Fundacion Valentina
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Fundacion Valentina is a nonprofit foundation established in 1998 to help stray and abandoned cats. It was inspired by a 2-month-old kitten who was rescued and treated for a damaged hind foot by American journalist Peggy Ann Bliss and her husband, Honduran actor Guillermo Rosales, in Santurce, Puerto Rico, on February 14, 1997.
The kitten immediately inspired a bilingual children's book written by Bliss, "Valentina, una historia de amor, a love story," and the development of the foundation. The Siamese mix, a showshoe cat, has blue eyes, a raccoon mask and a chocolate kiss nose. She has visited children in schools, hospitals and libraries, and has inspired a ballet by Lottie Cordero; a photography exhibit, Cattus Portoricensus; a second story; and a t-shirt about awareness of less fortunate cats during Hurricane Georges. She represents respect and compassion for all cats and dogs regardless of looks, age, or physical handicaps. The foundation also promotes awareness of responsible animal care and the dangers of myths, superstitions, and prejudices related to cats, and constantly reminds owners of the pace at which they reproduce, contributing to overpopulation and eventually abuse and abandonment.
