|
Newsletters, eNews, Headlines and Press Releases
This page is an archive of The Animal Center's most recent newsletters, eNews reports, and press releases. If you are not currently on our mailing list but would like to be, join today.
Press Releases
NEWTOWN GROUPS HELP PUBLIC SPAY/NEUTER CATS
Newtown, CT – October 2, 2006. The Animal Center, Inc. and Spay & Neuter Association of Newtown have teamed up with Tait's Every Animal Matters (TEAM), of Westbrook, to make spay/neuter and vaccination services for cats more affordable for Newtown residents who have limited financial resources or who are feeding feral cats.
Through this collaboration, the low-cost services provided by the TEAM Mobile Feline Unit will be reduced from $67 to just $10. In addition to spay or neuter, veterinarians will also give each cat a brief exam, vaccinations (rabies, distemper, upper/lower respiratory infection), a nail trim and ear mite treatment, if necessary.
“The goal of this project is not only to reduce the stray cat population in our community, but also help the people who are least able to afford to spay/neuter,” said Marion Thompson, President of SNAN. Adds Monica Roberto, President of The Animal Center, “It was important to include feral cats in this initiative. There are many people feeding feral cats in the community. When you have a colony of six or seven cats, it can be cost-prohibitive to neuter each and every one. By offering affordable, high-quality spay/neuter to feral cat caretakers, we can eliminate future unwanted litters.”
To make an appointment or to find out if you quality for this program, please call Spay & Neuter Association of Newtown at (203)426-5730. Funding for this low-cost spay/neuter clinic was provided in part from a grant from The Albert Wadsworth & Helen Clark Meserve Memorial Fund.
Spay & Neuter Association of Newtown is a volunteer organization trying to reduce the number of unwanted animals in Newtown and surrounding communities, and can be reached at (203)426-5730.
The Animal Center is a Newtown-based non-profit charity focused on animal welfare. More information about The Animal Center can be found at www.theanimalcenter.org or by calling (203)270-0228.
More than 95,000 domestic and feral cats have been sterilized and vaccinated by TEAM since 1997. For more information on low-cost spay/neuter services visit www.everyanimalmatters.org. or call 1-888-FOR-TEAM.
THE ANIMAL CENTER AWARDED GRANT FROM CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE/APCP PROGRAM
Newtown, CT – September 12, 2006 – Newtown-based nonprofit The Animal Center announced today that it has been awarded a grant by the Connecticut Department of Agriculture under the Department of Agriculture/Animal Population Control Program's new Feral Cat Grant Program. The grant award, valued at approximately $2,000, will provide The Animal Center with vouchers for veterinary services associated with helping to spay and neuter feral cats in the Newtown area.
“ We are excited to participate in the Animal Population Control Program’s new feral cat initiative. We believe this program will not only help address the leading cause of feline homelessness in our community, unchecked feral cat breeding, but will also be seen as model program for successfully lowering feline homelessness through collaborations between government agencies and non-profits,” says Monica Roberto, President of The Animal Center.
This grant will help expand the reach of The Animal Center’s Feral Cat Assistance Program , which has neutered and vaccinated over 100cats in the community since it began in March 2005. The Center’s Feral Cat Assistance Program uses the Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) method, which is a full management plan in which stray and feral cats already living outdoors are humanely trapped, evaluated, vaccinated, and sterilized by veterinarians. Friendly cats and kittens are placed in the Center’s foster program where they are socialized by volunteers and ultimately placed with loving families, while h ealthy adult cats too wild to be adopted are returned to their familiar habitat under the lifelong care of volunteers.
Since its inception in 1995, the Connecticut Animal Population Control Program (APCP) has been a leader in reducing companion animal overpopulation, offering spay/neuter benefits to more than 40,000 animals in municipal shelters, which has contributed to lowering pet overpopulation by 30% and euthanasia by 53%, according to Department of Agriculture reports. ”This is the first year we’ve offered feral cat grants to non-profits, “ says Frank Ribaudo, Director, of Animal Population Control Program. “We believe this feral grant program to be a first in the country, and w e are pleased to provide a grant to The Animal Center because of the good work they do.”
THE ANIMAL CENTER & SPAY & NEUTER ASSOCIATION AWARDED GRANT FROM MESERVE MEMORIAL FOUNDATION
Newtown, CT – August 1, 2006. The Animal Center, Inc. in collaboration with Spay & Neuter Association of Newtown, was recently awarded a $2000 grant from the Meserve Memorial Fund to partially support a low-cost spay/neuter initiative in Newtown.
This new program will allow The Animal Center and Spay & Neuter Association of Newtown to offer low-cost spay/neuter services to low-income families and feral cat caretakers in Newtown twice a year using the TEAM Feline Mobile Unit, Connecticut's only mobile spay/neuter and vaccination clinic for cats. The first spay/neuter event is planned for the Fall 2006.
