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Written by Founder/Executive Director, Britton Slagle
KarmaSue truly had a banner year thanks to you – our supporters, donors, community partners, families (those that utilize our programs) and crew (our awesome volunteers).  I’ve personally seen this organization and everyone involved with it grow; it’s amazing to watch.  All of the successes and growing pains of the year are earned, valued, and completely worth it.  I’d like to dedicate this year end letter to all of you.  I hope you enjoy reading about our development and walk away from it with a sense of pride because YOU helped Coloradan families enduring companion animal cancer.  If you like what we do and can help us as we grow, please make a contribution to KarmaSue via our Crowdrise fundraiser, website, or directly through PayPal or Venmo, just search Britton Slagle. Lots of love to you.

Education Program

KarmaSue hosted four education workshops in 2018.  We were able to dive into various types of cancer in a series facilitated by our own Board member, Dr. Katie Braddock of Plum Creek Veterinary Services in Castle Rock.  We also provided a series that focused specifically on exotic animals.  Thanks to Devin Jaffe and her team at Nature’s Educators, participants learned about forms of cancer found in birds and reptiles and how to care for exotics, which many of us have as companion animals as well.  Thanks to our facilitators, Coloradan families have a better understanding of many cancers that impact a variety of species with which we share our lives and homes.  Education workshops will continue to be offered quarterly in 2019!

Counseling Program

We also offered four unique counseling workshops this year.  Participants were able to paint portraits of their pets and create handmade journals in which they can keep special memories of their companion animals.  We ventured out into nature as a group to enjoy the outdoors and reflect on the connections we have with our companion animals (both past and present) and we hosted a very special grief workshop earlier this month that allowed all of us to bond over the lives we share(d) with our pets and how losing our friends has changed our lives.  All of these workshops gave families the opportunity to feel their feelings in settings void of judgment with others that truly understand and appreciate the connections they share with their pets.  We look forward to creating more unique experiences for families to honor the human-animal connection next year.

Financial Support Program

KarmaSue rolled-out the financial support program in January, 2018.  This program supports families with expenses associated with a cancer diagnosis.  Thanks to our generous donors, we were able to offer financial assistance to two families enduring companion animal cancer.  The first companion animal is ten-year-old Kashus (featured in this video and pictured above-left).  He had his leg amputated as a result of osteosarcoma, but is now free of extreme pain!  Ally (his mom) did an amazing job raising funds and finding resources to pay for treatment, she just needed a little more help.  With the assistance of KarmaSue’s financial support program, Ally can spend more quality time with Kashus and less time worrying about how to pay much of the veterinary bill balance.  Ally recently announced that she and Kashus are celebrating eight months post amputation and diagnosis!  We are so grateful for the opportunity to meet and assist this family in 2018.  We are rooting for you, Ally and Kashus!

We are also grateful to have met Crystal and Harley-Grey (pictured above-right).  Harley-Grey was a one and a half year old Rottweiler diagnosed with osteosarcoma.  Unfortunately, Harley-Grey lost her fight with cancer on November 2nd.  The KarmaSue Crew was with the family as Harley-Grey passed at home and helped coordinate services for her.  We have not left Crystal’s side since she came to us for help in September, and we would not have it any other way.  In fact, Crystal joined our grief workshop from Michigan via FaceTime.  Harley-Grey took a piece of all of our hearts when she left.  We learned so much from this family that we are adding an important project to the financial support program next year.  Stay tuned for an announcement in January to see how this special, emotional experience will positively impact KarmaSue families in the future.

Boogie On!

The Second Annual Boogie On event – The Amazing Race Edition held in July was a huge success!  Five teams of four encountered road blocks, detours, and checkpoints that challenged them mentally and physically. People and pups joined us for the race and a fun after party with a silent auction, snacks, and prizes!  Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we beat our fundraising goal and raised over $1,400!  Our Fundraising Committee is already hard at work planning the next Boogie On event!

Community Partners
KarmaSue expanded its group of community partnerships from eight to seventeen!  Community partners support our mission by offering assistance, discounts, education, and more to KarmaSue families in order to honor the human-animal connection.  Most recently, KarmaSue has added the following nonprofits and businesses as valued community partners: Morris Animal Foundation, The Brodie Fund, VRCC, Colorado Home Euthanasia, Spay Today, Neuter Now!, Thriving Pets International, and Colorado Pet Pantry.  Starting in January, KarmaSue and The Brodie Fund will begin collaborating to help families obtaining oncology services through VRCC.  This partnership allows both organizations to increase impact and support families more completely.  We appreciate these important partnerships and are invested in their missions and scopes of work.  Thank you, community partners!

