Cathy Kane has been a life-long animal lover. She’s made it her business to step up to care for disadvantaged dogs and cats and befriended others of like mind. Five years ago, she took her efforts from what she alone could do to joining ranks with Bethany Cromwell and Marian Kratzer.
“We noticed there were a lot of homeless animals in Randle so the three of us got together to form the Randle Pet Ministry,” Cathy said. “There were people doing individual things, but we wanted to come up with a way to be more effective. In the past five years, the Randle Pet Ministry has spayed and neutered over 600 cats and dogs and found homes for over 600 cats and dogs. In all, we’ve dealt with about 1,000 animals.”
As the name suggests, the Randle Pet Ministry is faith based. “We believe God created animals and cares about them. We have seen God do some miraculous things for the pet ministry,” Cathy said. She went on to add that doing the work has given her opportunities to share her faith and use the interaction to encourage people. “I have been able to tell people, ‘If this (positive thing) can happen for a little cat or dog, how much more does He care about you?’”
It is fitting, therefore, that the organization is church sponsored. The Randle Methodist Church is the main sponsor, but all the churches in Randle have been supportive of the group’s effort.
“Actually, the whole community supports us,” Cathy said. This support comes in the way of cash donations, participating in fundraisers and donating things like pet food, kitty litter and pet carriers.
The pet ministry has five cat foster homes. Cookie Troxel, who has helped with and fostered many dogs over the years, has retired from the program. “We specialize in cats right now,” Cathy said. However, the pet ministry is still able to refer dogs for placement, help with spaying and neutering and locate food when needed.
Every cat or dog leaves the pet ministry with their shots and spayed or neutered, unless they’re too young. In that case, the pets leave with certificates for spaying or neutering.
Cathy is quick to give credit to Dr. Patrick Roden of South Fork Veterinary in Chehalis for his dedicated support. “We couldn’t do it without him,” she said. “He and his assistant, Kim Ostlund, are very much a part of the pet ministry.”
Another person Cathy wanted to give credit was Mary Ostrem who provides a foster home and handles many of the needed tasks, such as trips to the veterinarian.
Animals come to the pet ministry in a variety of ways. Sometimes it’s after the pet’s owners has passed away or entered a nursing home. Sometimes the owner has been incarcerated and sometimes it’s just because the owner can’t keep the pet. She said they have placed dogs and cats all over Washington State.
“We never pressure anyone to take a pet,” Cathy said. “We don’t get rid of animals, we find good homes. We are very particular. We screen the people and deliver the pets so we know where they are going,” she said. Also, if for whatever reason the arrangement doesn’t work out, the pet ministry takes the animal back without complaint.
Sometimes it’s not finding new homes for pets but enabling current owners to keep their pets. It could be that the owner has run into a bit of bad luck and just needs help buying pet food. The pet ministry steps into help those situations too.
Of course, all of this requires funding. The Randle Methodist Church takes up a change offering once a year for the pet ministry, which usually brings in a few hundred dollars. The rest of the organization’s funding comes from donations and fundraisers.
“We always need donations,” Cathy said. “Even with reduced costs, spaying and neutering is expensive.”
Donations can be sent to South Fork Vet, 1035 State Route 508, Chehalis, WA 98532 and the Randle Methodist Church, P.O. Box 175, Randle, WA 98377. Please designate “Pet Ministry” on checks. Donations made through the church are tax deductible.
In addition to cash donations, gifts of food, kitty litter and pet carries are also welcome. Please contact Cathy at 360-496-1382 if you’d like to help.
