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Cat rescue and animal welfare communities on Long Island are rallying to support a Copiague couple who narrowly survived a devastating fire that destroyed their home and left their 23 adopted cats missing.
Tender Loving Cats, Inc. has established a clothing drive for Theresa Stephanie and her husband Tim, who were inured jumping from the second story of their home, as it was engulfed in flames. Additionally, a GoFundMe page created on behalf of the couple has raised more than $12,000 through 223 donations, as of Friday night.
It was the sound of the couple’s screaming cats that awakened the couple and allowed them to flee the early morning fire on 26th Street just in time, according to multiple reports. Theresa and Tim are hospitalized in intensive care, wrote Marie Rivera, who organized the GoFundMe.
They both have fractured spines and other broken bones and are being treated for smoke inhalation.
“The recovery is going to be very long,” Rivera stated. “They lost everything they owned!!! We need your help to help them!”
Click here to learn how to contribute to the GoFundMe effort.
What’s needed
Below is a list of clothing and toiletries that the couple need.
Animal welfare advocates led a search team of nearly 20 people who looked for the couple’s cats on Friday. John DeBacker, vice president of the Long Island Cat and Kitten Solution, a foster-based animal rescue group, reported that the group found two of the cats deceased in the fire.
One of the cats was found safe on Thursday and is currently under the care of a veterinarian.
Top photos: Theresa Stephanie and her husband Tim narrowly escaped a fire at their home on 26th Street in Copiague (GoFundMe).
