Our Story
Miss Fannies Friends Is named in honor of Fannie Mae Berry, an 88 year old lady, who lived on the east side of Wichita Falls, Texas. I met Fannie Mae in April 2006 when I worked as the team captain for a Christmas in Action project on her home. It was through her love and fondness for animals (particularly cats) that we developed a friendship that would carry us through the next three months. Unknown to everyone, Miss Fannie had lung cancer and passed away in June 2007.
In this short time, she managed to touch my heart and it was her commitment and tender loving care for stray cats in her neighborhood that inspired the idea for Miss Fannie’s Feline and Canine Friends (later changed to Miss Fannies Friends). Through our non-profit organization, Miss Fannie’s legacy will live on.
Teri Russell, Founder
Teri Russell has been dedicating her time to helping the homeless cats of Wichita Falls and the surrounding community since 2007.
Board Members
Teri Russell,
President & Director
Brenda Kouri
Treasurer
Paula Hill , June Reitz
Adoption/Foster Coordinator
Christine Bromley-Alsip
Who We Are and What We Do
Miss Fannies Friends obtained our 501c3 status in October 2016. We are a small group of hardworking, dedicated individuals working every day of the week caring for and trying to find homes for the cats and kittens in our program.
Miss Fannies is a foster based rescue and cannot exist without our wonderful fosters and volunteers.
Our financial assistance comes primarily from adoption fees, donations and in-kind donations such as food and cat litter. We charge a small fee for adoptions to cover the veterinarian costs of the adopted cat or kitten. We spend over 80% of the money we receive on veterinarian bills. These funds cover the expenses of our adopted cats and kittens as well as all of our rescues waiting for their forever home. In addition, we vaccinate and treat our TNR cats as needed.
Where do all the cats and kittens come from in our adoption program?
A large number of these cats and kittens are born from homeless or free-roaming felines in our community.
We are an active TNR group that spays and neuters cats throughout our community and many times a new cat will appear in one of our colony’s. If female, she is often pregnant or a nursing mother. As soon as it is medically safe to do so, we spay the mama and if possible socialize the kittens and place them in our foster based adoption program.
Many cats are abandoned or misplaced, we receive pleas daily to help stray cats that are very sweet and not accustomed to living outdoors and fending for themselves.
Kittens are often found in people’s yards, garages or seen on the street without a mother to care for them.
Injured cats are often rescued and given medical treatment. Once they are well, spayed or neutered, they are placed in our adoption program.
Miss Fannies Friends pulls cats from our local Animal Control when we have fosters available to take them.