When Northeast Animal Shelter launched our community outreach program in the midst of the pandemic, our goal was to build trusting relationships with neighbors in underserved communities – neighbors like Sabrina.
Sabrina takes in the stray cats in her Revere neighborhood, gets them spayed or neutered, and makes sure their bellies are full. She also serves as the point person for all of her neighbors’ pet concerns. When we first met Sabrina, she was caring for 14 cats!
That’s when our Community Pet Food Bank stepped in to assist. We now provide Sabrina and her neighbors with cat and dog food on a regular basis. And when the cats she cares for have medical needs, she reaches out to NEAS and our affiliate MSPCA-Angell for help. So when Sabrina found yet another stray cat, we were the first ones she called.
A spay procedure was scheduled for the new cat named Precious, but two days before the appointment, Sabrina called to share that Precious had delivered two kittens overnight. We quickly placed Precious and her babies into foster care and later that day, Precious gave birth to a third kitten.
Although only two of the kittens survived, they have since found loving permanent homes and Precious was spayed and returned to Sabrina, who had checked in on her every day while she was in foster care.
If you or someone you know needs access to resources such as pet food or affordable veterinary care, please email jamie.g@neas.org.