Strays & Others Inc

We adopted two young cat sisters from Strays & Others and couldn't be more pleased with the experience! The staff is wonderful, and took the time to make sure that we and the cats were a good fit. They have been the pet loves of our lives, and we are so grateful to have dealt with this amazing organization...it doesn't get any better! Thanks so much to everyone involved for making this such a perfect match!

I have been a volunteer at Strays&Others Inc. for almost 10 years. It is truly one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. To see firsthand the love and care each volunteer puts in to help our family of cats and dogs is amazing and inspiring. Strays&Others now has a new home that is a blessing. All of our residents and caregivers love it. Please consider donating your time or money to this remarkable organization. Together we can accomplish miracles.

Nicholas "Claude" Colabella

Happy to donate again to this wonderful organization in honor of another fellow animal lover - Betty White. Thank you Strays and Others for all you do!! ������❤������������

Heard about this shelter from my dental hygienist. What a great place! Cats are happy and well cared for and live together in an open environment. No cages!! Dogs are housed with caring foster families.

Organization places animals in lower Fairfield County. Volunteers are so kind - true animal lovers!

If you too are an animal lover and want to adopt, foster or volunteer your time - I would highly recommend working with this organization. As one of the oldest animal rescues in Fairfield county, they know what they are doing!

My husband and I had a great experience at Strays & Others. So many wonderful cats to choose from, all were happy and healthy. We adopted a long haired domestic tuxedo cat, and can't love him more!
Claudia who runs the shelter is a caring, selfless woman who was great to work with and has an amazing staff of volunteers who really take pride and also care about the animals. It really shows, Strays & Others is a very clean and organized facility.
We would definitely recommend this shelter to anyone, we were so happy to have found it!

I came across Strays and Others when a friend shared a post of a cat needing a forever home on my Facebook page. Though their Facebook page, I recently learned of and went to an adoption event. I was greeted with the kindest and most helpful group of volunteers and veterinary staff (where the event was held). Though it was nearing the end of the event, the volunteers made sure that I had to opportunity to visit with the kitties I was interested in meeting, as well as answered any questions that I had. They were very personable and clearly displayed a love for the all of the animals in their care. The following day, two volunteers met me at their location so that I could meet the kitties in a familiar environment, and I was SO impressed. 18 kitties and you would never know! It was so clean, no scent of cats, and the kitties are so much healthier than some of the ones I have met in other shelters. The kitties have freedom to roam during the day, which warmed my heart, as the site of them constantly locked in cages is heartbreaking. They also allowed me to spend a great deal of time getting to know the kitties. That time gave me the opportunity to continuously engage with a timid little guy who peaked my interest, and in that time, he stopped running and hiding, and began to warm to my attempts to engage. Strays and Others, because of both volunteers and animals, is definitely worth exploring if you are searching for a new furry friend.

We adopted s little dog from Strays and Others about 2 months ago. The
Whole process was easy and friendly.
As someone who used to do rescue and adoption, I appreciated their
Thoroughness and caring but also that
They were not overly intrusive in their
Questions
Our dog was fostered for 6 weeks by a wonderful woman who volunteers for the group and she not only gave him a
Safe temporary home, but has been invaluable in helping with the transition and in giving me as much information on our little guy as she could.

I would while heartedly recommend
Strays an Others to anyone planning
To adopt a forever pet

Amy Schwab

I have known Claudia, the founder of Strays and Others, since before it's inception. I have never met someone more dedicated, caring and full of passion for what she does, for the animals she saves, and ultimately fosters and gets adopted into their forever homes.

I have volunteered on occasion for Strays and Others in various fundraisers over the years, feeding and caring for animals, gone on rescue runs, and helped by adopting many of my own pets from Strays and Others. I applaud Claudia, and Strays and Others vollunteers for their continued dedication, commitment, and perseverance over the last 30 + years in trying to rescue and find homes for hundreds of lost, abandoned, abused and neglected animals.

Running an adoption agency is not easy, especially when a recession in the economy hits. Everyone wants to cut back, no one wants to take responsibility, thinking animals are a disposable or easy item to "find new homes for", and get dumped off to shelters and rescue organizations like Strays and Others.
During a recession, donations dwindle to little to nothing. Feeding a single animal is an expense, imagine the cost of feeding 35 animals, out of your own pocket if donations of food and money cease to be collected.

