Eva’s Eden Helps Reduce Euthenasia

December 11, 2011 By 8 Comments

May 13, 2011 Eva’s Eden (Oneness Foundation) was featured along with N.O.A.H. in a KEPR television news piece. Tri-Cities shelter, Eva’s Eden and N.O.A.H.’s efforts have made a significant difference in the number of euthanized cats, reduced by 20%, at the Pasco, WA shelter. We are honored to work with this shelter and the fine people who do their best every day to manage a very difficult and growing pet population. We appreciate KEPR highlighting the cooperation of our 3 organizations. Take a look at both the written article and the video and thanks for supporting our work.

by Neema Vedadi
Story Published: May 13, 2011 at 5:23 PM PST
Out-of-Towners Save Tri-Cities Cats

PASCO — It’s the time of year our local animal shelters are normally overwhelmed with stray cats and dogs. Often called “kitten season,” there are normally too many animals and not enough homes. But KEPR discovered a big change this year.

Normally the rooms at the Tri-Cities Animal Shelter would be packed full of cats this time of year, but that’s not so, in fact some are packed full of empty cages.

Two rescue groups from the Westside, “N.O.A.H.” and “The Oneness Foundation” have been coming to the Tri-Cities and saving every adoptable cat in the building.

“They’re coming in and taking 30 cats at a time so that’s tremendous, and those are 30 cats that probably, as this season is hitting us, would’ve had to been euthanized,” says Tri-Cities Animal Shelter director Angela Zilar.

In fact the shelter says their euthanasia rates for cats is now down to near 30 percent. Last year it was close to 50 percent.

Taking these animals out of town helps keep down the cat population here in the Tri-Cities. So local pet lovers have more room for strays.

Carlos Rodriguez visits the shelter every week. For him, it’s the best place to look for an animal companion. “As soon as you get that trust and that dog trusts you, you guys are like the best friends in the world.”

And while the rescue situation is good right now, the shelter says it’s still seeing a steady amount of strays, despite recent efforts by the shelter and local groups to provide low cost spaying and neutering.
“Our program and their programs in the next couple of years will start to show a benefit. Right now it’s hard to show that benefit yet,” says Zilar

But for now there’s a chance the cats at the shelter will find homes, a Westside rescue group is planning another trip to Pasco to adopt more cats again next week.

It’s a good thing too, KEPR found out that most of the pets that leave the shelter are being taken by rescue groups, not by local families looking to adopt.

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First Meetings – Love Knows No Boundries

December 2, 2011 By 11 Comments

This video depicts the most wonderful story of first meetings. On a recent trip to a shelter to bring cats home to Eva’s Eden, there was one small kitten all alone in its cage, bewailing the loss of its mother and siblings. Frightened and lonely, it would let out frequent cries of despair. It was heart-wrenching to see and hear.

In another area of the shelter was a mother who had recently lost the babies she had birthed. Two kittens had been brought in a short time later and had been given to this mother, who took them in as her own.

Knowing this, it was quickly realized that pairing the lonely kitten with this mother and her newly adopted kittens may be a perfect solution. At first the kitten and mother did not interact, but within a minute the kitten let out one last distress call that was quickly answered by the new mother. She began cleaning the kitten who responded immediately to her motherly touches.

This is one of the many rewarding experiences in cat rescue that makes everything worthwhile. Enjoy the video. Thank you to Arianne Morrison for the footage and Rachael Gunderson for video editing.

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Eva’s Eden Testimonials and Video

November 27, 2011 By 7 Comments

As the manager of Eva’s Eden, I have seen sick, abandoned, unloved animals first hand. I have seen cats and kittens so ill they are on the verge of death, cats too scared to even look you in the eye. I have seen the effects of a disposable culture where animals are considered bothersome, thrown away after their use has been fulfilled. I have seen the look of terror, the look of fear, the look of depression on the faces of innocent animals who are blameless and precious. I have heard the comments, seen the disrespect given to another living creature just because he or she happens to be an animal and not a human. I have seen things that have made me cry, made me angry, made me wish that I didn’t know how much neglect, need and suffering that there is in the world. But more than all of these things combined, I have seen love.

