07/11/2025
HAPPY CAT SANCTUARY - A STATEMENT FROM VIRGINIA SCUDDER, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER OF NORTH FORK COUNTRY KIDS
Please read the statement in its entirety released Friday, July 11, 2025 (link to statement below):
“On March 31, 2025, our team at North Fork Country Kids Animal Rescue responded without hesitation to a devastating fire to help Chris and his beloved cats. That morning, I was at work when I got the call — and I knew instantly there was no time to waste. These animals needed us.
That day, we were given several cats to take under our care immediately. We pulled eight cats from the wreckage. Two of them, heartbreakingly, were so severely burned, sick, and broken that they had to be humanely euthanized. Their suffering was beyond what any living being should ever have to endure.
From the moment we arrived, our priority was crystal clear: get those cats out of harm’s way and into immediate medical care. We were told their expenses would be covered, that their care would be paid for. But here we are, three months later, with thousands of dollars in unpaid veterinary costs — promises left broken, leaving our rescue to carry the burden alone.
Two days later, we returned to the scene, ready to trap and help even more cats, ultimately bringing the total to eight. That night, we were asked to leave cats in a van in front of the burned building — but we refused. Those cats were breathing heavily and in clear respiratory distress, sick, burned, with corroded nasal passages, fighting for every breath. Leaving them to suffer in that agony was simply not an option. I am forever grateful we stood our ground and got them to safety and treatment right away.
Please remember this: we were there for Chris and his cats — no one else. Chris and those cats were our only concern. Their lives, their well-being, their chance at survival was the sole focus of our mission.
I will never forget the moment I stood alongside other rescuers, watching as Chris’s lifeless body was rolled out on a gurney, covered with a white sheet. Some of us fell to the ground in shock and grief. In the distance, you could still hear cats crying out in pain — sounds that will echo in my mind forever.
Since that day, my heart has broken over and over again. So much has happened behind the scenes. Another rescuer called me the C word that day and laughed at us as we stood there with traps in hand, ready to help as many animals as we possibly could. That moment still haunts me — seeing cruelty aimed at us while animals suffered in plain sight.
When I got the call that morning, I was at work, and later I found myself crying on the floor, completely devastated and unsure how to move forward. My friends and coworkers came to my side, held me up, and supported me without hesitation, so that I could go help at the scene. That moment of compassion reminded me why we continue this fight, no matter how heavy it gets.
In the aftermath, we took on this emergency almost entirely alone. Messages went unanswered. Promises were delayed. And still, we pressed on for the sake of those cats. If you know me, you know I give people chance after chance. I open my heart even to those who have wronged me, because I believe in doing what is right. But today, the weight is too heavy to carry in silence.
No one ever asked how the cats were doing. No one ever checked to see if they had made it through. Instead, we were criticized for running essential medical tests — fecals, SNAP tests, full exams — tests that any responsible rescue must do to protect an animal’s health. That is our duty, not an option.
I have watched friendships collapse over this, and it hurts deeply. People I once trusted proved to be only surface-deep acquaintances. But please do not mistake my quiet for weakness — I stayed silent, hoping people would rise to the occasion and do the right thing.
This experience pushed me to the very edge of depression. My volunteers stepped up in ways they never imagined, taking on enormous roles and responsibilities, working day and night to save these cats. Those are the people I honor — the ones who show up, who sacrifice, who carry on without shallow words or empty promises.
This is what rescue truly is: raw, real, painful, and often brutally unfair. But still, we stand. For the animals. Always, for the animals. That will never change.”
NFCK took an enormous financial hit when they saved the 8 cats from the deadly fire on 3/31/25. And they still have managed to continue properly saving community cats.
We want to help them for all of their hard work and effort helping the community. No one is more deserving than NFCK. Their continued efforts with TNR, the sick and needy, the neglected should be not only commended but encouraged.
Please consider donating to this amazing organization. Anything at all helps.
PayPal: [email protected]
Venmo:
www.justiceforhappycat.com
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