Spay and Neuter, Let s Fix The Situation

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1 Spay and Neuter, Let s Fix The Situation One un-neutered male and one un-spayed female cat and their offspring can result in 420,000 kittens in a seven year span and one un-neutered and one un-spayed dog and their offspring can result in 67,000 puppies in a six year span. The number of unwanted and stray animals have reached an all time high. This creates a big problem for shelters as we do not have the facilities to house all of these unwanted animals and the adoption rate cannot keep up with the demand. Spay and Neuter initiatives are an important area of focus for the SPCA St. John s. The shelter helps more than 2,000 animals each year and sees spay and neuter activities as a critical piece in the prevention of cruelty and improving the lives of animals through population control. "We do all we can for the animals that come in the door but we also need to reduce the numbers coming in. That comes from promoting and engaging in spay and neuter initiatives," says Simone Browne, President, "There are too many unwanted litters being born and we need to make every effort to help control the pet population and to educate people that spaying or neutering their animal helps keep the population down but also has positive health impacts for their pet." The SPCA requires animals adopted from the shelter be spayed and neutered as part of the adoption contract. The shelter has a Spay and Neuter Assistance Program- SNAP- that is open to people in a low income sitation to apply for assisatnce in getting their animal fixed. This is open to people outside the St.John s areas, people in St.John s please contact Humane Services for information on their similar program. More than 120 animals have been helped in this program over the past 12 months. The SPCA St.John s received a grant from Petsmart Charities for $20,000 in 2012 to help with the pet population on Bell Island. Bell Island owners of unfixed cats can contact the shelter for more information on this grant program. Common Myths Spring 2013 *Fixing my pet will make them overweight... Fixing your pet should not result in weight gain if your pet receives a healthy diet and sufficient exercise. *Fixing my pet interferes with nature... Domesticated dogs and cats are completely dependent on humans. It is our responsibility as their guardians to ensure that the number of companion animals born does not exceed the number of available homes. *Animals have the right to have one litter... Spaying a female cat or dog before she goes into heat even once will greatly reduce her risk of developing mammary, ovarian and uterine cancer. Please do your part in reducing the number of unwanted animals. Visit our website for information on our Spay and Neuter Assistance Program for low income households. Visit our website:

2 SPCA Saddened by Loss of a Dear Friend The SPCA lost a dear friend of the animals on December 24, 2012 with the passing of Hilda Smith. Hilda is a pillar in the history of the SPCA St.John s. Without her tireless efforts the organization would not be where it is today. Throughout the decades of volunteering she did for the SPCA St.John s her motto was "Never give up." And she lived up to this. Shortly after moving to St. John s from Montreal in 1962 with her husband Dr. P.D.P. Smith and two children Hilda made the acquaintance of others in the area who were working to improve the lives of the animals. She soon took on a significant role in the movement. In the early 1970 s a lot of the work involved giving telephone advice on animal care, connecting animal owners with those willing to adopt (again by telephone), fund raising and publicity, and educating children s groups through visits or animal shows. The SPCA s efforts in the 1960 s and 70 s were not limited to improving the lives of house pets. The first meetings with animal rights groups over the seal hunt took place and a lawsuit was brought against a local department store s inadequate care for the animals in its pet department. Periodically, complaints over the maltreatment of farm animals were dealt with. In 1965 the Society established a small animal shelter in partnership with the City of St. John s but this proved a difficult project to manage and was discontinued soon after. The first shelter run entirely by the Society opened in 1972 off Torbay Road. Running it involved enormous efforts by all of the volunteers and through it all, over nearly forty years, Hilda was a leader, volunteer, and worker, as she continuously worked to help the animals of the City and the Province. Hilda loved animals and received Canada's 1992 Confederation Medal and the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal for her tireless work in support of animal welfare in Canada. The SPCA Board of Directors, staff and volunteers past and present are very thankful for the all the extraordinary work done by Hilda Smith on behalf on the welfare of the animals and she will be missed. Vacation Getaway Tickets Order Form Name: Address: City: Postal Code: Phone: $5 each or $20 for 5 Credit Card Exp *If paying by cheque please make payable to SPCA St.Johns, mail form to address on back of newsletter.

