2009 Marley Fund Calendar Contest Winners

Lucy of Raleigh, NC	Teak & Parrish of Greenville, NC	Pet Me of Apex, NC	Roxy of Winterville, NC
Abby of Greenville, NC	Tiger of Ayden, NC	Natasha of Defiance, MO	Sealy of Raleigh NC
Andy of New Bern, NC	Stinky of Winterville, NC	Ramona of Cary, NC	Hadley of Parkland, FL

2009 Marley Fund Calendar Contest Semi-Finalists

Abby of Morehead City, NC	Callie of Summerville, SC	Checkers of Grifton, NC	Henry Morgan of Kinston, NC	Kai, Kahuna, Mele & Leilani of Asheville, NC
Momma Kitty of Newport, NC	Penelope of Greenville, NC	Simon of Summerville, SC	Smokey of Almond, NC	Somerset of Winterville, NC

2009 Best Story

Hadley of Parkland, FL Hadley found us in September of 2005 during a local Adopt-a-Thon. She had arrived at the shelter after having undergone a series of life transformations from living behind dumpsters as a kitten to living with an elderly woman who would pass away too soon. That day at the shelter, Hadley took one look at us and began to convince us that we needed to bring her home: she was purring so loud and immediately volunteered herself to snuggle up tight in my arms. She didn't need to convince us any further. Hadley was a sweet girl who was full of love, compassion and understanding. Her love worked wonders on healing the emotional wounds of our special needs cat, Landon, and encouraging the bravery of our overly timid cat, Jagger. At once, Hadley began to love both Landon and Jagger in a sisterly, protective and nurturing way. That was Hadley's way: she never wanted anyone to be sad, she never wanted anyone to hurt. She ensured that all of us, human and feline, were always content. Hadley would wake us up every morning with kisses and purrs, and go to sleep every night in our arms. If we were ever sad or upset, she'd flop herself down onto our laps in that shameless "Hadley way" and snuggle her face close to ours until we were smiling. Hadley had a big heart and a lot of love to give. She loved to take weekend trips to the lake house and loved it when people came over to visit - as long as everyone knew that they had to spend the duration of this time paying endless attention to her, of course! Hadley had always been positive for feline leukemia, but due to a false negative upon her primary test, we never knew until her life was rapidly being taken from her. Watching Hadley leave the world has been the most severe form of pain we have ever felt and, undoubtedly, will ever feel. Now that she is gone, our worlds will always retain this overbearing emptiness, Hadley, with her "koala bear nose" and furry ear tufts, will always be a primary source of our love, pride and happiness. Even though she is gone, the memories of her are enough to make us smile. Thoughts of Hadley engaging in her favorite activities - which most often ranged from sleeping sprawled out across the couch engaged in a fit of snores to stealing whatever it was we were cooking or baking in the kitchen at the moment - are enough to keep our hearts afloat during the never ending time of mourning. Hadley was a beautiful and unique soul who the world could learn so much from. Her innocence and her deep grasping on unconditional love has always been a source of inspiration to us. Lindsay Poveromo & Aaron Joly of Parkland, FL