When Michelle and I entered the little storefront on Main Street in Yarnell our first greeter was Lana, who briefly checked us out before sauntering off to another corner of the room to see what else she could stick her nose into.
Lana’s had some serious health issues and is recovering from major surgery, but since she’s been feeling so much better she’s developed something of a prima donna attitude, booting others out of their spots and claiming territory as her own. Lana is a gorgeous young Himalayan cat, taken in by Petey’s Playground when her human went into assisted living and could no longer care for her. She had a serious medical issue that required surgery, but Petey’s took care of it, she is nearly fully recovered and will soon be ready to go to a forever home, but one without any other cats she can lord over.
Petey’s is a foster-based pet-rescue service with the mission to establish, improve and preserve the relationships between seniors and their pets by locating a compatible pet, providing care while the owner can’t, or finding a loving home when they can no longer care for their pet.
Launched in 2012, its original goal was to help seniors preserve their relationships with their pets. Volunteers focused on providing temporary care or housing for pets whose owners had medical emergencies, but it turned out they were doing much more; they were improving quality of life for seniors and their pets through placement, training and assessment.
Petey’s serves a large area, from Yarnell up to Paulden, and is a 501c3 nonprofit. The organization moved into its current storefront space four years ago.
Director Kim Lytle gave us a tour, introducing us to the many cats and kittens on site and explaining how the shelter runs. Volunteers come in regularly to provide daily care, cleanups and socialization, as well as post all adoptable animals on Pet Finder and Facebook.
The volunteers we met the day we visited loved talking about all the animals and their particular personalities. You can tell they are very passionate about caring for these critters. We met Athena, a Siamese mix, who’d been abused and had significant physical and emotional trauma, and who feels safest inside a closed cupboard. She will likely stay onsite where she feels protected and cared for by her shelter family. The volunteers make an effort to keep bossy Lana out of Athena’s space. It’s like a daytime TV drama with all the interactions between different personalities.
Petey’s has no quarantine area and so can’t take in strays or feral animals, but if someone finds a feral cat who has kittens, then makes the effort to get the mama spayed and socialize the kittens early, Petey’s will take the kittens and find homes for them. There are some very cute kittens there currently, ready or nearly ready for new homes. There are also a handful of grown cats who either are recovering from medical care or have been given up for adoption because their humans could no longer care for them.
Belle came from a home where the owners had just had a baby and didn’t want a cat anymore. She is sleek and longhaired, grey and white, very sweet and socialized.
When dogs come in, volunteers foster them at their homes, as they do better in home-foster situations than kennels. Kim has a fenced acre lot, and surrendered dogs go first to her so she can assess their behavior, how they interact with other dogs, whether they’re housetrained or barkers, so she can make good matches for them. Currently she has a big dog, part Great Dane, who needs a new home. He already spent four months in a small kennel at a shelter, and she just couldn’t bear to send him back to that. He has a lovely temperament and will make someone very happy.
If you want to find a dog through Petey’s, you can either go through the website or visit Pet Finder, as they are not kept at the shelter.
Another valuable service Petey’s Playground offers is help with vet bills for those who qualify. Petey’s will pay up to $300 toward medical bills and help raise money to cover additional costs. This year Petey’s has spent $5,600 helping in this way. Many times animals they take in have not had medical care for some time. “My heart goes out to them,” says Kim, “Thanks to our supporters we have never had to say no to anyone who qualifies for our program.” Petey’s helps individuals reduce the homeless-animal population by connecting them with low-cost spay/neuter clinics in the area, including K9 Konnections in Wickenburg, United Animal Friends in Prescott and Chino Valley Animal Hospital.
Fundraisers for Petey’s Playground include an annual pot-roast supper at the Yarnell American Legion post, a fall sale of fresh-frozen fish flown in from Alaska, a trivia night, and this year the Arts Prescott Gallery selected Petey’s as the recipient of its annual holiday fundraiser.
Arts Prescott hosts an art sale every fall to benefit a designated nonprofit, and has been doing this as a public service since the gallery opened over thirty years ago. It has always been the practice to choose an animal organization every other year, and this year it’s Petey’s Playground. “I’m from Skull Valley, and I knew of Petey’s and the great services they provide for seniors and their pets,” said Michelle Veatch, gallery member and board president. “The larger animal shelters get a lot more attention and funding, so it’s nice to support a smaller, less-known organization that doesn’t have that visibility.”
Members of Arts Prescott and outside artists donate pieces for a show that opens on the 4th Friday Art Walk in November, this year on Friday November 22. The gallery takes no commission for the sale of these pieces, so 100% goes to Petey’s. When you purchase art from this exhibit, you walk out with something beautiful to keep and you are making a donation to a great cause. Donated pieces include paintings, jewelry, ceramics, gourd art, photographs and fiber art.
As an artist and member of Arts Prescott Gallery, I am very glad to participate in this annual fundraiser that gives back to our community. I encourage you to visit the gallery in late November and December, and buy some art to help support the good work of Petey’s Playground.
More on Petey’s Playground at peteysplayground.org, on Arts Prescott Gallery at artsprescott.com, and on the 4th Friday Art Walks at artthe4th.com.
