Support Dr. Thompson for Animal Hero of the Year!

Dr. Monica Thompson, the founder of the Nine Lives Foundation and resident veterinarian, has been nominated for the Animal Planet Hero Awards! These awards, offered by the Animal Planet Channel, honor individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary service in time, effort and results for a cause that contributes to the welfare of animals. And there’s no doubt that our Dr. T deserves to be on that list! The grand prize winner will receive a $10,000 grant for their designated program and the Cat Hero of the Year wins $5,000. The biggest prize, of course, would be the publicity that the shelter could receive which would hopefully increase donations and adoptions. Dr. T is currently in the running to become one of the ten finalists. If she makes the cut, her nomination entry will be posted on the Animal Planet website for the first phase: the People’s Vote. We will need everyone - and their cat! - to vote for her to win!

Go to the Nine Lives website on the date of September 29th to see if she has been named a finalist and needs your vote. We will also place a sign on the front desk at the shelter. The People's Vote will run from Sept. 29th through October 13th. And if Dr. Thompson does become a finalist, please spread the word so we can get as many votes for her as possible... the People’s Vote will count for 25% of the total judging criteria.

To give you an idea of how much Dr. Thompson & the Nine Lives Foundation accomplish in our community, here are a few amazing statistics:

• Dr. T established the Nine Lives Foundation in 2004 and since then the shelter has found homes for over 2,000 cats! Each month, approximately 50 cats & kittens find loving homes through Nine Lives.
• 60% of the cats Nine Lives takes in have injuries or severe medical issues. Most animal shelters will reject these needy cats and not spend the time & money necessary to rehabilitate then, choosing instead to send them to ‘death row’ even though they would make good pets.
• Dr. T performs 1000+ spay/neuter surgeries a year, and also provides medical services to other local cat rescue organizations. She participates in the Trap-Neuter-Release program to help reduce the number of feral cats in our community.
• It costs $40,000+ a month to run the Nine Lives Foundation, with medical costs, food, utilities, rent, salaries, etc. Approximately 60% of the financial support comes from Dr. T’s private veterinary practice, 20% comes from adoption fees, and 10% from donations. But more is always needed!

So watch the Nine Lives website and the shelter’s front desk for more information regarding Dr. T’s nomination for Animal Hero of the Year - we will keep you posted! http://www.ninelivesfoundation.org/
Please Note: The Nine Lives shelter building currently has no insulation for winter warmth or ventilation/air conditioning to battle the sweltering summer temperatures. The recent heatwaves have been devasting and make it desperately uncomfortable for the cats and for the staff to work.
If you would like to donate toward this extreme need, or you know of a heating/cooling company that would consider doing the work as a tax write-off or for a reduced fee... please contact Nine Lives at http://www.ninelivesfoundation.org/ or 650-368-1365.

-Shannon Walker