Featured image: Kuma, a beautiful Siamese, snuggles on a scratching post shelf at Animal Aid in Portland, Oregon. Kuma is one of several cats looking for a forever home at this no-kill shelter. (photo by Cheryl Landes)
If you’re in the Portland metro area next weekend and want to find unique holiday gifts from local vendors that help the greater good, don’t miss Artisans for Animals at the Multnomah Arts Center, 7688 SW Capitol Highway, noon-4 p.m. on Sunday, November 19. A portion of the sales will support Animal Aid, a no-kill shelter in southwest Portland.
You’ll find a wide variety of items to choose from among these vendors:
- Bonsante Gourmet Dog Food
- Crafty Lady Soaps
- Earth & Art Works
- Funky Knits by Georgia
- Grace McLaughlin Pottery
- Little Bay Root
- Luna by Karina Potestio
- My Craft Kicks Glass
- Pawsitively Posh
- Play on Art
- Tea Party Animals
- Tonya Gray Artworks
- Vegarue Designs
- Wild Feather Jewelry
Radio talk show host and animal activist Jack Hurd and his wife, Kathryn, founded Animal Aid in 1969. On his radio show, Jack often talked about the abandoned cats in their Laurelhurst neighborhood. He and Kathryn started their rescue efforts when they found “Chicken Charlie”, a half-dead cat they nursed back to health, followed by 12 other cats from their neighborhood. As more callers to Jack’s radio show talked about their sick or injured pets and their struggles to afford proper veterinary care, Jack and Kathryn decided that something needed to be done, and Animal Aid was born. Animal Aid received non-profit status in 1971.
Today, Animal Aid is a non-profit organization with a no-kill cat shelter, emergency kennels for dogs, and foster caregivers for dogs looking for permanent homes. For more information about the shelter and adopting a cat or dog, visit Animal Aid’s website.
Curious Louie, another Animal Aid resident looking for a home (photo by Cheryl Landes)
