Animal lovers support cause

By Samantha Marie Girardin

Animal lovers of all ages came out to support Second Chance Animal Rescue and drew attention to animal adoption at a special black tie event.

 

On Jan. 30 the S.C.A.R. of Windsor hosted their monthly adoption and fundraising bake sale event. The event featured lowered adoption fees for all black and white cats and people attending could adopt or donate. There were around a dozen cats, a few dogs and even a rabbit.

Jessica Appleby came to the event hoping to find a new furry friend and found it hard to choose just one. “These cats deserve a home as much as kittens in stores,” She said. Appleby said has had cats all her life.

“I’ve always adopted, I just think it’s the best thing to do.”

She said she is happy to give a second chance to cats who would otherwise never have one.

All the animals in S.C.A.R. care are being fostered by volunteers with the organization. While the organization is relatively new, members have big hopes for the future of the organization.

“I’ve only been a part of S.C.A.R. for a little bit, but I love it,” said volunteer Kathleen Dean-Nicholson. She has managed the bake sale for the last two events.

“So many people donated to the bake sale. I only baked one thing, this entire table is from volunteers.”

Animal shelters in Canada took in over 85 thousand cats in 2014 and over 38 thousand dogs were taken in according to the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies. On average, 24 per cent of cats a shelter takes in will be euthanized. Due to a significantly lower dog population in shelters, only 10 per cent of dogs will be euthanized, although there are many high-kill shelters with very elevated rates of euthanasia. One of the S.C.A.R. dogs, Rusty, came from one such shelter.

“When you adopt, you not only save the life of the animal you adopt, you save a second one that fills the empty space,” said President of S.C.A.R. Windsor, Sherri Smith.

All animals with the organization are fully vetted and spayed or neutered. She said adopting is better for everyone. Instead of buying a pet for a few hundred dollars, then paying hundreds more for shots and getting fixed, think about adoption.

“Many dogs from pet stores come from puppy mills. Buying from them means supporting these mills,” said Smith.
The next adoption event begins on Valentine’s Day weekend with their Be Mine Valentine event. For more information, visit their Facebook page Second Chance Animal Rescue.