“The goal of this project is not only to reduce the stray cat population in our community, but also help the people who are least likely able to afford to spay/neuter,” says Marion Thompson, President of SNAN. Adds Monica Roberto, President of The Animal Center, “It was important to include feral cats in this initiative. There are many people feeding feral cats in the community. When you have a colony of six or seven cats, it can be cost-prohibitive to neuter each and every one. By offering affordable, high-quality spay/neuter to feral cat caretakers, we can eliminate future unwanted litters.”
“Given The Animal Center and SNAN’s mutual interests in reducing companion animal homelessness, we strongly believethat we can achieve more to help the animals and people in our community by working together, and this generous grant from the Meserve Memorial Fund helps us to demonstrate this,” say Roberto and Thompson.
NEWTOWN HAILS LOCAL ANIMAL GROUPS ON SPAY DAY"
Newtown, CT - February 21, 2006- Spay & Neuter Association of Newtown and The Animal Center are the recipients of a Proclamation from First Selectman, Herb Rosenthal, declaring February 28, 2006 Spay Day USA in Newtown. Led by the Doris Day Animal Foundation, Spay Day USA is a national event designed to raise awareness of the severe companion animal overpopulation problem-particularly of cats and dogs-in the United States, and for promoting spay/neuter surgery as a primary means of addressing this problem.
"I encourage all Newtown residents to have their cats or dogs spayed or neutered," Herb Rosenthal commented. "I am delighted to help Spay & Neuter Association of Newtown and The Animal Center, and I hope this Proclamation spurs animal caretakers to action."
Over half the households in America include an animal companion. Yet behind this immense love of animals lies an equally immense tragedy: each year, community animal shelters take in eight to twelve million lost and unwanted dogs and cats; and each year, nearly five million of these animals are euthanized because they are not claimed or adopted.
"Spay/neuter plays a vital role in reducing cat and dog overpopulation," says Monica Roberto, Co-Founder of The Animal Center. Adds Penny Meek, Co-President of Spay & Neuter Association of Newtown, "The math is simple. More animals spayed or neutered means fewer animals out on the streets, entering our already overburdened shelter system, and being killed."
Anyone can participate in Spay Day USA simply by having their animal companion spayed or neutered. If your cat or dog is already neutered, please consider making a donation to Spay & Neuter Association of Newtown or The Animal Center, which are seeking financial contributions to help pay for spay/neuter surgeries for the animal companions of elderly and low-income persons as well as stray and feral cats.
THE ANIMAL CENTER AWARDED ASPCA GRANT TO EXPAND ITS FERAL CAT PROGRAM
Newtown, CT - January 25, 2006- Newtown-based charity The Animal Center announced today that it received a $2000 grant from The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) to support its Feral Cat Assistance Program.
"We are very pleased to have a national leader like the ASPCA support the work we're doing to reduce feline homelessness in our community," says Monica Roberto, President of The Animal Center. "The Animal Center helped nearly 150 stray and feral cats last year, but there are many more cats out there who need our assistance. Free-roaming, unowned cats represent the single biggest source of cat overpopulation in our area, and this grant enables us to expand our feral cat program by 40% in 2006."
The Animal Center initiated its Feral Cat Assistance Program in 2005 to humanely and effectively reduce the population of feral (wild) cats in the Newtown area. The Feral Cat Assistance Program uses the Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) model to reduce the number of free-roaming felines in its community. TNR is a full management plan in which stray and feral cats already living outdoors are humanely trapped, evaluated, vaccinated, and sterilized by veterinarians. Friendly cats and kittens are placed in The Animal Center's foster program where they are socialized by volunteers and ultimately placed with loving families, while healthy adult cats too wild to be adopted are returned to their familiar habitat under the lifelong care of volunteers.
"We are pleased to provide this grant to The Animal Center because of the good work they do," says Sandra Monterose, the ASPCA's Northeast Region Shelter Outreach Manager. "The ASPCA fully supports the Trap-Neuter-Return approach to reducing free roaming cat populations, and we're glad to see the Center using this method in their community." This ASPCA grant was made possible by a recent bequest from the Estate of Bernadine M. Boyle of New Canaan.
THE ANIMAL CENTER JOINS SHELTERS FOR IAMS HOME 4 THE HOLIDAYS 2005, NATIONWIDE "CAUSE FOR PAWS"
Newtown, CT - November 15, 2005- The Animal Center announced today that it will join hands and paws with more than 2,000 adoption centers for Iams' "Home 4 the Holidays 2005," a national event organized to raise awareness of the joys of adopting companion animals from shelters and rescue groups. Organizers hope to link more than 350,000 dogs, cats, puppies, kittens, and other companion animals with loving, adoptive families this holiday season.
"We hope to find loving homes for all of the cats and kittens in our adoption program this holiday season," says Kim Coleman, Co-Founder of The Animal Center. "As the cat rescue team in our community, we see orphaned animals ever day. Take one look into their eyes and you'll see that there's no better gift than to make the lifetime commitment of giving them a loving home to call their own."