Strays and Others, and founder Claudia Weber, deeply cares about each and every animal they adopt out into their new forever home. Applicants are carefully screened, helped with questions as the pet and family become acclimated and adjusted to each other, and follow up visits are scheduled for continued care.

I highly recommend Strays and Others to anyone who is considering a new pet. I also encourage anyone to make a donation, helping fund the continued care which has been and still is, so needed in the New Canaan community with rescuing and homing lost, abused or neglected animals into the forever homes and families they so deserve.

I have watched Strays And Others grow over the years, and I have been impressed every step of the way. I remember it when it was just a few dedicated people trying to make the world a better place by helping those that needed the help the most – the lost and abandoned animals of Fairfield County and neighboring Pound Ridge. Today, it is larger, but its true mission has not changed.

For three decades, I believe they have helped thousands of homeless animals and the people who have called asking for help with a dog or cat – and sometimes other kinds of animals, including wildlife. Strays And Others is well-run and worthy of significant support. I wish they could find land to build a permanent home. With that, they could do so much more.

S.A.O. is not a large group, but they put in more time and effort than most organizations 3x their size! What they lack in size they make up for in heart. It's a hardworking group of volunteers, most with full-time jobs that dedicate their time to taking care of the shelter animals, fundraising events and running the animals to their medical appointments as needed. All money raised goes directly to the animals, with the volunteers putting in extra money when expenses exceed donations to ensure that the animals are never lacking anything. Every animal is given a fighting chance with full medical care, love and FOOD! NO KILL IS KEY! Fix your pets so they don't get broken!

Felix The Cat, my tuxedo kitty, came from Strays & Others. He's the third cat I have gotten from Claudia Weber's loving Not-For-Profit. Not only has my feline child come from Strays & Others, but I tell everyone I know about the beautiful animals that are taken in, nurtured and placed in quality homes. Strays & Others seeks a good match between animal and person, and checks in with the adoptive families to make sure all continues to be well. Thank you, Claudia!

Strays and Others' Claudia Weber helps all small animals find the care and love each needs by carefully matching them with caring pet parents, following them to assure all is going well. She helped me through difficult pet health issues over the years and I'm just one of many! Our town would be without needed cat rescue if we did not have S&O. But S&O always needs contributions to cover enormous vet bills. Thirty years and counting of devoted care.

Strays And Others came to our aid when a little homeless/feral cat was in danger of an early death. Claudia Weber helped us trap him and get him the medical treatment he desperately needed. Once he was well she instructed us on how we could "tame" him. Most people would have looked at this helpless creature and euthanized him. Having been born outside, he was a skittish, hissing and terrified cat. Thanks to Strays And Others/Claudia Weber) he is now a well cared for PET. He is so affectionate and sweet people cant believe he was once a wild stray. We have personally witnessed the long and tireless hours Ms.Weber has unselfishly dedicated to ALL abandoned and stray animals in not just our town, but the surrounding communities too.

I have had the pleasure of fostering several little kitten families for Claudia Weber of Strays and Others.
Claudia works relentlessly to rescue, spay and neuter, and then find forever homes for countless stray and abandoned animals. A wonderful crew of volunteers try to help as much as possible and all donations are put towards top veterinary care, food and shelter until wonderful families can adopt them and give them a new home.

Strays and Others is a fabulous organization, keeping + feeding + keeping healthy the many stray animals found locally (or had to be given up). I have been many hours in one of their "safe rooms", it is neat + clean, no mal-odors, pleasant volunteers. I am about to adopt a duo of cats. These are the kind of people to whom people should donate .... Just a few concerned citizens taking on the problems of the world.

I could not imagine my life without my kitty I adopted from Strays and Others. The warmth and care they give to the animals in their care is AMAZING. The preparation the staff give for an adoption is fantastic. Thank you for all the hard work.

Strays and Others is a fantastic organization that I am so happy to be a part of. The organization truly cares about the treatment and placement of homeless and abandoned animals. In the few months that I have been involved with Strays and Others, I have already seen so many animals go to happy, loving homes. All the volunteers are incredibly committed and dedicated to the cause. It shows in the excellent care and treatment of the animals after they have been rescued. Claudia is a fantastic leader, spearheading the cause and giving a voice to all the animals who don't have one.

I look forward to witnessing more rescues and placements of animals truly deserving of lasting, loving homes.

