The Ones Who Get to Stay

Dear Friend,

Today is about freedom, and in our world, that word is specific.

You know it already. Whether you once made the hard decision to find your pet a new loving home, or you opened your door to a pet another family loved first, you understand what it costs to put an animal’s wellbeing above everything else. You’ve lived the emotion most people only imagine.

That’s why I wanted to share this with you first.

Sometimes a family doesn’t need to rehome their pet. They just need to get through one hard moment. A vet bill they can’t cover. A sudden crisis. The kind of wall that makes a loving family feel they’ve run out of options.

You may know Sunny. Three legs, and more heart than many cats have on four. His paw needed surgery that took the whole leg, the kind of bill that makes some families feel they have no choice but to give up a cat they love. Sunny got his care. Not every family can say the same.

The Stay Together Fund exists for that gap. It helps families hold on to their pets through a temporary hardship, so a hard season doesn’t have to become a goodbye.

You know better than most what that choice feels like. If you’d like to help another family through it, this is how.

💛 Learn more or give. The Stay Together Fund lives under our sister nonprofit, Joyful Pets Rescue, a registered 501(c)(3) (EIN 46-4980474). Your gift is tax-deductible.

No pressure, ever. Reading this, or sharing it with someone who might need the fund, helps more than you know.

Keeping families together is the goal. But when staying isn't possible, a loving new home is the next best thing, and Meep is still hoping to find his.

An affectionate, independent gentleman with strong opinions about sunny windows and silvervine sticks. 9-year-old Domestic Shorthair | Killeen, TX

Meep is a 9-year-old brown tabby with strong opinions and a soft heart. He is the perfect blend of independent explorer and affectionate cuddler, famous for opening his “bakery” each night with vigorous kneading and the occasional drool of pure contentment. His tiny “meep” of a meow is where his name comes from and how he announces the important things, like when it is time for brushing (his favorite activity). He loves a silvervine stick more than catnip, will accept a Delectables yogurt treat as friendship currency, and spends long stretches of the day as a window-seat aficionado, chattering at birds from his sunny throne.

Meep needs a calm, adult-only home where he can be the only pet and the center of attention. He would be a lovely match for a retired individual, a quiet couple, or a household where life moves at a relaxed pace. He is currently on a short course of Fluoxetine to help him settle through his transition, a small, temporary support while he finds his footing. For the person ready to trade a silvervine stick for years of steady, opinionated company, Meep is your gentleman.

Meet Meep →

If you have a noise-sensitive pet, the prep window has mostly closed, so tonight is about damage control. Set up an interior room with the blinds drawn and white noise or familiar music playing. Give a long-lasting chew or a stuffed Kong to redirect nervous energy. Keep them away from doors and windows, since a startled pet can bolt when fireworks hit. If your pet already has a Thundershirt or compression vest, put it on before the noise starts, not during. And if tonight goes badly, talk with your veterinarian this week about a calming plan so next year you’re ready well ahead of time.

• $30 Off Rover Services - When the fireworks arrive and your household turns loud, a trusted sitter can give a noise-sensitive pet the quiet company they need.

• 30% Off Your Dutch Membership - Vet care from your couch and prescriptions to your door. Use code PETS30. Especially useful for a pet on ongoing medication, like Meep.

• First Month Free with Trupanion - Direct vet pay and no payout limits, exactly the kind of coverage that changes what a family can afford when a Sunny-sized bill lands.

• $20 Chewy eGift Card on $49 First Order - Stock up on essentials, treats, and toys. Every dollar saved on routine care is a dollar you have when things go sideways. New customers only.

For the ones who get to stay, and for a safe, quiet Fourth,
Lauren & the Joyful Pets team

P.S. Every pet in this community started with a family who loved them. Some kept their pet through a hard season. Some made the brave choice to find a new loving home. Both are acts of love, and both are why the Stay Together Fund exists: so the next family facing that choice has one more option before goodbye.