I have seen cats so ill we didn’t think they would make it through the night healed and whole, full of life. I have seen children healed by the love that comes from caring and loving an unloved feline. I have seen families open up their homes over and over again to animals that needed them so much with no question to the cost, the commitment or the work. I have seen kittens nursed through the night, syringe fed because they are so young they cannot yet eat, and without sustenance they would die. I have seen a community work together to build and maintain a place of love and peace, where families and individuals can come and feel the love that cats and kittens have to give, and to give love in return. I have seen not just love, but love in action.

Below is just one of the many testimonies received from a wonderful new home of an Eva’s Eden kitty. This is what love is all about…giving of yourself that another may have life. Not just life, but life in abundance. May you know the love of another, spirit to spirit, being to being, in oneness and in harmony.

Namaste,
Nicole Walker

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Eva’s Eden

August 31, 2011 By 14 Comments

What is Eva’s Eden?

Rescued Kitties from Pasco

On the outset this question sounds simple enough to answer. Eva’s Eden is a cage-free cat rescue organization made up of a network of foster homes and a beautiful adoption center. But one might wonder how this organization began and how it manages to make all that happen so seamlessly. The concept behind Eva’s Eden is inherently tied to the teachings of The Oneness Foundation in Blaine, WA and the revelatory direction of Pastor Sheryl Walker. Eva’s Eden was born out of a great personal loss to Pastor Sheryl when her beloved Scottish Fold, Eva, died of distemper (despite vaccination) in the winter of 2010. The connection Pastor Sheryl had with this animal was nothing short of intense and divine. Out of her sadness she envisioned a cage free shelter using foster homes that the kitties could live and thrive in until they are adopted. Her challenge to the members of The Oneness Foundation was one of opening up their homes and hearts to the throwaways of society. The people rallied behind her vision to help create the adoption center in the basement of The Oneness Foundation. They gave of their time to paint, sculpt, sew and create the beautiful Garden that is now Eva’s Eden. The opportunity to love in a selfless way is constantly available in the form of the sickest kittens, the saddest cats and the journey to wholeness with them.

Eva's Eden Cage Free Cat Shelter

Pastor Sheryl once asked, ‘how many can you take?’ and finding the answer to that question has challenged a whole group of people to grow in their awakening. Reaching out to one of the highest kill rate shelters in the state is one of the challenges Eva’s Eden has met. This shelter houses many more cats and dogs than it can physically handle. Tough choices are made and without a release valve for the overflow, most of the animals will be euthanized. One recent trip was to bring back 40 cats. The final number was 93. The screams from behind bars and the clawing at the air can sometimes be too much, and Pastor Sheryl and her team often come back with more than they signed up for. Thankfully, the foster homes have come to expect this compassion resulting in more lives being saved; they simply make adjustments as needed. The trek to safety is unbelievably hard on the kitties that are lucky enough to be chosen for transport. The car ride is stressful and their immune systems are already taxed by the stress of the shelter. Once in our doors the specialty of each foster home and the cats in need are matched up. Fostering is not for the faint of heart. Sometimes you take the little one home, simply to be with it at the end, giving love when medical intervention is exhausted.

Eva's Eden Cage Free Cat Shelter

I cannot understate the level of dedication and strong leadership needed over such a great responsibility as Eva’s Eden. The full scope of detail and responsibilities over the foster home system alone are vast. Medical care, foster home consultations at all hours of the night, vaccination scheduling, satellite locations, financial responsibilities and literally life and death choices, all are juggled and attended to by the most committed loving people. Lives are saved and changed with such an amazing group of people and it is all the credit of one woman’s depth of love.

One foster mom shared something with me recently. After a long and hard time of trying to save a little kitten, she realized the end was near. All that was left to do was sit on the bathroom floor and somehow gently say goodbye, watching for any sign of suffering. She said to the kitten, ‘I am sorry, I tried to save you.’ She felt words in her spirit say back, ‘well, perhaps I will save you instead.’ This moment of clarity helped her realize that the journey out of herself was in the giving. In her attempt to heal another, she had forgotten her own pathetic thoughts. A tiny dying creature had completed in her what she had been trying to learn for so many years.So what is Eva’s Eden? It is a place of life.

-Written by an Eva’s Eden Foster

 

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