homeless companion animal, but you cannot add another resident to your house. Perhaps you travel intensively, or you are never at home. Maybe you have a partner who does not want another pet, or you are too busy, too tired, and you just don’t have the inclination to clean cat litter boxes or walk a dog after work.

If you recognize yourself in any one of these above scenarios but a part of you still strongly urges you to help, you can, by ‘virtually adopting’ a companion animal. We are not talking about an aberration of our times, the adoption of a virtual pet proposed by many websites. That is nothing more than another computer game. We are talking about taking meaningful responsibility for a real live animal by sponsoring them. The extent of your patronage and commitment to the virtually adopted animal may vary. You may select to pay a fixed amount monthly for the cost of food and supplies, or you may decide to cover all of the expenses of your protégé, including veterinary bills and medications or alternatively, to pay for their insurance coverage. The idea is that you help an animal for life without doing the work of caring for them. No stressful trips to the vet, no frantic runs to the pet store before closing, no cleaning up after them, not even cat or dog hair on your clothes. Doesn’t that sound great?

If it does, give ORA a call, or visit the ORA website at http://orarescue.org and select a cat or dog whose looks or story speak to your heart.

As soon as you enroll in ORA’s sponsorship program, you’ll receive a photo and bio of the ‘virtually adopted’ animal, as well as a certificate of adoption. And you’ll get periodic updates and updated pictures upon request. You can call or e-mail ORA anytime you wish to know what your pet is up to, and every so often, when scheduling allows, you are also welcome to come and visit your pet, to take the sponsored dog for a walk or to spend some playtime with your cat. These are not requirements for virtual adoptions, just prerogatives that active sponsors may choose to exercise if they like.

Most of the pets available for virtual adoption are animals who, for a variety reasons, are considered to be un-adoptable. However, you can also sponsor an adoptable animal. And if the animal you sponsor is adopted, you can then pass your sponsorship on to another animal.

How does this benefit the animals? By sponsoring or virtually adopting an animal and covering their expenses you make it possible for ORA to rescue another animal. Your sponsorship allows us to allocate the money towards the needs and care of another animal.

What is the cost of a virtual adoption? Consider what you would spend monthly to care for a cat or dog if you actually adopted one. You may decide to donate the same amount to care for your virtually adopted pet. As a general guideline, one cat in ORA’s care costs between $45 to $55 a month, and one dog costs our organization approximately $75 to $90 a month.

If you prefer, you can also co-sponsor/co-adopt a pet, starting from a monthly contribution as low as $25. As an added benefit, your contribution is treated as a charitable donation and therefore enjoys the same taxation advantage. For more information, please visit us online at any time or call 416-726-5762 today.

ORA-Organization for the Rescue of Animals
http://ora-animalsrescue.org

Animal Massage Therapy with ORA's Corina Grecu

Cutzie, 12 and a 1/2 years old, has been suffering from a back injury possibly incurred as a result of jumping from a cat tree. Cutzie is currently receiving massage therapy from Corina Grecu entirely pro bono, and is really benefitting from the treatment! We wanted to take some time today to honor and thank Corina for her great work with animals and our Cutzie.

Corina Grecu is proud to be a friend and volunteer of ORA-Organization for the Rescue of Animals. In 2003, Corina received the Accredited Animal Health Representative Diploma from the University of Guelph, Ontario. She has been working as a veterinary technician since 2004. Desiring to do something extra special for animals, she decided to become an animal massage therapist. She enrolled at the Northwest School Of Animal Massage in Washington, USA, where she graduated in 2006. Corina would like to see massage therapy being practiced in all animal clinics.

"OUR PETS DESERVE THE BEST! Animal massage is recommended by veterinarians and experts in animal science. Only twice a month, a massage session for your pets can prevent common problems and maintain good health. Once you try it, you will know that pet massage really works!" -Corina Grecu

Visit Corina and Massage for Pets at http://www.massageforpets.com/ for more information, and be sure to mention that ORA sent you!