3 Coinbox o r n e r Looking for friendly, old-fashioned, service that caters to you personally? Are you looking for fast, efficient, modern service with links to cyberspace? Are you looking for all of these services under the same roof? If so, look no further than Belbin s Grocery Store/Specialty Store/Food Service. They re absolutely everything you d need to transform grocery shopping into a relaxing outing. Located at 85 QuidI VidI Road in St. John s, the store-front is inviting and the staff is wonderful! The personal service they ll provide goes from taking your order over the phone and bringing it to your home to opening a jar in the store for you if you can t open it yourself. PLUS, what s in that jar could be anything from locally- homemade Belbin s-brand Pickles to Belbin s Blend Coffee, made especially for them. Belbin s staff deal directly with local farmers and producers to provide free-range chicken, local lamb, fishcakes, freshlybaked bread and fresh vegetables which, by the way, they ll even cut up for you if you find it difficult to get through that over-sized turnip or cabbage. Belbin s have been tending our SPCA coin box for many years and have always been a loyal Thank you! We have collected over $3,700 in pennies in the past 12 months. All of this supports our Spay and Nueter Assistance Program. Belbins Grocery Helpful and friendly Belbin staff members Nancy and Ian. supporter of the SPCA. So, next time you re out to shop for food, go by and take a look. Or, drop by tonight for one of their in-store freshly-cooked meals and give yourself a night away from the stove. It s all possible at Belbin s Grocery. Help us reach $6,000 by the end of the year. Bring your pennies to the shelter or to the thrift store on 162 Park Avenue.

4 In Memory The SPCA is sad to announce the loss of one of their long time supporters, Richard Dyer, who passed away on January 4, Richard was a great person, a past supporter of the SPCA who put in a lot of hours helping out the animals. He was the van driver when it came to picking up stray and homeless cats and investigate complaint calls, often meaning a long drive out of the city. Richard packed many van loads for Flea Markets and the Fall Fair. He feed many stray cats and even though he no longer worked at the shelter he still cared for the animals up until he passed away. He was currently taking care of three homeless cats that were out in the cold. He would brave a storm to get to the shelter when other volunteers and staff could not to make sure the animals were cleaned and cared for. The work was always hard but Richard had so much fun it and knew to help the animals it was all worth it. Fellow volunteer Violet Vincent remembers Richard as a man who handled difficult situations with the utmost respect and truly cared about the animals. Richard had a heart as big as he was. The SPCA will hold fond memories of Richard Dyer and are thankful for all he did for the animals inside the shelter and out. Every donation matters! Thanks to all who provide us shelter supplies! In 2012, we had 471 dogs stay with us who devoured 5,000 kgs of dog food and 150 boxes of dog treats. Our 1,047 cats consumed 1,500 bags of dry food and 6,000 cans of wet food and then used 15,000 kg of kitty litter! Thank you for supporting us! It s time to enter our Annual Pet Photo Contest Be featured in our 2014 Calendar! Send in your entry for your shot at having your pet be a calendar model. Contest Rules: 1.Entry fee is $5.00 per photo, all entries must have an entry form attached 2. Deadline for entries is June Please send photos in high resolution JPeg format via to: [email protected] If submitting a Hard Copy it must printed on photo paper. 4x6 in size. Originals will not be returned. 5. A judge(s) independent of the SPCA will choose the winning entries. 6. The SPCA reserves the right to publish the entry names and photos. 7. Photos must be of animals only to be considered for winning In appreciation to our supporters the SPCA will try to include as many entry photos in the calendar as space allows Pet Photo Contest Entry Form Please print your information Name of Entrant: Mailing Address: Phone Number: Address: Pet s Name(s): I verify that I have permission to use this photo and I have read the contest rules and regulations. Signature: **Photo Enclosed: ** Photo ed: Digital photo saved as:

