JEARS Food Drive

Trixie here again. What an amazing two weeks it's been and what incredible generosity from all of our wonderful supporters. It's hard to believe what a sad state we were all in two weeks ago when we heard the bad news about the food running out. But every day that has gone past has seen more and more kindness. Today is the last chance to donate to our cause. We are so close to our goal - just 130 bags left to go. If you have already donated thank you so much - and if you're still hesitating please make that decision to help. The rescues this past week have given us renewed hope that more animals can be saved but they will need food too. There are so many of them - so many. Well, I have to go and make my Valentine's Card. I'll be checking back in later on with the totals!! Thank you all so much, Love from Trixie and The Animals

As we come to the last day and a half of our food drive we remember the unknown animals - those without a name or face. The ones too afraid of people to come out of their hiding places when a rescue team comes through. Their story is the hardest to tell. Hungar, freezing temperatures, predation - such are the challenges the animals of Fukushima face on a daily basis. It's a survival of the strongest. The weak don't stand much of a chance anymore. Emaciated mothers are giving birth everyday but have no milk to feed their young - they can't even feed themselves. Their only hope is people. People who will scoop them up and take them somewhere warm and safe. People who will leave food for them so they can sneak out of their hiding places when the coast is clear and they feel safe enough. Those of us you have met at JEARS are the lucky ones - somebody did scoop us up - but so many of our friends have not been so lucky. Each day that we hear of a rescue a gratitude fills our hearts that can't be measured. All we can do is wag our furry tails and give you a happy smile - hoping you know how much your kindness means to us. Love from Trixie and The Animals

Hello - I'm Little Timmie and I just got the best Valentine's present I could have ever wished for. I was sitting at the side of the road in Fukushima a few days ago, almost buried in the snow as I'm very little. A car stopped and some really nice people got out and came over to me. I think they felt sorry for me sitting there shivering and hungry so they picked me up and took me with them. I was taken to a place with a lot of other animals and given a nice meal and a warm place to sleep. The next morning I met a very friendly cat called Nutmeg who told me I had been picked up by a group of people called JEARS who had rescued hundreds of other animals before me. He said I would be well looked after and fed everyday because there are so many people who care about us. Nutmeg said that there is a big food drive going on at the moment that is not only going to feed all the animals in the shelters but help to feed my friends back in Fukushima who haven't been rescued yet. It is hard for me to talk about what it is like there. I've seen some horrible things that I will have a hard time ever forgetting. But now I have a bit more hope knowing there are so many loving people who really care about the animals. So I want to say thank you from me and from all the animals who haven't been rescued yet but may at least get the chance of a food drop. Many of them are clinging to life and won't give up until the very, very end. Love from Little Timmie

Hello wonderful friends and supporters!! As you can tell from Charlotte and Nutmeg's posts the response to the food drive has done wonders for moral. I'm licking my lips thinking about all those yummy food supplies arriving. Poor old Pitan is beside herself as that girl loves her food more than any of us and the thought of strict rations was very upsetting for her. The day Susan told us that food was running out she went and lay in a corner in a very sad state and didn't move until the next meal. Now she's back to her old self - puttering around the office all day sniffing under the furniture in the hopes of finding a stray kibble. (and she wonders why she is a bit rotund - I ask you!!) We have four more days to go until the end of the food drive and are hoping there are still some more people out there who can ChipIn!! We are nearly 2/3 of the way towards our goal which is amazing news. Now we just want one last push this weekend so the pressure of feeding all the animals can be eased for many months. If you've been unsure about donating please know how much it will help our survival - for without all of you most of us would not be alive today. For anybody having difficulty using the ChipIn our Amazon wishlist is always available as an alternate way of donating a variety of other foods and supplies. Thank you so muchLove Trixie and The Animals

