Here is a photo of a special room for foster cats built by one of our foster families. Click here to watch a video of the cats at play in this room -- you might also get some ideas to help build your own room for foster cats. Enjoy!

My Friend Frankie -- Love is Blind by Clever Mason of Fox Haven Farm My new friend Frankie and I hit it off right away--we’re both Yellow Labs, for starters. And we share a love for Nylabones, back scratches, and blueberry dog cookies. Imagine my surprise, then, when I discovered that Frankie is blind…. We were playing fetch, and I noticed that Frankie couldn’t find the ball immediately and couldn’t catch it in mid-air like I do. I razzed him a little about it, but he just smiled. Later, while settling in for our afternoon siesta, Frankie said, “I’m blind, you know. At least, that’s what everybody tells me.” He sighed and rolled over with his back against mine. Soon he was gently snoring without a care in the world. I, on the other hand, felt terrible, guilty that I was too short-sighted to notice my friend’s problem. My mom, Sue, explained to me that love is blind: we don’t see the imperfections in those we love, only the beauty. I nodded in agreement. No argument there. Then my mom told me that Frankie and I both have OSD, Oculo-Skeletal Dysplasia, a genetic condition marked by skeletal deformities and blindness. Frankie’s OSD affected his eyes more severely than his bones, while my OSD shows in my Charlie Chaplinesque legs (that’s how I think of myself….). My mom told me that breeders can perform a simple test to see if their dogs carry the OSD genes, but some irresponsible breeders care only about making a profit from the puppies. Guess who pays the price? Okay, so this is where I come in….Safe Haven needs you to help Frankie on this last leg of his journey, undergoing surgery to restore part of his eyesight. Please help my friend Frankie by donating to Frankie’s Fund via the Safe Haven website. Love may be blind, but Frankie doesn’t have to be. Please help make Frankie’s vision of a brighter future come true. Your gift will make a difference. Thank you. And if you would like to learn more about OSD, please go to http://www.optigen.com/opt9_rdosd.html. To donate to help cover the $2,300 medical costs for Frankie, just click on the donate button below, or send a check to us at the address on the bottom of the page. Please indicate on your donation that the money is for Frankie. Thank you for any help you can provide this sweet and courageous pooch. Thanks to all of the wonderful people who generously gave their time, their love, and their money to Frankie, he'll be having his surgery next month. And a special thank you to the compassionate people who rescued Frankie and transported him safely to Michigan. Without you, Frankie wouldn't be here. Thank you to Patience Miller, for alerting Sue Hinz about Frankie's plight. And thank you, Safe Haven Humane Society and Sue Hinz, for caring for this gentle dog. Rescue is always a team effort, and Frankie's story illustrates how powerful and determined and successful a great team can be.

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There are literally hundreds of ways you can help us and help the animals. if you have the tiniest inkling that you would like to offer a hand, theer is something for you. You can donate funds online by using the Donate button above, by mail to P.O. Box 55, Ionia, MI 48846 or in person using any one of many donation canisters located at area businesses. You can choose to donate any item or items from our “Wish List.” If you are a seamstress, we need you to help make cat beds, dog crate pads, both for us to use for our fostered animals and to sell at fundraising events. If you are a baker, you could bring baked goods for a bake sale. Hold a garage sale and donate the proceeds. Donate one hour or so a month to transport a dog to PETsMART for an adoption day or to a vet appointment. Learn to help process adoption applications to help us at PETsMART. Come to PETsMART on adoption days to help monitor animals, take dogs out for “potty breaks,” help make photocopies, etc. Foster a cat or dog. Make craft items for us to sell at fundraising events. Help us with our annual Christmas wreath sale in November-December. Make dog treats or cat treats to sell at a fundraising event. Donate or solicit from others, items we can auction at a live or silent auction fundraiser. Visit foster homes to take digital photos of foster animals for those foster families who don’t have a camera. Help distribute flyers for coming events. Help us think of new fundraisers. Loan a dog crate for offsite adoption events. Pay for an ad in the newspaper or Shoppers Guide for announcing fundraising or adoption events.

Did you know that every single donation helps our fur friends at Safe Haven, no matter how small? Every penny counts -- speaking of counting, just count the ways below that your donation, large or small, can help our fur friends at Safe Haven Humane Society, including Taylor and Asia above. Those pennies are crucial to our rescue and rehab efforts. $5 pays for: 1) Short veterinary exam for pre-adoption health certificate 2) Drawing of blood for feline leukemia and heartworm testing 3) Fecal parasite examination 4) First set of vaccinations for a dog $10 pays for: 1) Antibiotic eye drops for eye infection 2) First set of vaccinations for a cat 3) 40# bag of cat litter 4) 25# of cat or kitten food $20 pays for: 1) 50# bag of dog or puppy food 2) Oral antibiotic liquid 3) Topical fungal, antibiotic, steroidal treatment for ear infection $25 pays for: 1) Neuter of male cat 2) Heartworm preventative for 6 small dogs or 3 large dogs 3) Flea and tick treatment for 3 large dogs $50 pays for: 1) Neuter of one dog 2) Spay for one cat 3) X-ray of ill or injured animal $100 pays for: 1) Tumor biopsy 2) Half the cost of amputation 3) Large dog crate 4) Almost half the cost of heartworm treatment

Safe Haven receives $5,000 from Bissell GREAT NEWS! Thanks to BISSELL'S Partners for Pets program, supporting rescue/shelter members, Safe Haven had the great fortune of being the winner of the first Partners for Pets $5,000 giveaway! Safe Haven will use the $5,000 to promote microchip permanent identification for pets, to increase lost pets chances of getting back home. The remaining funds will be used for spay and neuter initiatives to help reduce the pet overpopulation. Please scroll to the bottom of this page for more information about BISSELL's Partners for Pets program. THANK YOU BISSELL!

Safe Haven Humane Society is proud to be a Partner for Pets! BISSELL and LostPetUSA.net have teamed up to help organizations like ours raise money, and now you can help too! When you buy selected pet products on Bissell.com, Bissell will donate 10% of your purchase to Safe Haven. You’ll save 10% and receive free shipping. And, each purchase helps us qualify for a semi-annual $5,000 giveaway. Now that’s a deal for all of us! Use the code ADOPT and select Safe Haven Humane Society at the BISSELL checkout to receive the discount. Visit www.bissell.com/partnersforpets/products to view available products. Now that’s a deal for all of us!