Twenty-five years ago today, from my kitchen window, I saw a homeless mother cat and her three kittens coming into my backyard.

They climbed up the stairs to my porch and cuddled up together. I thought to myself, what can I do to help this little family and I called animal control. A man answered my call and took the time to share with me that if I brought them into the shelter, he would euthanize them. I remember how confused I felt at hearing this news. It seemed unfathomable to me that these beautiful animals would be euthanized simply because they were homeless due to the overpopulation and limited space the shelter was experiencing. I could not accept that these innocent creatures, who were healthy and simply without a home, had no other options. I made flyers and put them at my health club, shared with neighbors, etc. (this was before we had smartphones and social media :). I also volunteered at PetSmart caring for the cats at the adoption center. After several weeks, my rescue kitties were adopted. One kitten “Tortie” was returned, and I was thankful to have her once again. I adopted Tortie, and together we began a crusade to create a no-kill shelter – Furkids. For 25 years, Furkids has worked to solve the problem of animals being euthanized in shelters because of lack of space, or because they are sick, injured, or scared. Most of the animals in our care are rescued from kill shelters on their last day, while others are from owners who are unable or unwilling to care for them. We specifically target pets that other organizations pass over due to illness or injury. When other shelters must say no, Furkids finds a way to say “YES!” Today, we have more than 1,000 animals in our program. (Continued in the comments.)