I'm Charlotte and I'm a miniature pig! Not many people know about me as those cats and dogs get most of the attention - BUT I WAS RESCUED TOO! I think I was one of the last to come out of Fukushima before they closed off the exclusion zone so I am one of the lucky ones. Yesterday I heard all kinds of commotion in the cat room so went to see what was going on. Nutmeg told me the amazing news that our kind and loyal supporters have been donating money to buy us food and that we are now over half way to the goal. And that it means there will also be lots of cabbage and carrots and all kinds of other stuff for me too. I was so happy I treated the shelter to a dazzling display of the Miniature Piggy Four Trot and now they are calling me Ginger Podgers. In fact, I trotted all the way to my mud bath and finished the routine with one almighty splat and role in the dirt - and had the most fun I've had in years!! We have a week left to try and raise as much as possible to get our food supplies up and lasting. Our caretakers are very conservative with our feeding as they have to make the food last - so we only get one meal a day. But we all get enough to eat and nothing gets wasted. Thank you so much to everyone who has already chipped in - we are so very grateful. Please continue to share and spread the word to help make our food drive a great success. Love from Charlotte and The Animals

MEEEWOW!! The JEARS cats have a new word in their vocabulary. This is Nutmeg here and I'm representing the JEARS cats at AFN. We just got word from Trixie that the food drive may well hit the halfway mark this weekend. You won't hear any meows from the cats today - everyone is saying MEWOW thanks to all our amazing supporters.Who says we can't get excited? You should see the activity in the cat room. Happy dances?? Our seniors are running up the curtains, leaping from cage top to cage top, somersaulting back onto the floor, leaping across the room in a grand jete and finishing up with a pirouette - only to to take off again. (if they can that is - but don't tell the dogs as most of the seniors need a good long rest after that much exercise!)We always live with the worry of not knowing where our next month's supply of food will come from. If we can achieve our goal of 1000 bags it will last us for several months and we'll be able to feed more and more animals still not rescued. There are still so many more out there we want to help - along with continuing to look after all of us who were rescued.Can we reach the halfway mark this weekend? I'm sure we can if we get the CATS involved!With all our love and gratitude,Nutmeg and The Animals

Hello friends - I'm back again. Word is getting out that all kinds of wonderful people have been making donations from all over the world to help us. You should see the tails wagging and happy faces - not to mention the happy dances. I didn't know some of our older residents could move like that. (just hope they don't sprain a paw or dislocate a shoulder - that's the last thing we need around here!!!)In 24 hrs we reached 35% of our goal. They are going to have to call me Queen Trixie if this keeps up. I'm still waiting for the manager of the Cat division to give us an update on how the cats are receiving the news - but what can I say? That's cats for you isn't it. Doing things in their own sweet time!I've been fed, housed, walked and loved by JEARS for over 300 days now. I know I am costing them a fortune but there is no end in sight for so many of us so the need for food will continue for months. If we can achieve our goal of 1000 bags of food it will be one less thing we have to worry about for quite a while. And it will be thanks to all of you and your friends.Okay - got to go back and watch some more of the happy dances!!Lots of love and thanks,Trixie and the Animals

Hello dear Facebook friends, This is Trixie here and Iâ??m sorry I look so sad in thispicture. I have just heard some reallybad news. Our food supplies at JEARSare running out very, very quickly and it doesnâ??t sound like we have enoughfood to get us through February. We areall very worried. Our caretakers aregoing to run a big pledge this week to see if we can raise enough money to keepboth shelters in stock to get us through the winter. We are going to team up with Costco as they have very nice qualityfood at very reasonable prices. Can youplease help us? A donation of $30 willbuy a 40lb bag of dog food, $25 will buy a 20 lb bag of cat food and $15 willbuy a 20lb bag of puppy food. We are going to run the chip in for the next week and aresetting a big goal of 1000 bags of food!! I am personally in charge of running the fundraiser and giving all ofour dear supporters updates every day as to how many bags have been pledged. Please help me to make this a success so Idonâ??t get demoted (like Samu did hehe). The chip in will also be available on the jears.net website so if youhave friends who would like to help us but are not on Facebook they can maketheir pledge that way. Please share the link on your own Facebook pages so we cantry and reach as many people as possible. It is hard to believe that nearly a year has passed since the terribletragedy that hit us â?? and that so many of us are still without families. We could not have got through this past yearwithout all of your love, support and generosity. We will never be able to thank you enough for the care andconcern you have shown us but please know that in all of our furry hearts weare eternally grateful. Love Trixie and The Animals