Save the Dates

Save the dates below to attend & support Joa's Arc...

Wednesday, April 30th:
(another) trail date for Justice for Max - if you're available, feel free to take a seat to show support at 1:30 p.m. at Winslow Township Municipal Court, 125 South Route 73 Braddock, NJ 08037-9422

Sunday, May 4th, 1 - 5p:
"Paws for a Cause" at Residence Inn in Deptford - Joa's Arc will be there to raise awareness for local special needs animals

Saturday, May 31st:
Rock 4 Paws - a fun, outside, music event we'll be a part of this year!

Tuesday, June 3rd:
Elwood's Scholarship Fun-Raiser - Elwood was such a big supporter of our work and rescue animals since he was one himself. Joa's Arc feels privileged to hold this fundraiser in his honor for his memorial scholarship fund.

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National Feral Cat Day Event

As stated last year, there's another type of "special needs" pet that can't exactly be adopted, but still needs love & care (and sterilization!) just like any other pet of ours - feral cats.

3 weeks from now is National Feral Cat Day and Joa's Arc is taking part in a fun event: dine to donate - that's right, eat and donate to our good cause.

On Wednesday, October 16th, the Apple Bee's in Audubon, NJ, will be donating 10% of the receipts paid for with a flyer handed in with it. We will be splitting the funds with another great group, Pet Savers, who will be using the funds just like us - to make a difference for local feral cats through sterilization and education of their communities.

Head on over to this website to print out the flyer necessary to "Dine2Donate": flyer available here.

We'll see you there! :)

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Wash in the Park - in the news

Joa’s Arc made the news! Check out the article here: Washington Township dog wash promotes animal welfare.

The photo is of adorable little Alvin, Karen Q's most recent foster boy who is still looking for a home. The feet belong to Joyce M's grandson and Joa’s Arc awesome volunteer, Ethan.

Thank you to our wonderful friend and tabling-buddy, Karen Q, for doing the chatting. None of us could have said it more perfectly than you did, Karen, with your quote: "Just because you’re different doesn't mean you’re any less lovable - We all have that same mentality that these animals can bring a special quality to your life."

Thanks to PET SAVERS for the invite and thank you to everyone that came out to visit the Joa’s Arc table yesterday - what a wonderful event and turn out.

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EVENT: Sunday, 07/21/2013

Another fun event is coming up next weekend for Joa’s Arc. This event is held by Pet Savers and it's their annual "Wash in the Park"

Dog Wash (which includes nail trimming) is only $20 and microchipping is available on site that day for $25. There will be an appearance by Hercules, “Poopie Bingo” for a $10 donation, tons of vendors, a lot of food, pets & people!

Joa’s Arc will have our table with information there hoping to raise funds for our special pets while also helping to educate the public about how wonderful these unique animals really are.

The event will be at James Atkinson Park, 138 Bethel Mill Road, Sewell, NJ from noon – 4pm, Sunday July 21st.

Don't forget, tomorrow, Saturday 7/13, Joa’s Arc will be at Clayton Veterinary Associates' Bark-B-Que. Remember, the group that raises the most donations at the event will be given a matching donation by Clayton Veterinary Associates - help make Joa’s Arc that group tomorrow by coming out, saying hi and giving a donation - every dollar helps!

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EVENT: Saturday, 07/13/2013

  Clayton Veterinary Associates is having a Bark-B-Que on Saturday July 13 from 11am-3pm (rain or shine) and they've invited us to join them.

Joa’s Arc can’t wait to be part of this event coming up next weekend and we'd love to see you there! We will have a table with information, former broken-heart Cordi will hopefully be there with us and our volunteers are hoping to raise donations for the special pets in our care like Pip, Lucas and our new little cleft palate puppy.

Leashed, well behaved dogs are welcome, a pet photographer will be there, lots of other pet rescue organzations will be there with info & adoptable animals, costume contest, tour the clinic, prizes, samples, drawings, snacks ... and the rescue/organization that receives the most donations during the event gets a matching donation from CVA!!! Think you can help make Joa’s Arc that group??

Looking forward to seeing you there, friends!

directions to the event click here

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Volunteer Opportunities!

Joa’s Arc needs your help to help the animals.

We get emails every day about local animals in need. Anything from a bit shy to injuries that will more easily become infected in a shelter or conditions staff cannot properly handle in overly crowded shelters. Kitten season is now here, making space even more of an issue. These special animals barely have a chance...