Our family adopted Lana, an Abby-tabby mix, just last year. She is so much a part of our family and daily life we feel so blessed. Strays and Others is a truly committed organization and goes to great lengths to really make sure the animals being placed are the right fit and are settling well into their new homes. We saw Lana and knew we were going to have a wonderful experience having her join our family. Little did we know that those who work there would also become our friends.

Growing up in a philanthropic family I learned early on the importance of giving back to others. One thing my Mother instilled in me was always supporting organizations that provide sanctuary to animals. Seven years ago I moved to CT and learned about Strays and Others from a business colleague. After some research I decided that Strays and Others was the organization that I wanted to support. My annual donation is also matched by my company.

Strays and Others is a wonderful organization. While I no longer live in the area I still appreciated all that Strays and Others does for many and I'm happy to support their efforts through a gift of financial support. Every dollar they receive is used wisely and helps them in providing a safe haven and the opportunity for finding new forever homes for so many of our furry friends in need.

I have been a volunteer of Strays and Others from the beginning. Strays and Others was born out of a tragic fire in our town. An elderly couple who were animal lovers were killed along with many of the stray cats they took care of on their fixed income. I don't think many were aware of the number they tried to help until this event occurred. In the aftermath, a childhood friend of mine asked for my help with the rescue of the survivors of this group of cats. I agreed thinking I could help out for a while. Well I've been helping out 25+ years. I have been in charge of our small shelter for years, sometimes going every day, at times, multiple times a day giving medication, going on Holidays, going when I'm sick, going in the middle of the night when I wake up thinking "did I forget to put out water?" Am I crazy?(maybe!) But I do know it is so rewarding knowing you have found a new home for an animal or a safe haven for an elderly cat who is now "invisible" and not even a consideration for adoption by others. One of my best gifts was on Christmas Eve when I heard the first purr from a feral cat I had worked with for months. It is gifts like this that make volunteering with Strays and Others all worth it.

I started volunteering at Strays and Others in the winter of 2013. I just absolutely love working for and spending my free time with this group. We have wonderful animals and volunteers! We go above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to our animals. This is a very dedicated group of people! Please consider adopting from us and/or volunteering!

I began working with Strays & Others in the early 1990s, as a freelance cat rescuer. Strays was one of half a dozen groups that took dozens of injured and at-risk cats and kittens I removed from city streets.
I was especially impressed with Strays’ adoption process, which involves intensive screening to make the best possible match, and their policy requiring those who adopt an animal to sign a form agreeing to return it to the organization if they no longer can care for it.
I became a Strays & Others donor in 1998, when I moved out of the area.
Over the years, my admiration has grown for Claudia Weber, who founded the non-profit in 1985 and has won a slew of awards for her animal rescue work, including the American Red Cross of Lower Fairfield County’s first Hero award.
Claudia and her volunteers often go to extraordinary lengths for cats, dogs and other critters in need of help. Several years ago, for example, Claudia chartered a small plane to transport half a dozen dogs to Connecticut from a southern state, where they were to be euthanized.
With more financial support they could do even better.

Many years ago, my father-in-law had a friendly cat show up at his house. He cared for Sonny the best he could, but he knew that he couldn't provide for him as well as he wanted. He contacted Strays and Others and they were able to find a permanent home for Sonny where he would be given the best care and all the love he deserved.
Several years later, after my mother-in-law passed away, I was taking care of my father-in-law's accounts and saw that he donated to Strays and Others' annual appeal. At this point of my life I had retired and was looking to volunteer and contacted them. Nearly 6 years later, I spend several hours a week serving the homeless cats and dogs under their care. It is a labor of love, but there is nothing more rewarding than seeing one of 'our' kitties or dogs adopted by a loving and caring family and being given a second (or third) chance to enrich someone's life. I wear the hat of an adopter, too, for within 4 short months of volunteering at the shelter, my husband and I welcomed Tessie into our family and are so happy to have her curl up with us every night.
In addition to the relationships I've made with the animals, I am pleased that I have met some wonderful people and know that many of them will be life-long friends as well as fellow volunteers.
Strays and Others is completely volunteer run and depends on donations from generous supporters to allow them to fulfill their goals. Veterinarian care is expensive, as is feeding and housing the cats and dogs that come into our care. We are always seeking more volunteers and gratefully welcome any donations!

I have been a business owner in New Canaan for over 20 years, and have been a donor and occasional volunteer for this amazing non-profit for nearly the same number of years. Additionally, both myself and my mom have adopted cats from the organization.

