Wishbone to the Rescue: Group finds homes for stray animals

Sheila Kuykendall doesn't just talk the talk; she walks the walk as president and founder of Wishbone Animal Rescue. And following in her footsteps are Marcie Fernandez and Tricie Fogle, two others with the all-volunteer group that finds permanent and short-term foster homes for stray cats and dogs.

Kuykendall was raised in Lee County but moved away. She returned nearly seven years ago and brought with her to her Buckingham home from Colorado six dogs and 36 cats, all of which she still counts as members of her family.

"I had an organization in Colorado," Kuykendall said, "but when I moved back to Florida, I decided I was not going to start another animal rescue. It's a lot of work. I figured I would volunteer with other organizations."

That went by the wayside when she gave it more thought. She wanted "to do things on my own a little different way," she said of opportunities that presented themselves. "I wanted to stay focused on small foster homes," she added, "where you get to know your pets. One day my dream is to have a shelter, but not the typical shelter. I want a non-kennel shelter. Dogs should be in a bedroom-type environment, not a kennel."

With that in mind Kuykendall and other Wishbone volunteers have the blessings of Petco on both Alico and Treeline, which hold pet adoption fairs every Saturday and Sunday, and the Petco on U.S. 41 in Fort Myers, which holds a fair every Sunday.

With no shelter, Wishbone Animal Rescue as a no-kill volunteer organization has to place all its pets in foster homes until permanent homes may be found.

Wishbone's philosophy with animals is similar to that of agencies that find foster homes and adoptive parents for boys and girls. Persons who desire to take in animals on a short-term basis or adopt them must promise that the cats and dogs will be treated as members of the family, including a run of the house on a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week basis.

Kuykendall said there's no shortage of people contacting Wishbone to take in cats and dogs, strays or family pets. Wishbone placed more than 500 animals in homes last year. Winter and Christmas have slowed things down, but Kuykendall expects the pace to pick up next month.

"We get slammed in the summer with people wanting to surrender animals," Kuykendall said. "They give up their pets when they go on vacation."

The involvement of Fernandez and Fogle came through their work at Worthington Communities.

"We're both big-time cat lovers," said Fogle, who lives in Fort Myers. "The superintendent where we work called me one day; they had found a bunch of kittens at one of the work sites. I jumped in my car and went out there. They were regular kittens, but they were wild."

After trapping the kittens and trying to tame them, Fogle and Fernandez called around and reached Wishbone, which took the kittens — all but one which Fogle kept — to the adoption fair at Petco.

"I was hanging out at Wishbone," Fogle added. "Sheila found out her partner with Wishbone was moving north and she asked us to come aboard.

"Mom taught me to love animals," Fernandez said of her long-time affection.

Wishbone also have several other volunteers, too numerous to number. Included is Conscious Alliance, Fort Myers High School's animal welfare group. Kuykendall said Wishbone has many younger people from area schools; it isn't just an adult volunteer group.

The fact that she has more cats than dogs is deceiving. "I'm offended when people assume I'm a cat lover," she said. "There are just more cats that are homeless than dogs. And cats seem to need a little more attention."

The cost to adopt an adult cat is $50; kittens are $95 and dogs are $150.

Wishbone has an "Adopt-A-Vet Bill" program where a tax-deductible donation is made. "We have a big deficit to make up," Kuykendall said of veterinarian fees associated with the animals.