Joa’s Arc needs foster homes for dogs and cats - expenses paid by Joa’s Arc and we're here to help with any questions you might have as well.

Unable to foster? That's ok!

- Hold a bake sale.
- Find us community events to attend to spread the word about our work with the animals.
- Help us table events.
- Collect cat and dog food.
- Share our wish list.
- Hold a yard sale to benefit Joa’s Arc.

Have ideas for a fundraiser? Please share it with us. There are so many ways to help!

Contact: joasarc@gmail.com

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Easter Egg Hunt

On a windy, somewhat cloudy Saturday, Jen W of Joa’s Arc set out to attend a local Easter Egg Hunt and event to benefit the Princess Buttercup Foundation. She just took a small table with the plan of mostly handing out information to those that stopped by her table and socializing with the other groups attending (like our buddies/Daphne's adopter's group Bella-Reed Pit Bull Rescue). What an absolutely nice day it ended up being though ... lots of visitors, lots of kind people asking questions and lots of friends stopping by too.

One of those special friends was Elwood! Elwood and his mom, Karen, stopped by after meeting with a new friend at a local vet clinic's Easter Bunny photo-op day. The pair got to see Cordi (oh yes, she visited too - see below) and some of their friends at other local rescues too. They're such great company! Unfortunately, it was pretty chilly out for little Elwood and his time there was limited, but we're fortunate for any time with our retired friend, Elwood.

And our very own Cordi took home a ribbon from the event too - 2nd place! (Note: Don't mind the stuff on her face - it's just a different type of halter to help her walk well on a leash since otherwise she's such a complete loon.)

Cordi and her deaf sister, Bella, arrived with their folks completely prepared in Easter outfits! I think they all had an excellent time educating people on special needs pets, doing the Easter egg hunt, getting pictures with the Easter bunny and hanging out at the Joa’s Arc table.

It was wonderful to see how well Cordi is doing now - so well behaved and sweet. She's such an incredible example of all the good things you help Joa’s Arc accomplish. Cordi would absolutely not still be alive now if it weren't for your care and your help getting her the surgery she needed.

Thank you to all our friends who came out to visit with us yesterday and participating in the fun (but very windy) day! We appreciate all of you.

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Need Plans this Weekend?

Saturday: Yard Sale to benefit Joa’s Arc.

The yard sale will be held Saturday Oct. 13 (rain date Sunday Oct. 14) from 9am - 2pm at 1509 Market Street, Gloucester City.

All proceeds go directly to the animals. Please come out and help the animals of Joa’s Arc.

If you have any items to donate to help the animals, please contact jmoyer4515@comcast.net

Sunday: the 2nd Annual STAF Day of Wine and Noses is Sunday, October 14th from noon - 5pm at Cedarvale Winery (Swedesboro, New Jersey 08085). Registration starts at 11:00am for the dog walk. Registration Fee is $10 per Adult (16 and over). Dogs and Kids (under 16 - must be accompanied by an adult) are free.

There will be a fun run or walk (whichever you prefer) around the fields of the Winery, pumpkin prizes, costume contents, wine tasting, Blessing of the Animals and lots of vendors. We are pleased that Rocky Digati has agreed to Sing for us again this year! So please come help us raise much needed funds to continue the STAF low cost spay/neuter programs.

Although the walk is for people and dogs, feel free to bring a PICTURE of your favorite feline, hamster, bunny, horse, guinea pig, goat, ferret, etc. or maybe a PICTURE of a pet that has passed on and walk in their memory/honor.

Joa’s Arc will have a table set up at the STAF walk/gathering and Daphne will be there for a bit as well. Stop by and wish our sweet girl luck (and lots of good behavior) in her new home - she's being adopted that same day!

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Event: Saturday, Oct 6th

Consider coming out on Saturday, Oct 6th -

St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 212 N. Main St. Glassboro, will hold the Blessing of the Animals in honor of St. Francis of Assisi on Saturday, October 6 at 11:00AM. A brief service of blessing will take place on the front landing and ramp of the church. In the interest of safety for all pets please have your pet on a leash, in a pet carrier, cage or aquarium.

Monetary donations, as well as donations of dry pet food, toys, and clean towels will be collected at this service of blessing.

