FFOCAS Winter 2025-2026 Newsletter

FFOCAS on Homeless Pets End-of-Year Newsletter

Did You Know?

In addition to supporting pets residing at our partner shelter, we do our best to help keep pets out of the shelter. Max and Leo are just two of many pets we’ve diverted from shelter surrender since 2018. Five years ago, Max’s family moved from a single-family home into an apartment. Though Max is an easy dog in many respects—he loves all people and all other dogs—he was struggling to settle into the new apartment. Unfortunately, he had chewed some trim, prompting the landlord to insist that the family either get rid of their beloved pup or leave. The family couldn’t move again—they had a brand new baby and financial constraints. But they couldn’t bear the thought of taking Max to a shelter. We learned all we could about Max, we had our volunteer and her dog meet him, and we posted his bio on PetFinder and Facebook. It took a few months, but we found an amazing family for Max. Now, five years later, his family can’t imagine life without him. This year, Max’s mom, Patricia, reached out saying, “Today marks 5 years of the purest love. I’ll be forever grateful for Max!” Just this past fall, Leo’s owner found himself in a stressful situation. He had a new human family member who was highly allergic to cats. In addition, he was struggling to make ends meet as a federal employee during the government shutdown. Leo needed a new loving home, but this senior orange hunk also was overdue for a dental procedure with some painful bad teeth that needed to come out. Again, we gathered all the important intel on Leo, and again, our volunteer met him, confirming that he was indeed an incredibly sweet boy. Sensing that we needed an assist on this one, we reached out to one of our favorite rescue partners, Pets Bring Joy. They agreed to take Leo in. We helped Leo’s owner with the cost of updated vaccinations and blood work to be sure he was healthy enough for general anesthesia, and PBJ scheduled his dental with their own vet. Before Leo had even recovered from his dental, they’d found him the perfect home where he will be safe and loved for the rest of his days—with PBJ as his safety net, just in case. Without your financial support, we could not have gotten Leo to his rescue and, from there to his forever home. Without your voice—and shares—as advocates for homeless pets in Frederick County, we could not have connected Max with his forever home. As 2025 comes to a close, we would like to express our deepest thanks to you—for your donations and for every time you urge your friends and family members to consider adopting a homeless pet from FFOCAS, from our partner shelter Frederick County Animal Control, or from one of the many wonderful local rescues like Pets Bring Joy.

How to Help

Your donations help us cover the costs of veterinary care and behavior/training support for pets at our partner shelter, veterinary care and supplies for the primarily senior and special needs kitties in our feline rescue program, and veterinary care and behavior support for pets like Max and Leo, who need new homes through our shelter intake prevention program. Donate online—either a one-time or a recurring monthly donation with the option to sponsor a special needs cat.Checks can be made out to “FFOCAS” and mailed to 132 W. 2^nd Street, Frederick, MD 21701. To purchase items needed by our partner shelter, check out their Amazon Wish List here. To send us a Chewy gift card for our feline rescue program, please click here.

Sneak Peak: Nine Lives of Love

Starting January 14th, you can help FFOCAS make the most of the nine lives of the homeless cats in our community for just $9 by entering to win a $50 Colonial Jewelers gift card! The winner will be announced at 8:00 am on Valentine's Day! Enter to win starting January 14th at go.rallyup.com/ninelivesoflove. Thank you for your support!