To help The Animal Center kick off its "Home 4 the Holidays" program, Paws on Main will be hosting the Center's special adoption events on November 19th, December 3, 10, and 17th from noon -2pm. All cats and kittens adopted during Iams' "Home 4 the Holidays 2005" will go home with a starter kit containing tips for caring for their new family member.
Adopting from The Animal Center also offers a number of benefits included in your new cat's adoption fee: vet exam, spay/neuter, vaccines and deworming. And the Center's locally-based team is always on hand to answer any questions you may have about your cat after s/he has been adopted.
NEWTOWN DECLARES OCTOBER 16 NATIONAL FERAL CAT DAY
Newtown, CT - October 11, 2005- Herb Rosenthal, first selectman of Newtown, today issued a proclamation declaring October 16, 2005 as National Feral Cat day in Newtown to raise awareness of Newtown's feral and stray cat population. To observe National Feral Cat day, The Animal Center, a Newtown-based animal welfare organization recognized in Rosenthal's declaration for its programs to help manage Newtown's stray cat population, is organizing an October "Supper for Strays" food drive to help feed Newtown's stray cat population.
"October 16th is National Feral Cat Day and we wanted to have an event where people could learn about feral cats as well as make a difference in their lives by donating food," says Monica Roberto, Co-Founder of The Animal Center. "While feral cats have learned to survive on their own, their quality of life improves when they have volunteer caretakers who provide food and water for them, especially during the harsh winter months."
A feral cat is an unsocialized cat who was born outside and has never lived with a human family, or a house cat that was abandoned or strayed from home and, over time, has thrown off the effects of domestication and reverted to a wild state.
The Animal Center not only helps feed and care for local feral cats, but also has a feral cat population reduction program called Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), which is a non-lethal strategy whereby cats are humanely trapped, vaccinated and neutered by veterinarians. According to Alley Cat Allies, a national nonprofit clearinghouse for information on feral and stray cats, "TNR the most humane and effective method to reduce feral cat populations," and is practiced throughout the United States and other parts of the world.
Donation bins for canned and dry cat food will be stationed at the Stop & Shop (Newtown) and Paws on Main (Monroe). The Center will also have a donation station at Newtown schools, St. Rose and Middle Gate, for the children participating in the "Supper for Strays" food drive.
The Animal Center is a Newtown-based charity focused on animal welfare. More information about The Animal Center can be found at www.theanimalcenter.org.
THE ANIMAL CENTER & PAWS ON MAIN EXTEND SUCCESSFUL ADOPTION PARTNERSHIP
Newtown, CT - August 31, 2005-The Animal Center will again team up with Paws on Main for an adoption day on Saturday, September 10, 2005 after their successful series of adoption events in June that led to more than a dozen adoptions of homeless kittens and cats. Area residents interested in a furry lifetime friend can meet some of the Center's zany and loving kittens in person at Paws on Main, or view them online at www.theanimalcenter.org.
The Animal Center provides rescue and adoption services to abandoned cats and kittens in Newtown. The more adoptions the Center does, the more resources it has to devote to other local homeless cats and kittens. According to Monica Roberto, Co-Founder of The Animal Center, "In just a few months, we've helped more than 50 homeless cats in our community; however, there are many more orphaned animals out there who desperately need our assistance."
Adopting from the Center offers a number of benefits included in your new cat's adoption fee: spay/neuter, vaccines, deworming and testing for certain infectious diseases. And the Center's locally-based team is always on hand to answer any questions you may have about your cat after s/he has been adopted.
Come help our cats become the love of someone's life -- yours! Please stop by Paws on Main on Saturday, September 10, 2005 from noon-2pm. We'd love to see you there. Paws on Main is located at 268 Main St., Monroe, across from Senior Panchos restaurant.
The Animal Center is a recently formed Newtown-based charity focused on animal welfare. More information about The Animal Center can be found at www.theanimalcenter.org.
HOMELESS LOCAL ANIMALS 'WANT YOU TO WANT THEM'
Newtown, CT - August 26, 2005- The Animal Center has teamed up with rock band Cheap Trick to promote adoption of homeless cats and dogs with their recently launched music video, "Make Adoption Your First Option," featuring the classic Cheap Trick hit, "I Want You to Want Me."
The video will be airing on Community Access Channel 21 on Charter Cable, and can also be viewed on the Center's website, www.theanimalcenter.org , or on Cheap Trick's website, www.cheaptrick.com.
"In creating this video, we wanted to raise awareness of the many wonderful homeless animals for adoption in our community, as well as explain how adoption saves lives," says Monica Roberto, Co-Founder of The Animal Center. The video was produced by Animal Center volunteer Chris Trudeau.
Each year, more than four million cats and dogs are euthanized in shelters. This translates into killing roughly eight cats or dogs a minute, or 479 an hour, or 11,506 per day. By working in partnership with their communities, shelters can bring an end to the needless killing of healthy animals; and adoption from your local shelter/rescue group is a critical step to achieving this goal.
"We were glad to help such a worthy cause," says Carla Dragotti, Cheap Trick's Tour Manager.
|