This year all donations will be given to Joa’s Arc. Joa’s Arc is a special needs rescue that takes the injured, impaired and medically needy animals out of shelters. Many of the animals that Joa’s Arc help would normally be euthanized due to their conditions and the lack of funding available for their care. Joa’s Arc believes that every animal is worth it. They have adopted out many animals that you might think no one would want - neurologically impaired cats, blind animals and broken limb animals. Some of their animals take longer to find homes, but eventually they do and the volunteers of Joa’s Arc is willing to wait for that perfect home to come along.

Joa’s Arc is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, receives no government or public funding, and relies entirely on donations from the public to carry out its mission to assist special needs animals. We have no paid staff.

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Less Adoptable - Fox has CH

This was Fox the first time we met him. He was crying and reaching out of his cage trying to grab me... and then he'd lose his balance and fall backwards. This happened repeatedly because Fox has CH.

Feline cerebellar hypoplasia (often referred to as "CH") is a non-progressive, non-contagious neurological condition.

"CH" is a condition affecting the cerebellum of a kitty's brain - this is the portion of the brain that influences fine motor control. So, kittens who have CH will have poor coordination, like jerky or wobbly movements when they walk or run and possible head tremors. This can happen to a greater or lesser extent in each kitty individually and Joa’s Arc has seen it range from cats barely able to walk to a very minor case where the kitty just had extra "swag" (her back end swayed a bit when she walked).

A kitty with this condition can have a good quality of life if given protection from accidents - these cats will be clumsy and must be protected from stairs, for example. They absolutely MUST NOT be declawed as they need their nails to help them hang on when they slip or fall. Cushions should be placed under places from which the cat may fall (window sills, etc.). It is a good idea to use untippable food and water bowls and a litter box with high sides but a low entrance area. These cats also absolutely be kept indoors for their own safety. CH cats seem to be unaware that they are different in any way and therefore may attempt feats that could be dangerous for them, but they seem to lead very happy lives.

No matter the severity though, life expectancy is not affected by CH.

The symptoms of CH generally do not worsen as an animal with it ages. In fact, many seem to improve with age as their muscles form more and often the cats will learn to compensate to some degree. This is a lifelong condition though because there is no treatment for the condition.

Fox's condition really doesn't phase him - he uses the litter box like "normal" kitties (he does miss sometimes) and he's really playful like normal kittens. His CH and the way he overcomes his challenges every day with grace is nothing short of absolutely inspiring.

Still not convinced Fox and kitties like him don't make amazing pets? Here are some quotes from people who have known, loved and been owned by CH kitties:

Deb M wrote about her experiences with a CH cat - "Shakey has changed our lives the past 8 years. Watching her grow and learn everyday and we swear she is more amazing and cuter everyday. Shakey has opened our eyes to special needs animals which has inspired us to advocate for Cerebellar Hypoplasia and to help save CH Kitties and spread the word for people to open thier hearts and homes to these amazing animals. We could not imagaine our life without a Cerebellar Hypoplasia Kitty in our lives!"

Helen K had this to say, "They Teach You Love & Pateince & Control & Respect.. I Dont Know How I Ever Lived WithOut My CH Babies"

Elise M, an advocate for CH kitties, added, "They say 'someone's trash is another person's treasure.' I can't imagine a more perfect description of my CH kitty, Nanako. At 5 weeks old, she was discarded like trash into a dumpster. Two years later, she is the light of my life"

Also, check out Amanda's 10 Reasons to Adopt a Cerebellar Hypoplasia Cat

Consider adopting Fox, an amazing little man ... or a CH kitty in a shelter/rescue waiting for someone like you.

"Betty's wise-acre, can-do attitude taught us more than we ever imagined. I can't imagine what life would have been like had she not shown up all alone in the middle of the street no bigger than a hand." - Ruth B

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National Feral Cat Day/STAF's Walk

 

What a beautiful day ... that's exactly what we had for STAF's 14th Annual "Paws in the Park". This year, the event took place at Cedarvale Winery in Logan Twp, NJ, with wine tasting, dog walking, music and doggie costume contests.

It was a windy day, but it was a beautiful day and we participated in it all - the costume contests, the dog walking (well, Gabe participated in the dog walking thanks to The Dean Team) and we even set up a table to sell a few of our things and advocate for special needs animals. Kreacher the 4 ear cat and Midge the dwarf kitten didn't allow the dogs to be the only ones having fun either - they came too!

