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Summit Animal Rescue Association (SARA)

About SARA

Summit Animal Rescue Association, Inc (SARA, Inc) is a non-profit organization in North and Central NJ. Our mission is to rescue cats, dogs, or any animal in need, give them medical attention, rehabilitate them, and provide a temporary loving environment until we find a permanent home through adoption.  In addition, we have hands on volunteers who help NJ residents spay and neuter feral cats in order to reduce the number of unwanted kittens in shelters.  SARA has a proven track record for saving lives.  Through our tireless efforts we have found homes for over 4,000 animals since we began over 9 years ago.  Our entire staff is made up of volunteers, we work with veterinarians who give us discounted rates and we do not spend any money on advertising, so 100% of all donations go directly to the care and feeding of the animals we save.
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Donations

Donations may be made by Credit Card, PayPal or Mail.

1. To Donate by Credit Card, click the button below, then enter the donation amount. Then click CONTINUE in the section saying DON'T HAVE A PAYPAL ACCOUNT? and follow instructions:

2. To Donate by PayPal, click the button below, then enter the donation amount. Then enter your PayPal id and password and follow the instructions.

3. To Donate by Mail, send check payable to:

Summit Animal Rescue Association
P.O. Box 124
Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922

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News About SARA

If you would like to be added to the SARA email mailing list, to receive info 6-8 times per year about exciting events and fundraisers, please email Dan Roland by clicking here.

Please note that if you are added to our mailing list emails to you will be sent Blind CC, and your email addresses remains private. We do not share your email address or any information with ANYONE.
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Visit the SARA Website!

If you would like more information about SARA, please visit our website at www.sararescue.com

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Success Story - The Kitten Who Inspired

In October 2010, one of our volunteers heard a racket outside her home, and went outside only to find several children chasing an evidently injured kitten into her driveway.  She retrieved the kitten, who was grateful to be resting quietly, but it was soon obvious that beside the possible injury to her leg, she was having difficulty breathing.
     
We don't know what happened to her before the children got to her, or if she was damaged by the children.  Our vet said it was also likely she could have been hit by a car or dropped from a very high place, but after X-Rays and examination, it was determined that she had a broken pelvis and a diaphragmatic hernia, which was causing her intestines to bunch into her chest cavity.  The injury was more than a week old, and our vet said that timing was critical to get her the help and surgery she needed or she would die within a couple of days. This was a very critical situation because in addition to her severe injuries, Avery was only 8 weeks old. Our volunteer quickly became attached to the kitten, and named her Avery.

Despite her terrible problems, and constant pain, Avery incredibly seemed more concerned with making friends than anything else. We sought a second opinion, received the same and more detailed information, and had to make a decision; Either this kitty was going to have a very expensive surgery right away, or we would have to euthanize her immediately.  She was in serious discomfort and pain and could not live for long in her condition.  It was a miracle she'd survived as she did, and that she'd managed to get away from the children who'd chased her. What was even more amazing was that anyone who approached Avery was greeted with purring and friendship, as Avery would always limp towards anyone she saw, seeking companionship and love despite whatever pain she was in. 

As people began to meet and hear about Avery, they were amazed by her spirit and how extremely loving she was, even during the worst of times. A decision was made to take a chance on this amazing kitty, despite the long odds, our family of volunteers and supporters stepped up and answered the call. Raising some of the funds needed.
 
We scheduled the surgery for the following day, which was quite expensive. Our vets did the best that they could do with discounting the bill, but Avery needed multiple x-rays, bloodwork and extensive aftercare.  Fortunately, we did not have to seek a specialty hospital, as one of the vets who helped us was able to perform this very delicate surgery for us at a fraction of the many thousands it would normally cost.
 
Once the doctor was able to look inside of Avery's chest, he could see that her liver and gallbladder had turned over and slipped through the hernia (the tear in the diaphragm), and were laying on the main artery that supplies the blood to the internal organs.  The liver was twice the size it should have been, and would have soon started releasing toxins into her system, killing her within 48 hours if it was not corrected.  During surgery, Avery's heart had to be moved around for her intestines to be repositioned.  The doctor told us that there was so little diaphragm left that he had to stretch it out quite a bit just to sew it back together.  

But astonishingly, Avery was determined to live and we were determined to do all that could humanly be done to help her.  It was touch and go for some time. Avery had to be kept in a small crate to recover, to keep her from running, playing, jumping, or trying to make friends, like she always wanted to do. At one point she developed fluid in her chest and experienced respiratory distress and had to be rushed to an after-hours specialty hospital.  The next day she was transported back to her vet, where she spent several days in the hospital in a once again critical state.

But once again Avery recovered and she wanted to experience life by running and playing. She just couldn’t understand that it was critical for her to remain still so that she could heal. A couple of weeks later our hopes for a full recovery took another blow and we were once again faced with another expensive surgery. Avery was so tiny and had experienced so much damage to her diaphragm that the diaphragm tore yet again, bunching her lungs and heart. At this point the vet and the entire staff were so in love with Avery that the vet asked if he could adopt her and perform the surgery. He knew that we are a rescue group and that funds are so limited. He worked with vets at Tuffs University and Penn University, seeking at the best procedure to mend Avery once again.

It was touch and go for many weeks, and we all feared that this time around even Avery the amazing kitten could not beat the odds. Her liver was so enlarged that she remained hospitalized for 3 LONG months.

Incredibly, Avery the amazing kitten beat the odds and has fully recovered. She became very spoiled by the entire staff at the hospital and to this day they still talk about Avery the amazing kitten. Avery now enjoys her life with her new family who is one of the staff from the hospital. 

We are grateful to the veterinarians who provide their services to us at great discount, and to the volunteers and supporters who make our whole operation possible, but rescues like these and the care and feeding of all of our animals costs a great deal of money, which is only funded by private donations and fundraising. By playing in this golf tournament, attending the dinner or purchasing a sponsorship, you are helping to save lives like Avery’s.  Please sign up today!


Avery
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