Signs of Spring

Thanks so much to the kind people who have exercised the PayPal button and sent donations to help complete the laundry building at the kennel. Sharon is so grateful for your help. Since she doesn't have a computer, she gets a call letting her know every time someone sends a contribution to the fund. She hasn't had time to thank people individually, but all the support she's received is tremendously appreciated and is already being put to use.

Good friend Maris is seen here painting the laundry. The trim will be light green when it's finished, and there's a plan to paint the front of the kennel building to match, so it will look smashing. Behind Maris, you can see the raised tub for dog washing. Out of sight inside the doorway are the commercial washer and dryer waiting to be installed. The walls are ready for insulation, and the sheetrock has been delivered. The propane installation is still looming, and that's an expensive job.

With an insurance settlement in legal limbo, Sharon's resources are extremely strained. Help is still very much needed. In this long stretch since the fire, all of the bedding for the kennel has to be washed at the coin laundry, and that's a daily expense that adds up to a small fortune over time. Amazing volunteers have been helping with this job all these months, but it's been a heavy weight to shoulder. Let's get the building done! Contributions of any size will allow both the laundry facility and demoliton of the old house to move forward.

Friends, clients, and the dog community... you are fabulous, and restore faith in humankind!

And he huffed and he puffed...

Just a couple of weeks ago, the demolition of the ruins of Sharon's house seemed to be too costly to consider, but thanks to a lower bid and some help from friends, the process has begun! Destruction makes way for the new, but it's also a sad goodbye to a home of many years. As good as it is to move on, there's a lot of history in the rubble. Sharon, we're thinking of you.

Button Button

Yes, it's been a long time coming, but the laundry building for the kennel is nearly done. Red tape slowed things down initially, and the heavy winter rains made the ground too saturated for concrete work during much of the past few months. However, the building finally stands. The commercial washer and dryer are waiting to be installed. The walls are ready for insulation and sheetrock, but a shortage of funds has brought the project to a halt. Money is needed to finish the job!

On the right side of the blog, you'll notice a new donation button. This is a PayPal link to the Sharon Curry Fire Fund bank account. Its aim is to make it easy to add to the fund with a secure online payment. Contributions to the fund will give that final boost to get this building completed, and any amount, small or large, will be gratefully put to use.

In the meantime, laundry help is still needed. If there are people who haven't been involved and want to be, that would give well deserved relief for those still left standing after all these many months! Sharon has been doing almost daily runs to the laundromat, but there are a few dedicated souls--bless them!-- who are still coming to pick up dirty laundry and then deliver clean, fresh bedding.

Thanks to all who have contributed to this effort in so many ways!

New Digs

When Sharon's house was lost in a fire last Thanksgiving, most of us assumed that by now she would have a new house under construction. Unfortunately, the insurance issue has turned out to be complicated, slow, and costly to resolve. (Don't ask! You can imagine how difficult it is for Sharon to deal with all of this, and it doesn't help to talk about it many times a day.) At present there is no money for the huge and expensive ($20-30,000) job of removing the debris from the burned house, let alone for rebuilding.

James, a kind friend, had given Sharon the temporary loan of an RV after the fire. When the time came that he needed it again himself, another good friend, Jeannie Bobbitt, stepped forward with an RV for her to use. However, in just the last few days, generous friends Lynn and Howard have given Sharon a year's loan of a gorgeous 40 foot trailer.

It's not a new house, and it's not forever, but for now, Sharon has a roof over her head and a working heater, and that's very much appreciated.