Below are a few pictures of our day...

 

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NEW EVENT - Earth Day!

My how time passes! This event is here already!!

Joa’s Arc will be at Washington Township's 2010 Earth Day Celebration this weekend!!

The event is this Saturday, April 17th* from 10 am - 3 pm in Sewell's Washington Lake Park. Live music is being offered by Olde City and there will also be recorded music by Rowad Radio 89.7 WGLS-FM. Other fun activities include adoptable shelter animals, exhibits, demonstrations, presentations activities and lots of fun things
to do and see to promote conservation, preservation, environmental education and an overall enjoyment of the outdoors. More than 140 exhibitors and vendors are expected!

Please come out to support this wonderful event and cause in celebration of our great outdoor's and the planet we all share. Make sure to stop by the Joa’s Arc table ... if you're lucky, you'll even get to see Nennee post surgery :)

* - A raindate of Sunday April 18th is scheduled just in case. Tweet This

3 Cheers For Good People!!

There were two events last weekend that were a big hit for Joa’s Arc!

First, the “Easter Bunny, Elwood & Joa’s Arc” event on 3/20/10 was an undeniable success thanks to so many people (and animals)! Winslow Animal Hospital sent Joa’s Arc a check of the funds raised which came to $505.00!!

Not only was Elwood the “ugly” dog there to raise money for Joa’s Arc, but Nennee was able to make a special appearance (and get her photo taken with the Easter Bunny and her pal Licorice the rat). Nennee was a total angel who thoroughly enjoyed all the attention she was getting … especially the Chick Fil A chicken nuggets, yum! She was even nice enough to share some with Elwood.

Quickly following in that fun-filled success, Sunday was very nice at Bill’s Wonderland of Pets too. A total of $140.00 were raised for Joa’s Arc that day!

Also, we can’t leave out that our wonderful friends and the organization we work as an auxiliary group of, Save The Animals Foundation (STAF), recently had their own fundraiser – their annual bucket auction which is always a great success and fun time. STAF held their 8th Annual Bucket Auction on March 18, 2010. Congratulations on yet another great year and fundraiser, STAF! Tweet This

Elwood Raising Money For Joa's Arc!

On Saturday, March 20th there will be a "Spring Open House: at Winslow Animal Hospital from noon - 3:00 at 640 Sicklerville Road, Sicklerville, NJ.

What does this have to do with Joa’s Arc? Well, our good friend Elwood and the Easter Bunny will be welcoming Spring at this fun event!


Come join in the fun, have your pet's photo taken with the Easter Bunny and Elwood will also be available for photos for a $10 donation to benefit Joa’s Arc! The whole event will begin at 11:00 and Elwood will be arriving at noon. They'll be balloons and treats for the kids, pet costume prizes, and a pet Easter Treat Hunt. Great fun family day, so please come on out!

If you're really lucky, you might time things perfectly and get to see Elwood and Nennee, who Elwood and his mom Karen have personally requested to see. What can we say? Our girl's a hit! Though there's no guarantee Nennee will be able to make it (she's got a busy weekend already), we're all hoping everything works out for her to see her buddy Elwood - they met at another Joa’s Arc fundraising event, as you can see in this photo, at Bill's Wonderland of Pets.

We hope you enjoyed the gorgeous weather we had in NJ today ... and hope to see you this weekend too :) Tweet This

Upcoming Fundraiser

Joa’s Arc has another upcoming event at Bill's Wonderland of Pets where we'll be selling jewelry and other goodies in order to raise funds for our mission of helping special needs animals. We will be there from 11 AM until 3 PM on Sunday, March 21st, and would love a visit from you!

Although she is not there in connection with or there in support of Joa’s Arc that day, we'd like to inform you that also that Sunday will be animal communicator, Elizabeth Severino. She will be conducting individual sessions which are 10 minutes each at a rate of $30 for one animal, an additional $5 for another animal in the same session. You can make an appointment to see her that day by registering on line. Tweet This

Gibson Update & New Event

Gibson goes for a medical re-check this week - so far he's been a wonderful, healthy kitten running around and being a nut. Let's hope the vet gives the okay and he is officially past all the drama of the "cat running into car" incident.