KarmaSue Crew

Last, but certainly not least, we have expanded the KarmaSue Crew and it continues to grow!  We’ve had new members join our team to enhance outreach efforts and expand our capacity to support the community.  Thanks to our volunteers, we were able to participate in our first cat convention, make headway in our marketing plan, and increase our ability to raise funds with the goal of supporting Coloradan families enduring companion animal cancer in mind.  I cannot express enough gratitude to this team.  They work tirelessly and never complain; I am forever indebted to them.  To each KarmaSue Crew member – thank you.  Please take a moment to enjoy what you have helped create this year.

A Note to our Donors
You have been loyal, compassionate, and so generous.  We thank you for your commitment to KarmaSue’s mission and faith in our ability to provide needed programs to families enduring companion animal cancer.  Because of you, we were able to provide thoughtful workshops each quarter and help two families fighting companion animal cancer with costs associated with a cancer diagnosis.  You allow us to continue this work.  We look forward to sharing more stories with you in 2019 about families just like Ally and Kashus and Crystal and Harley-Grey.  Although some may be emotional and heartbreaking, all will be inspiring and full of hope.  The stories will continue highlighting the human-animal connection in all its beauty.  After all, that is why KarmaSue exists, to support Coloradan families enduring companion animal cancer in an effort to honor the human-animal connection.

We hope that you have enjoyed learning about what the KarmaSue Crew has been up to this year and that you are just as excited for 2019 as we are; it’s going to be another great year!  Being an all-volunteer organization allows us to allocate 100 percent of contributions to programs.  To help us continue our work, please consider making a contribution to KarmaSue via several easy options: our Crowdrise fundraiser, website, or directly through PayPal or Venmo, just search Britton Slagle. Thank you again! We are so grateful for ALL OF YOU!

Follow KarmaSue on Social Media
Are you on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Twitter?  So are we!  Head over to our social media pages and connect with us today!  Now, thanks to Erica Jaffe and Staccato Productions, we even have our own YouTube channel!  Head over to our social media pages and connect with us today!

GET INVOLVED!
KarmaSue offers several ways for you to get involved and support our organization.  For details regarding volunteer opportunities, please visit our website or send us an email today!

As always, thank you for your continued support of KarmaSue.  This is OUR organization; it is just as much yours as it is ours.  Thank you for your part in our journey.

With Gratitude and Love,
Britton J. Slagle
Founder/Executive Director
KarmaSue

Guest Blogger: Joyce E. Cain
November, 2018

On a cold February day, my husband and I were taking our two dogs for a walk. As we strolled along, a kitten appeared. He was adorable! Black and white with a tiny black mustache on his white face. He meowed at us and Luke picked him up. He was filthy and had gum stuck in his tail. And he was terribly skinny, every rib and his tiny hip bones sticking out. We petted him for a few minutes and contemplated what to do. Since he had run out from under a porch, we decided to give it another day. We had never seen him before, so maybe he was a recent adoption and his humans hadn’t had time to clean him up.

The next morning we were anxious to return and check on the kitten. This time, he appeared from a field next to the house. He was still filthy, still had gum in his tail, and seemed desperate for attention. When I picked him up, he snuggled in and started purring. With two dogs and three cats already in our family, we weren’t sure we wanted another kitten. But we decided it was our responsibility to at least ensure he got fed and cleaned up. We could keep a lookout for “missing kitten” posters or maybe take him to the local cat rescue.

Back home, we gave him a gentle sponge bath and cut most of the gum out of his tail. We soaked cat food in water and he gobbled it up. But the sweet little guy wouldn’t sleep. He would lean against me while sitting up but as soon as he nodded off, he would startle awake and look around terrified. That’s when we knew he hadn’t had a safe place to live! So we would pet him until he fell asleep, although he would only sleep sitting up, leaning against one of us.

A couple days went by and we continued to feed him small amounts. He kept passing and throwing up grass, which we assumed meant he had had nothing real to eat in a while. Within a week, he was keeping all his food down. He curled up to sleep. We thought he was the sweetest kitten we had ever met.

Another week passed and suddenly our kitten wasn’t so sweet. He was ornery, too! Turns out he had been so lethargic from being hungry and sick, we had been fooled into thinking he was the calmest kitten who had ever been. But now he was back to good health and he was like every other kitten. He climbed to the top shelves. He dug in plants. He tormented his cat “sisters.” He attacked us from around corners. And every day we fell more in love with him!

No signs appeared. And we realized there was no way we could take him to the rescue, as great as they were. And so we had our fourth cat! A visit to the vet determined he was healthy and would just need the standard care for a new pet (neutering and vaccinations).

And then the big decision… What to name him! It has never taken us so long to name a pet. We tried so many names over the course of the next month and nothing stuck. Finally, we tried Snow, after a TV character we were enjoying. It seemed such a blah name for such a fancy cat, but it stuck, and Snow he was!

That was five and a half years ago. Based on how old he was when we found him and because he looks like he’s wearing a mask, we decided Halloween should be his birthday.

