4th Annual Birthday Bash For AWL Gives Pet-Centered Household Enjoyable

By David Slone, Managing Editor

PIERCETON – Cupcakes had been eaten, data was supplied, funds had been raised and a number of other cats and canines had been adopted Saturday on the fourth annual Animal Welfare League of Kosciusko County Birthday Bash.
Tonya Blanchard, AWL govt director, defined, “Across the United States, everybody is doing this for the month of August. This is our biggest fundraiser. We started last night at Noa Noa. Today is nothing but dogs today, cats today, kittens. It’s all about the kids, it’s all about just a fun time for families. This is a family event here.”
The occasion included face work, distributors, a stay broadcast from a radio station and a bake sale.
“It’s all about just having a good time today,” she stated.
As of Saturday, the shelter had 64 canines and about 42 on a ready checklist.
“So, today, all of our dog adoptions are $50, no matter, other than puppies. So, we’re looking for adoptions so we can make room for the ones that are out on the streets waiting to come in,” Blanchard stated.
To convey in additional canines, she stated they’d have to rent extra staff, which might be “crazy.”
“So, it’s just what we can handle and what’s healthy for the staff and what’s healthy for the pets,” Blanchard stated.
With the adoptions they’d Saturday, subsequent week the AWL will be capable of convey 5 – 6 extra in and get them off the ready checklist.
Jordan Good, AWL cat home supervisor, stated she thinks the cat inhabitants disaster is sort of in every single place.
“Between all of local places and everywhere else, the biggest thing right now is making sure that if you are feeding the cats outside, the strays, make sure you fix them because it fixes the problem long term, where right now that’s why everyone’s overflowed and a lot of people get put on a waiting list, is because we have that influx of cats where people just will not fix their cats. So, they’re like, ‘Oh, I’m just going to relocate this cat,’ and then it breeds somewhere else and then we get orphaned kittens and it’s a never-ending cycle right now,” she defined.
As of Saturday, the AWL had about 180 cats, together with cats in foster care. Good stated they’re at all times in search of fosters.
Rae King, AWL adoption tech, stated the shelter’s capability, comfortably, for cats is underneath 140 in-house and in foster care. She stated final they checked, a couple of week in the past, they’d 82 cats in-house they usually’ve had mother cats and kittens are available in since then in order that quantity has gone up once more.
The numbers fluctuate, particularly throughout “kitten season,” King stated, as a result of there is perhaps 5 kittens to 1 kennel in the event that they’re nonetheless fairly younger.
“Last year, in November, we had 245 cats in total in-house, so it was a lot,” Good stated.
They’ve had a number of occasions to assist cut back that quantity, together with a number of Bissell Foundation occasions. “I think we had 47-ish cats adopted just through the Bissell event that happened here,” Good acknowledged.
King stated Bissell does the occasion about thrice a yr for the AWL.
As for the AWL’s present wants, Blanchard stated canned cat meals is an enormous one. They do one can of cat meals each single day for each single animal.
“So canned cat food is what we’re always looking for. We’re always looking for volunteers. The cats can’t get out and go out on a walk like the dogs can, but you can come in, you can socialize them, you can play with them. Just spend some time with them, love on them, let them know it’s not all about a cage. They can be hugged, they can be loved on,” she stated. “The same with the dogs. Come in and walk a dog. Spend time with a dog. We’re always looking for volunteers, especially on Saturday. We’re closed Sunday, Monday, so I just have the staff on Sunday, Monday, so getting the dogs out of the cage on Saturday, that is our busiest day. Just spend some time with them.”
The AWL has a brand new space that was donated for an enormous play yard that’s fenced. It’s excellent train for the canines.
While folks typically gravitate in direction of kittens and puppies, the AWL has older canines and cats that want good houses as nicely. Blanchard stated they want “just somebody to take them and love them until the end. Sometimes they end up here. In a situation where maybe mom or dad has passed away, the kids might feel like they’re too active to have a senior pet, but you know what? There’s seniors that come in here that would love to have a senior pet.”
Blanchard stated the AWL is right here for the neighborhood.
“We show you that by the spay and neuter clinics that we have here. We have Four Directions that come here once a month, twice a month. They park in the parking lot and they’re spaying and neutering cats from the community. We are doing vaccine clinics here once a month. Dr. Woodward comes in and works with my staff when we do a clinic here. So, these are things that we’re doing because we think that this is going to save them,” she stated.
Tom Tearney, AWL Board of Directors president, stated, “The animal shelter is doing well. We usually have a lot of dogs and cats all the time that are up for adoption, so we’re happy to be here and serve the community. We also get a tremendous amount of support from the community, which helps when we need certain items – food or what have you. So we appreciate all the community support we can get. It certainly takes a community to make the animal shelter successful, as far as volunteers and donations and donors.”
He stated they attempt to do every part they will to get out in the neighborhood and let everybody know they’re right here in addition to how a lot the shelter appreciates the neighborhood assist.
Tearney stated among the largest challenges dealing with the shelter are usually not at all times having the house for all of the canines and cats that need to are available in.
“We always have a waiting list, so trying to get the dogs and cats adopted out is always a challenge, so we can make room for more dogs and cats,” he acknowledged.
Animal Welfare League of Kosciusko County, a 501(c)3 nonprofit and personal animal shelter, is at 1048 S. CR 325E, Pierceton. It serves all of Kosciusko County. Its web site is at awlwarsaw.com; telephone, 574-267-3008; and e-mail is [email protected]