(Michigan City, IN) - A Michigan City animal shelter is ringing in the new year with a sizeable donation.

 

On Thursday Fried’s Cat Shelter received a visit from John Low, who represents the Low Family Foundation in Niles, Michigan. He brought with him a giant check worth $50,000.

 

Shelter Director Sandra O’Dell says the donation was quite unexpected. “[The Lows] had been here many years ago, around 1985,” O’Dell explained. “And they have some mutual friends of the shelter, who spoke very highly of us. And this foundation was just formed this year, and they were looking for shelters and other nonprofit organizations to give gifts to. We were chosen as one… it was a very, very, very nice surprise.”

 

Fried's Car Shelter was founded by Hans and Lucille Fried, who immigrated from Nazi Germany in 1939. In 1977 they bought an old roadside motel in Michigan City and turned it into a no-kill, cageless shelter for homeless and abandoned cats.

 

O’Dell says Fried’s Cat Shelter is kicking off a fundraising campaign to replace a portion of their current building, which is badly in need of reconstruction.

 

The shelter is located on IN-212 in Michigan City just across from the airport. You can visit their website at https://www.friedscatshelter.org/.