Also, friends, note the new event posted:
Joa’s Arc will be holding a bake sale at Bill's Wonderland of Pets (804 White Horse Pk North, Magnolia, NJ) on Saturday January9th from 11am - 3 pm. Nennee, our special needs kitten from GCAS will be joining us and greeting the public. Bill's Wonderland of Pets is in a brand new location with a new building so come on out and check out the new store and pick up some baked items while helping Joa’s Arc. Tweet This

Joa's Arc at Petsavers' Woof Walk

Thanks to Petsavers, Joa’s Arc had a wonderful time last weekend at their Woof Walk! Several of our dedicated volunteers, set up, hung out to greet all the wonderful people & pooches that made it out and chatted with the volunteers from STAF who were set up next to the Joa’s Arc table.


Our donated, hand-made scarves seemed to be a big hit and the awesome bird toys raised a lot of questions. The day was filled with good conversations, meeting & greeting, looking at great merchandise from various vendors, lots of doggies and some kind donations as well. I think it is safe to say that we all had a great time!


Thank you so much to Gloucester County's Petsavers and everyone that made the very first public event for Joa’s Arc such a great day!

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Petsaver's 2nd Annual Woof Walk

Announcing the new upcoming event that Joa’s Arc will be at:

Sunday, October 25th, 2009
Petsavers' 2nd Annual Woof Walk
Alcyon Lake Park
Pitman, NJ
9am Registration for the walk
Contests including: Best Dog Halloween Costume, Best Dog-Owner Look A Like, etc
Lots of fun activities!!
More info at www.petsaversnj.org

As some of you may know, Joa’s Arc was suppose to have our first public event at Save The Animals Foundation's Paws in the Park event last weekend. However, due to the dangerous weather conditions, the event had to be canceled.

We look forward to seeing all of you Sunday morning and hope you can make it out. ::fingers crossed:: the weather is beautiful :) Tweet This

STAF's Dog Walk

Save The Animals Dogwalk scheduled for Oct. 17 HAS BEEN CANCELED DUE TO THE WEATHER. Please check back soon to see when our next event will be. Thank you.


**PLEASE NOTE: We have a new event scheduled** Tweet This

Get Together

Volunteers of all ages...

and species (humans, kitties and dogs)...

came together for Joa’s Arc to work on different ideas for things to sell to raise money for our cause.

For starters, one unusual addition to our meetings and get-together's that I'm sure most don't include would be Nora. Nora the Cane Corso, was very good at supervising to make sure no one got out of line, like she is doing here while Joyce M is cutting material up. Nora is absolutely beautiful and a "special" former shelter dog herself. She was assisted by a local rescue and adopted out to her forever home with a friend to Joa’s Arc, So, it was nice to have her company at the get together ... minus the slobber and sloth-speed movements.

We made lots of fun toys for kitties, dogs and even birds! A foster kitten at Joa’s Arc's volunteer Smithy's house, Oswald (available for adoption through Furrever Friends Rescue & Volunteers, Inc in Woodbury, NJ), felt the need to test out some of the things we were working on mid-production. What a cute little helper! I believe we can now officially say that our cat scrunchy toys are kitten tested and foster mom approved! If you happen to buy any at the upcoming STAF Paws in the Park event (see sidebar for upcoming event info), let us know if your kitties love them too, please. This was our first attempt and being artsy and trying to make these toys ourselves.

We accomplished a lot that night together - attempting to put together all the cat toys, dog pull toys, assembling pieced for the bird toys ... and "torturing" kittens by dressing them up (the cane corso too found herself draped in fleece at one point). As payback and in the line of all goofiness, we needed to take advantage of Oswald's good-natured personality. This was not the only shot we got of this funny man and volunteer/founder Joyce taking advantage of him. What a cute kitten he is! He's available for adoption and hopefully will go home with his slightly shakey friend Spanky - consider adopting them! :)

We could not be more excited for STAF's event this weekend that we'll be at. Rain or shine - the event is on. So, please hope for no rain and lots of fun times. There's a pavilion in case it does rain and we'll have a little tent set up for our table too. Come out to join us if you're near by, please. Registration is roughly 8 - 9 AM for the dog walk, there will be goodies there for dogs & people and a blessing of the animals later on as well.

OUR 1st PUBLIC EVENT: STAF's Paws in the Park
When: Saturday, 10/17/2009 9am
Where: Fasola Park in Deptford, NJ

PS- Happy National Feral Cat Day :) Tweet This