FOR A GOOD CAUSE -- Beverly Hardy

-- Story by Amy R. Spurgeon; photo by Brian Pobuda

A happy ending might be in store for the sad story of a litter of

kittens abandoned with their mother last week in Garden Grove.

Thanks to Beverly Hardy, a Costa Mesa resident and volunteer with the

Newport Beach-based Community Animal Network, the kittens have a safe

place to call home for now. Hardy agreed to foster the litter after she

learned that they were living in a single cage at a local animal

hospital.

The kittens’ mother is being fostered by another volunteer.

“I fell apart when I saw them in that cage,” Hardy said. “And I

realized that if I took them, then it would create more room for others.”

The Community Animal Network is a nonprofit organization dedicated to

finding homes for lost and abandoned Newport-Mesa pets. The group often

relies on volunteers to provide temporary homes for animals.

Hardy, a real estate agent in Newport Beach, has been a volunteer for

the past six months, taking care of cats in her Costa Mesa condo. She has

negotiated the temporary situation with her own cats, Scooch, Zack and

Ling Ling.

The litter of 6-week-old female longhair kittens will enjoy wrestling

with each other and frolicking on the balcony for the next two weeks.

When they are two months old, they will be spayed, given their shots and

put up for adoption by the Community Animal Network at Russo’s pet store

at Fashion Island.

“It’s wonderful to wake up and see them,” said Hardy, laughing as two

of the kittens chewed on each other. “The minute I get up and tap on the

window, they jump up. They can’t wait to be pet and have human

attention.”

Hardy said she will continue to foster animals for the network

indefinitely. She also hopes to raise funds to help the organization

cover mounting medical bills.

“How could you not enjoy this? If you have troubles, they just go

away,” Hardy said. “But the point is to help rescued animals, because if

we can foster, then it makes room to save more.”