No More Homeless Pets
Weekly News

July 25, 2004
From super adoptions to revolutionary changes in animal control, each week we bring you news of successes large and small in the campaign to bring about a time when there will be No More Homeless Pets.

• Texas project to test Neutersol
• New Hampshire cow helps homeless pets
• Mobile spay/neuter takes hold in Louisiana
• License plates help fund Tennessee low-cost spay/neuter

Adoption News

• NYC enlists Publicolor's help to brighten shelters
• Underground railroad transports pets from depressed areas

Feral Cat News

• Sticking up for ferals

Fabulous Fundraisers

• Kids give up birthday presents to help homeless animals
• Third Annual Pet-A-Thon brings in big money in Florida
• Ohio Boy Scout organizes record-breaking supply drive
• New York celebrates its doggie divas and dudes
• Kentucky girls raise money for shelter one glass at a time

Community Campaigns

• "Fixing" up a great float

International News

• Canadian car dealer finds that helping pets pays off
• Taiwanese communities struggle to save stray dogs

SPAY/NEUTER NEWS

Houston, Texas - Following the recent FDA approval of Neutersol, Houston's Spay-Neuter Assistance Program has received a $93,780 grant from PetsMart Charities to use the injections to sterilize 5,000 male dogs. Read more about this revolutionary program in the Houston Business Journal.

Portsmouth, New Hampshire - Bossie the cow first made her mark after she was born with the image of New Hampshire's Old Man of the Mountains sketched onto her shoulder in white fur. Now she is using her fame to help homeless animals and spread the word about spaying and neutering. "Hey Bossie, You're a Spokescow!" written by Mickey de Rham, can be purchased at www.nhbooksellers.com.

New Orleans, Louisiana - In addition to sterilizing 249 dogs and cats last month, a mobile spay/neuter clinic is reaching Louisiana townships with the message that it is cheaper to sterilize animals than to catch, house, and euthanize them. The Louisiana SPCA's Dorothy Dorsett Brown Mobile Center performs free spay/neuter operations for low-income residents in New Orleans, but surrounding townships have apparently learned that spay/neuter saves money in the long run, and are getting grants for the van to come to their areas. Learn more about how the program works in the Times-Picayune.

Clarksville, Tennessee - The state's Animal Friendly license plate program is helping to fund the Humane Society of Clarksville-Montgomery County's Spay-Neuter Assistance program, which has already sterilized 200 animals at $10 each. License plate sales recently generated funds for an additional $3,500 grant to the program, covering an extra 64 surgeries this year. Read more in The Leaf Chronicle.

ADOPTION NEWS

New York, New York - In an attempt to lighten the heavy atmosphere that pervades many animal shelters, New York City Animal Care & Control is partnering with non-profit organization Publicolor to brighten up its shelters. Publicolor teaches students to improve the atmosphere at their schools with colorful paint jobs, and will try to bring the same cheerful touch to the city's shelters - hopefully enticing more potential adopters. Read more in the New York Post.

New Martinsville, West Virginia; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Strings of volunteers band together to transport dogs and cats from shelters in depressed areas of Appalachia and the South to parts of the Northeast where more homes are available. Learn more about how they do it in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

FERAL CAT NEWS

Springfield, Missouri - Kathi McDermott, a community programs manager for Best Friends, sticks up for feral cats and advocates trap/neuter/release in a recent letter published in the Springfield News-Leader.

FABULOUS FUNDRAISERS

Hillsboro, Oregon; Decatur, Alabama - In an encouraging epidemic of generosity, children across the nation continue to make news by hosting birthday parties where they don't ask for dolls, toy cars, or video games. Instead, these remarkable kids are requesting that their guests bring gifts for those who really have nothing - the homeless dogs and cats at their local shelters. Learn about a 7-year-old girl who held a party to benefit Oregon's Bonnie L. Hays Small Animal Shelter in The Oregonian.

Find out how a 5-year-old Alabama girl was inspired by her kitten to use her birthday to benefit the Decatur Animal Shelter in The Decatur Daily.

Palm Beach, Florida - Taking a page from Jerry Lewis, Safe Harbor Animal Sanctuary and Hospital hosted their third annual "Pet-A-Thon" recently, modeled after the comedian's successful muscular dystrophy telethons. The recent two-hour television fundraiser brought in more than $53,000 for the no-kill sanctuary. See the article at TCPalm.com.

Hamilton, Ohio - While playing baseball in fields across from the Animal Adoption Foundation, 15-year-old Ryan Fernandez got a great idea for his Eagle Scout project. He organized a supply drive for the shelter that netted the biggest results in the foundation's history: 780 garbage bags, 742 pounds of cat litter, 364 pounds of dog food, 163 pounds of cat food, 41 gallons of bleach, 18 gallons of liquid laundry detergent, 68 collars, and 42 leashes. Read more about this drive's big success in the Journal-News.

Oneonta, New York - A college president, police officer, and banker combined their brainpower Saturday to answer such pressing questions as: Who has the longest tail? Where is the oldest owner? And, which dog has the best hat? It was all part of "Doggie Diva and Dude Day," hosted to benefit the no-kill Susquehanna SPCA. See the article in The Daily Star.

Danville, Kentucky - Kelsey Godman, 11, and Tiffany Linder, 10, are using a tried and true fundraising method to save pets at the local Boyle County Humane Society - selling lemonade. They plan to help save as many puppies as possible by peddling their brew on street corners all summer long. Find out more in The Advocate Messenger (subscription required).

Charlotte, North Carolina - North Carolina's Feral Cat Society and The Citizens for Animal Welfare are competing in a can-collecting contest this month, with all proceeds to benefit homeless animals. Each group will receive money for the aluminum cans they collect, and the winning group will be awarded additional prize money. Find out more about the competition in The Charlotte Observer. (Content is free, but registration required.)

COMMUNITY CAMPAIGNS

Pt. Hadlock, Washington - Best Friends' Magazine reader Phyllis Becker, of Olympic Mountain Pet Pals, wrote to us recently to share a picture of the wonderful float her organization put together to draw attention to their spay/neuter campaign. Thanks for sharing the idea, Phyllis, and we love the costumes!

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada - For car dealer Jim Gauthier, finding homes for dogs is as important as selling cars - but he has also found that his compassion is good for business. Gauthier advertises homeless dogs in his newspaper ads, and has gone all out to help support the no-kill Winnipeg Pet Rescue - which takes in more than 100 dogs a year from the city pound to save them from research laboratories. Find out more about Gauthier's cause in The Winnipeg Sun.

Taipei, Taiwan - Confronting a growing problem with stray dogs, a new plan urges Taiwan communities to "adopt" dogs as a neighborhood. Under the proposal, specific citizens would be designated to care for the dogs, who would be implanted with ID chips so they could roam at large, but still be traced back to their communities. Read more about this unusual proposal in the China Post.