Another year has come and gone. In our little FurRescue corner of the world, we’ve had a lot of highs and lows in the past year. Cielo (the face of FurRescue Fashions), beat an aggressive form of cancer, making her a three-time cancer survivor. Our owner and fearless leader, Carolina, had fingers in both hands crushed in a freak accident that left her wondering how she’d keep her business afloat. And illness and hardship seemed to ravage friends and family alike. Yet in the past year, despite all of the obstacles that loomed ahead, FRF also hit new records in sales which translated to new records hit in total donations made to rescues throughout the country. So while it’s certainly been a rollercoaster ride, we’ve taken it all in stride because we were able to donate $10,000 this year alone.
Our FurRescue Fashions Family
The one thing that has remained constant however, is the support of this incredible community. As we reflect on our 2022 journey, we give thanks to all of you for allowing us and giving us the platform to live out our dream of supporting the rescue community; of fighting to give every dog in need a chance at finding a safe home and loving family to call their own. Never in a million years did we dream of building a community of like-minded people, who share in our love of dogs and share in our passion for philanthropy. There are simply no words to express our gratitude to each of you and we feel truly blessed that our small business has been a foundation for friendship, kindness, charity and love.
We don’t take any of it for granted because we also know that the world through our lens is not representative of the rest of it. Our bubble is one of love and support through all of life’s moments, but that isn’t the same system of support that everyone else is allotted. It’s because of this that in our gratitude to you, we don’t lose sight of our mission to give back. Our portion of the equation is miniscule in comparison to those who work within the trenches of animal rescue and you’ll hear us say this often, but rescue is not for the faint of heart. Because for every win, there will continue to be countless more who need help.
In the past year we’ve partnered with a different non-profit organization each month. And we’ve seen them rescue animals from horrific conditions of abuse and neglect. Some have overcome their traumas and have gone on to live amazing lives with their new forever families. Others fought hard only to make their way to the rainbow bridge. In both outcomes, it’s an unsettling feeling knowing there are people on this earth who’ve caused pain and inflicted that level of abuse on innocent life without a second thought. It’s a hard pill to swallow and leaves little room for hope in the future of our world. But the hope that remains comes in the form of the rescues we work with and the people behind them. Because they continue to do the work that most don’t have the stomach for. They willingly get up everyday knowing their hearts may be broken all over again, but do it anyway so that these animals may know a gentle and loving hand in their final moments, with the faint hope they’ll pull through. And they do; they love every single one of them with their entire hearts no matter how little time they have with them. Rescuers are heroes, literal angels on earth.
It is our belief that we are called to action, that it’s our duty to help others as long as we are in a position to do so. And as we get ready to close out another year, we give thanks to not only each of you, but to those who’ve devoted themselves to saving lives. In the coming year we aim to raise even more money to help save even more lives; something that wouldn’t be possible without you. We’re moved to tears with humility and gratitude to be able to do our small part. And it’s YOU, our inspiration.
Happy New Year. We wish you an abundance of blessings in the year to come.
