Hello, my name is Bridgette Gill and I am the founder and operator of Purrfect Paws and Pals. When this group was initially started in August of 2019, it was with myself and a couple amazing ladies that helped so much, but sadly, life and health ailments limited the amount of help they were able to offer, but not before working their tails off with me to raise the funds needed to purchase all of our equipment, fix hundreds of cats, and adopt many into loving homes. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Roberta and Pat! That was just one obstacle we have faced since our start and have faced so many more.
Our biggest obstacle to date and most recurring obstacle has been stretching our small resources as far as they will go, while adding our own personal resources to the mix to help get us over the finish line to a goal, such as purchasing a vehicle large enough to transport the cats we trap for a clinic. We have been so fortunate to have a large group of supporters who not only offer words of encouragement and cheer, but offer the monetary donations required to keep such an endeavor afloat and thriving.
Another ongoing obstacle has been having a place to safely hold any friendly cats we encounter in our trapping adventures. We feel so strongly that friendly cats should not be living outside when all they really desire and deserve is an inside home with an endless amount of love, treats, and a warm lap or bed to snooze. What we found when searching for a solution to overcome this obstacle is a network of caring community members with generous hearts and a strong love of cats who offered safe haven in the form of fostering. They provide all the care, food and litter, and at times a loving patience required to tame even the most hissy, spitty kitten, turning them into loving, purring lap cats ready for their furrever homes<3
Another obstacle was overcome in a beautiful and ingenious fashion when local business owners, Rob and Tam Harmon, offered not only sanctuary to homeless cats, but more importantly exposure to potential adopters and the idea of the CatWalk in Tyrone, building off of the previous adoption of Penny, The Daily Herald cat adopted from our organization 4 years prior. Being the proud business owners that occupy four store fronts on Pennsylvania Avenue in Tyrone, they are in a very unique position to offer the windows of three stores to house stray and homeless cats until the purrfect homes are found.
The common component in overcoming all of these obstacles has been community! Our community and beyond have consistently stepped up to help in any and every way possible to keep this dream alive and going, which has resulted in the betterment of many cats and humans. It’s a beautiful thing!
Purrfect Paws and Pals 