Over the past three years, four of our animal family members have passed away from old age or cancer. And we re-homed two to my mother-in-law (long story… but we found ourselves in a living situation where we couldn’t keep all of our pets and so we asked Mom if she could temporarily take two cats while we figured it out. It’s been two years now because the three of them have become so attached to each other and Mom asked if she could just keep them!).

So now we are down to just Snow! It’s been almost 11 years since we had only one pet. In some ways, it’s nice to just have him to focus on. He gets more attention than he ever has and he is thriving on it! He loves to chat and tells us about everything he has done while we’re away from home. He still has a kitten meow and purrs louder than any cat we have ever known. He has his own space in the RV (we live and travel full-time in an RV) and one of his favorite things is to gaze out the window and watch wildlife or people walking by. He is an incredibly handsome cat and his mustache makes him even more unusual. He likes to lie on Luke’s chest and get his chest rubbed and the ecstatic look on his face makes me giggle. He enjoys sitting on our laps while we travel and his reactions to what he sees and smells outside the truck are highly entertaining. He also makes us laugh with his crazy antics around the trailer, chasing crinkle balls or attacking his stuffed mice. He sleeps under the covers and his almost non-stop purring soothes my anxiety. When I was lost in grief earlier this year, after our Henri dog passed away, Snow gave me someone to focus on and caring for him reminded me I still had an animal friend to enjoy.

But beyond all that, I love him just for who he is. He is a gentle, caring soul. He showed this through the way he cared for Henri. Snow would follow him around the house and gently touch him to let him know he wasn’t alone. If Henri ran into a wall or fell down, Snow was right there to check on him. He frequently laid right next to Henri while he was sleeping. Since Henri’s passing, Snow has become more and more of a companion. He is a great friend and a happy, silly little cat and we are grateful he chose us all those years ago!

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Guest Blogger: Tori Wegener
October, 2018

It all started when I decided to impulsively adopt my companion animal. When I picked him up, just to hold him, I knew that he was coming home with me. So I told the lady that I wanted him and needed to get everything that he would need. Let me just tell you that all of his supplies cost me an arm and a leg, but I didn’t care because he was going to be my best friend; his name is Winchester.

Winchester and I instantly bonded and continued to connect as we played and trained. Some say training this species is easier than training a dog, which I thought was neat. I made him a little box house in my room so that he could run around the room and get up on it. I was able to train him to know that, when I shook the treat bag, he knew to run across the room and hop up on his house ledge. One thing that I knew I would definitely train him to learn was that his cage would be known as his, “room;” I never liked the word, “cage.”

He is a happy and very energetic little guy. After I adopted him, I saw Facebook posts about how this species becomes really attached to their people companions and love to just relax. Relaxing is not in him at all – he could run for hours! Shortly after I adopted him, I realized that my boyfriend was allergic to him. This made it hard for my boyfriend to come over and spend time with me and my new companion animal. We made it work for the last year and a half. About two months ago, my boyfriend and I decided to take the next step and move in together. This was going to be a big step in my life and my companion animal’s life because I had to make the hard sacrifice of leaving Winchester with my family. I did not want to leave him behind, but I could not let my boyfriend suffer being allergic to him, either.

I struggled with the decision about what I was going to do for a few months. I didn’t want to seem like a terrible companion animal mommy for leaving Winchester. I knew that my family would take good care of him. I remember the day I moved in with my boyfriend; it was so hard to give my little guy the biggest hug and say I would see him soon. I cried for about a week straight every night. Having that connection with him is so great; my little guy makes me super happy.

My mom knew I was feeling sad about leaving Winchester behind, so every week I FaceTime with my mom to see my little guy. She sends me pictures and updates about him every week. I try to make it across town to my parent’s house to see Winchester often. FaceTiming with him is fun because I can see how excited he gets when he hears my voice! Winchester will be two years old this January, and I am already trying to figure out what to get him. On his first birthday he got special treats and a pineapple house. I have to think of something he will love just as much for this birthday!

The bond that Winchester and I have is very special to me because he always knows how to cheer me up when I am upset. Now, this might shock you…Winchester is a medium black/white rat. That’s right, Winchester the rat is my best friend.

Winchester had to go to the veterinarian recently because his nose was slightly bleeding, which is a sign of a respiratory infection. My mom was nice enough to take him in to see the vet. He was prescribed some medicine and was told he needed to lose a little bit of weight. Winchester is a very happy chunky rat, but could possibly need to lose a few pounds to be more on the healthy side. He is doing better now and apparently likes when grandma (my mom) gives him his medicine instead of when I do it, his own mom!

I love my baby Winchester and will do anything to make sure he is taken care of. Companion animals aren’t just dogs and cats, they’re horses, pigs, birds, and rabbits, too (among others)! My companion animal just happens to be in a happy, slightly chunky, rat form, and I wouldn’t have him any other way.

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