A Niagara-on-the-Lake animal rescue fundraising group is stepping up this weekend to help Happy Days Animal Sanctuary in Fort Erie pick up the pieces after a devastating fire killed 31 cats and destroyed the main building.
On Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Community Initiative for Animal Rescue, founded by NOTL volunteer Tanya Rice, will hold a Christmas bake sale at the Husky station at 615 York Rd.
It will include a craft table, baked goods, homemade chocolates and jams, and “We Love Pets” bracelets by Coconut Quartz.
All proceeds will go to Happy Days, which said in a post to its Facebook that its team is “devastated” and focused on the surviving cats still in emergency care.
“Every life here matters,” the post said. “Losing any of our animals is unimaginable.”
The Dec. 7 fire not only killed more than 30 cats but also destroyed the founder’s home and the space where many rescues lived.
“The founders, Ann Swinson, her two sons Shane and Ryan, and the entire team at Happy Days are heartbroken,” said the sanctuary’s official GoFundMe.
The only building left standing was already at capacity and now has to carry the full weight of the sanctuary’s work.
Rice said the fundraising group wanted to respond quickly and raise as much as it could to help the sanctuary as it starts to put itself back together.
A surprise visitor is expected around 10:30 a.m. on Saturday: the community Grinch, stopping by to lift spirits amid a difficult week.
Happy Days Sanctuary is also accepting direct donations through its CanadaHelps page, which can be found by searching “Happy Days Sanctuary,” as well as through its GoFundMe, searchable under the same name on the GoFundMe website.