ORA-Organization for the Rescue of Animals
http://ora-animalsrescue.org/

ORA on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/ORArescue

ORA on Twitter
http://www.twitter.com/ORA_rescue

Boys of Summer

Big hugs to all of you from everyone here at ORA as "Hug Month" speeds by and comes to a close! August's Feature Cats are a decidedly bonded pair of almost identical DSH black cats named Billy and Simon. Lap cats they may never be, but with these musical feline children around, your home will definitely be filled with all kinds of inventive sounds! ORA has taken great care of Billy and Simon, and these handsome boys are now ready for adoption. Fill out an application form at http://ora-animalsrescue.org/ when you're ready, and let us help to introduce Billy and Simon into your loving household today. ORA - orarescue@gmail.com

BILLY & SIMON | Petfinder Adoptable Cat | DSH Black Cats | Toronto, ON

www.facebook.com/ORArescue

‎"I've witnessed all your suffering As the battle raged higher And though they did hurt me so bad In the fear and alarm You did not desert me My brothers in arms." -Dire Straits

Credit: CHS

ORA-Organization for the Rescue of Animals
http://ora-animalsrescue.org

Timid Bootsy

July is ORA Founder Claudia Vecchio's birthday month! Her post-birthday wish tonight is for Bootsy. It took this late winter rescue a long, long time to warm up to his new friends at ORA, but he has, and everyone is glad to have finally earned his love and trust. Please consider helping ORA to continue to take great care of Bubu by sponsoring him today. For more info, visit http://www.ora-animalsrescue.o​rg/sponsorcat.php or call 416-726-5762 any time.

ORA: Seeking Sponsors for Timid Bootsy

www.facebook.com/ORArescue

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"But I know how you feel. It's hard to see who's real. It takes time living in a world when you don't know who to trust. Next time, slow it down... It'll be fine, it takes time to love." Chris Brown

Credit: CHS

ORA-Organization for the Rescue of Animals
http://ora-animalsrescue.org

Consider ORA during Petfinder's Birthday Adoption Weekend: July 15-17, 2011

Shelters and rescue groups across North America will be holding special events this weekend to celebrate Petfinder's 15th birthday. If you happen to live in the Greater Toronto Area, please consider making ORA-Organization for the Rescue of Animals your adoption shelter of choice during Petfinder's Birthday Adoption Weekend, and stop by to visit our Rescue's Featured Adoptable Pets on the web at http://www.petfinder.com/pet-search?shelterid=ON100. Eighteen deserving animals, currently being cared for within our friendly foster network, are eager for forever loving adoption, and ready to meet their new animal guardian matches! Many more beautiful cats and dogs not currently listed on Petfinder are also available at ORA at any given time.



Help ORA's rescued companion animals in need!

For more information, please visit http://ora-animalsrescue.org,
Call 416-726-5762 / 416-726-8895
OR email VecchioCT@aol.com
to find out how you can help foster, sponsor, adopt and donate to ORA during Petfinder's Birthday Adoption Weekend.

And happy, happy birthday, Petfinder, from Claudia, Corinne and everyone here at ORA-Organization for the Rescue of Animals!

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It is now July 11, 2011 at 11:11 PM - make a wish and let it come true!

Party Cat

July is ORA Founder Claudia Vecchio's birthday month. Her birthday wish tonight is for a little boy cat with amber green eyes named Smudge. Smudge recently scored 95% on the "How Social Are You?" Quiz, and is looking for a really fun family of humans and cats to hang out with every day for a lifetime. Call 416-726-5762 if you can give Smudge plenty of love!

SMUDGE | Petfinder Adoptable Cat | Domestic Short Hair-Black And White | Toronto, ON |

www.facebook.com/ORArescue

‎"You Are 95% Social! PARTAY!!!! You are the largest party animal, which means that you have huge #s of different types of people as your good friends. Making friends is not hard for you. If you can talk to them, then they are your friends." (www.gotoquiz.com/)

Credit: CHS

ORA-Organization for the Rescue of Animals
http://ora-animalsrescue.org

Letters to Cleo

July is ORA Founder Claudia Vecchio's birthday month! Her first special birthday wish is to see Cleo adopted to a loving home. Cleo was saved from a hostile environment in T.O.'s West end along with her kittens, Melanie, Cheeky and Foxy. Although moms technically shouldn't have favorites, we're fully aware that Cleo is particularly attached to Cheeky. And that's ok. Call 416-726-5762 if you can adopt them both!

CLEO | Petfinder Adoptable Cat | Tabby - Brown | Toronto, ON |

www.facebook.com/ORArescue

‎"I want you to want me. I need you to need me. I'd love you to love me. I'll shine up the old brown shoes, put on a brand new shirt. I'll get home early from work if you say that you love me." (Rick Neilsen, Cheap Trick)

Credit: CHS

ORA-Organization for the Rescue of Animals
http://ora-animalsrescue.org