5 Grab Your Sneakers and Walk For The Animals Bowring Park will be filled with walkers on two legs and those on four on Saturday June 22 during the SPCA s 31st Annual Walk for The Animals. From small beginnings over 3 decades ago, the annual walk has grown into the shelter s largest annual fundraising event that reaches over 200 in attendance throughout the day. This is a great event to take part in. Register to collect pledges, make a donation or simply come down to Bowring Park for a burger at our barbeque. There is something for everyone and it all supports the shelter, said Jennifer Cummings, SPCA Fundraising Coordinator, It is truly inspiring to see so many people come together in support of the animals. Registration for the walk begins at 1 pm at Bowring Park s Bob Whelan Field with the walk beginning at 2pm. The event is more than just a walk in the park though! Skyhigh Amusements will be there with a bouncy castle, a tattoo artist and balloon twister will provide entertainment, Aussie Mobile Pet Grooming will be doing free nail clippings, there s games you and your pet can compete in and prizes! New this year is a microchip clinic held onsite by Paradise Animal Hospital. Get your pet microchipped for just $25, a great discount for this service, and proceeds support the shelter. Participants can register online at Individuals that raise $50 will receive a reusable SPCA tote bag and a Walk for the Animals t-shirt when they raise $100. A prize is awarded to the top fundraising individual and the top fundraising team. Dogs are not required to join the walk but all dogs in attendance must be on a leash. They will receive a 2013 Walk for the Animals Bandana for joining us! The 31st Walk for the Animals is proudly sponsored by SkyHigh Amusements, Steele Communications, Aussie Mobile Grooming, Paradise Animal Hospital and Reid Music. The 2012 Walk for the Animals was a huge success raising over $20,000 in support for the SPCA St.John s shelter. The SPCA operates a shelter in St.John s that helps more than 2,000 animals a year. We are dependent on donations with 90% of our annual operating costs coming from supporters and donors through events like the Walk. Visit us at 162 Park Ave phone: *Volunteers Needed* Tuesday- Thursday: noon to 9 Friday: noon to 6 Saturday: 10 to 6 Sunday: noon to 4

6 Board of Directors ( ) Executive: Thanks to some of our Generous Supporters! Simone Browne President Bob Noseworthy Vice-President Lori Foote Treasurer Carolyn Hickey Secretary At Large Mitzi Smyth Keith Mercer Dennis Bishop Joanne Kelly-Cook Amanda MacDougall Jennifer Fowler Erin Walsh Dr.Dan Quinlan Contact Us SPCA St. John s P.O. Box St. John s, NL Canada A1A 5B5 Tel: (709) Fax: (709) Hours of Operation Monday - closed Tuesday Sunday : 12:00pm 5:00pm [email protected] Newspaws is produced by SPCA St.John s Staff and Volunteers. Printed in Partnership with NEWFOUNDLAND POWER Clockwise left to right: Students from Gonzaga School held a coofeehouse bake sale at Rocket Bakery, lots of donations from children at Pitter Patter Day Care and Paradise Elementry, Laura Martin (pictured) and her friend Heidi Dewling raised $ for us by having a bake sale and going door-to-in support of the SPCA. door! She is pictured with puppy Lou. Become a Member: Help Support the SPCA Become a member of the St. John's SPCA and show your support for the animals! The benefits of membership include a subscription to Newspaws and voting privileges at the Annual General Meeting. Name Phone Address Payment by Visa/Mastercard/Amex Card # Exp Date Name of card holder Membership Fees (Please Check) $20.00 Family $10.00 Single $5.00 Senior I would like to add a donation of Total Amount **Please make checks payable to the SPCA St.Johns. Please send payment to SPCA St. John s, P.O. Box 29053, St. John s, NL, A1A 5B5