Strays and Others is a small organization full of generous, open-hearted and professional people who work tirelessly to rescue animals and give them the care and compassion they so badly need and deserve while at the same time working enthusiastically to help them find their forever homes.

Over these many years, I have seen every aspect of Strays and Others, and cannot say enough kind words about them. I also now that nearly 100% of every dollar goes directly to the care of the animals... it doesn't get any better then that!

The little four-legged love of my life came to me thanks to Strays and Others. But the process was not easy! I was interviewed, my home was visited on more than one occasion, references were provided to be sure I'd be a good "mom" and, after the actual adoption, there was great follow-up and support for the many questions I had about my new "babe"! Strays and Others is administered by a truly dedicated woman (Claudia Weber) and her dedicated staff. I was impressed by my experience with them and continue to be so as I follow S&O's work throughout the community. This organization is a MODEL for others which want to place pets in the right homes!!!

It’s never easy to replace the unconditional love you’ve gotten from your 4 legged family member who’s been in your life for 14 years and passes on. After taking the time to mend my broken heart I was ready to adopt another kitty. I found Strays and Others and decided to look into what they had to offer. Not only did I find kittens, older cats and dogs in need of a loving home but I learned that the organization is completely run by volunteers and all donations raised are used to support and care for their animals or to assist pet owners who may be struggling financially to cover medical expenses for their cat or dog.

Although it was a very hard decision to choose from all of the wonderful and loving animal needing a forever home, I was immediately drawn to Bella an older long haired black cat with beautiful big green eyes. He has a great personality and I am so grateful to Strays and Others for fostering him until I found him. I can tell he was well cared for and loved by the volunteers that visited him every day because there was no adjustment period. He came into my home and quickly settled in as if he had been there for years.

An organization like Strays and Other, Inc. is deserving of all the financial support available so they can continue on with their loving and caring efforts for another 30 years!

Thank you Strays and Others for taking such good care of Bella and all of the other animals in your care.

Laurie, New Canaan

I was introduced to Strays and Others, Inc. eight years ago and have never looked back. It all started when a very dirty, matted and friendly kitty showed up at my home exhausted, hungry and very tired. It was obvious she belonged to a family but had lost her way and needed help finding them. I began contacting all the local animal organizations asking if anyone had reported losing their kitty fitting my new found friend’s description. All of the organizations were quick to answer me by saying no and offering me no further advice on how to find the lost kitty’s owner. When I spoke with the Strays and Others volunteer – she offered to come by my house to see the lost kitty and talk about our options. This caring and concerned Strays and Others volunteer was determined to find the owner and after a week of making inquiries – we had success – the owner and lost kitty were reunited.

This experience left me with a positive lasting impression and opened my heart to Strays and Others and their cause. Eight years later, I continue to support them financial several times a year – I have adopted two of their beautiful and loving kitties – and also volunteer my time to assist in their annual fundraising events.

My devotion and support to Strays and Others grows stronger every time I find myself surrounded by their volunteers who give their time and money to helping abandoned, homeless and loving cats, kittens and dogs.
Cynthia, New Canaan

The volunteers at Strays and Others work tirelessly to save the lives of animals who can not save themselves. They reach out to homeless cats and dogs and find families who can give them a second chance in life. Our family was one of the lucky ones, adopting a dog two years ago through Strays and Others. The organization, run by Claudia Weber, put much care and attention into training the dog prior to our adoption. He came with impeccable manners and they performed a thorough analysis to ensure that it was the right fit for our family and also for Cody, our handsome big black Labrador Retriever. He is a gentle giant who fit right into our family life and brings great happiness to all of us. Claudia has followed his progress in support of the adoption and is always available for support and advice. Their high success rate in placements is a reflection of this attention to detail. It is a very well-run, dedicated and ethical organization that impacts the lives of many animals and people in a positive way.

Stays and Others is a wonderful organization run by a dedicated woman - Claudia Weber. My husband and I adopted a wonderful dog from them a number of years ago. Claudia was very through in making sure our home was a suitable place for Hitch. Hitch was a valuable and beloved member of our family until circumstances made it so he could not remain with us.
It was with a heavy heart that we gave Hitch back to Strays and Others with the promise that they would find him another loving home. Claudia has made good on that promise and Hitch is now living with a wonderful family that loves him as much as we did. In fact I have been in touch with the new owners who allowed me to reunite with Hitch this past spring.
Claudia and the volunteers work very hard to place abandoned animals in loving homes. They clearly love animals and it shows!