No More Homeless Pets
Weekly News
November 21, 2004
From super adoptions to spay/neuter successes, people working together to bring about a time when there will be No More Homeless Pets.
TOP STORY
Seattle Holiday Gala
Congratulations and thanks to all who took part in the Seattle Holiday Gala. On Friday, 250 members of Best Friends in Seattle came together to help homeless animals in and around the city. Sixty of them signed up to join the local Best Friends Brigade and take on special projects to help shelter animals. The event raised more than $4,500 for local programs. Staff members from the sanctuary met with King County Animal Control, Pierce County Humane Society, and Seattle/King County Humane Society -- and Best Friends' Sherry Woodard assisted them with behavior assessment training.
Thanks again. A great event. You all did the animals proud!
AMAZING ANIMALS
Old seeing-eye dog finds new life as a therapist
New York City - Maggie, an elderly yellow Labrador retriever, just didn't think much of retirement. For eight years, she was a seeing-eye dog, but when her client died, she was facing euthanasia. Then she was saved by Pastor Eric Towse, who offered her a life of leisure at home with his two other dogs.
Maggie tried retirement for three years, but became depressed. Pastor Towse astutely figured out that Maggie needed a job, so he took her to
Bright and Beautiful Pet Therapy in New Jersey, where she became a certified pet therapy dog. These days Maggie, at the ripe old age of 12, is happy and productive -- visiting patients in their homes and at the hospice unit at Metropolitan Jewish Geriatric Center.
ADOPTION NEWS
Oldies but Goodies get their day
Southern Pines, North Carolina - An "Oldies but Goodies" celebration, complete with '50s music and a hula hoop contest, gave some senior pets their day in the sun last weekend. The adoption brought out 32 older animals from nine area shelters and rescue groups, in order to promote the advantages of adopting mature pets and raise awareness of the homeless pet problem. Organized by the recently formed Central North Carolina Animal Welfare Coalition, the event was held as part of Adopt-A-Senior-Pet month, sponsored by the ASPCA and Petfinder.com. Read more in
The Pilot.
Philadelphia partnership launches adoption campaign
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - The
People-Pet Partnership (PPP) launched its
Home 4 the Holidays campaign last week in Philadelphia, as part of the Helen Woodward Animal Center's adoption campaign involving more than 1,300 shelters worldwide. Helen Woodward President Mike Arms attended the kickoff event cosponsored by Best Friends, which was held at a local Whole Foods market, and featured a colorful frenzy of cats and dogs wearing "Adopt Me" vets. PPP will take adoptable dogs and cats to the same market every weekend between now and December 19. The adoption drive is also being promoted by a new area billboard, featuring the photography of Best Friends' Clay Myers.
FERAL CAT NEWS
Homeless man struggles to save homeless cats
Hartford, Connecticut - Calvin Morgan is struggling to save abandoned cats in Dutch Point, a housing complex scheduled for demolition. As families have moved out of the area, they've left behind their cats like unwanted furniture, but Morgan has made it his business to protect the cats -- some of whom are feral, others recently discarded pets. He helps find food for the animals and is desperately searching for people who will help him find them homes. "I'm homeless by choice," he says. "They aren't."
Read more about Morgan and his cats. (Content free, but registration required.)
Feral Cat Spay/Neuter project passes 10,000 mark
Puget Sound, Washington - The
Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project has zoomed past the milestone of its 10,000th sterilization, and is well on its way toward 15,000. The recipient of the 10,000th operation was a former tom cat named Slinky, and the occasion was celebrated with a three-dimensional feral cat cake -- complete with a tipped ear!
Alley Cat Allies gets $15,000 grant
Washington, D.C. - The
ASPCA and Fresh Step litter have awarded
Alley Cat Allies a $15,000 grant to help educate the public and train animal control officers about trap/neuter/return. "Every town has outdoor cats and every animal control department wants fewer complaints about them," said Becky Robinson, national director of Alley Cat Allies. "Officers have asked for tools to educate the public about successful methods to deal with feral cats and proven ways cut down on nuisance behaviors ... [and now we] can provide them with these tools."
FABULOUS FUNDRAISERS
First Dogtoberfest proves successful
Jacksonville, Florida - Trick-or-treating for dogs and their people turned out to be a huge success in Jacksonville. Dogtoberfest I, featuring a haunted forest and assorted dog games, attracted an estimated 650 people. More importantly, it raised nearly $9,000 for
First Coast No More Homeless Pets.
And the survey says ...
Participants in an online market research service can answer a few questions and benefit animals at the same time. Peggy and Tom O'Connor, owners of
On-Line Communications, have arranged a program whereby research participants can donate their honorariums to worthy charities. In addition, the company donates a dollar per survey. To date, about 20 percent of participants have sent their money to Best Friends.
IN YOUR COMMUNITIES
Pets of the homeless treated in outreach program
Nashville, Tennessee - They may live in a camp for the homeless, but five dogs and three cats received a "house call" from animal-care workers recently. The residents of the homeless camp do their best to take good care of the animals, who were vaccinated and received identification tags through a project spearheaded by
The Southern Alliance for Animal Welfare. At the end of the month, the alliance plans to bring in all of the animals to be sterilized. Read more about this unique outreach program in the
Tennessean.
Junior high club treats Navajo Reservation pets
Chinle, Arizona - A free vaccination clinic hosted by the
Save Our Strays Club at Chinle Junior High School was an unqualified success. Some 156 puppies and dogs were vaccinated against parvo and distemper, diseases that are common killers on the Navajo Reservation. A $200 grant from Best Friends helped make the event possible.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
TNR program makes strides in Romania
Romania - Thanks to several generous donations, a fledgling trap/neuter/return program in Romania was able to alter 51 stray and feral cats and dogs recently. Organizers of Animed Arad plan additional fundraising, staff training and the launch of a quarterly newspaper in the near future. For more on this program, visit
www.animed.ro.
