Events focus on furry friends
Adopt-a-thon, City Kitty fundraiser draw pet lovers
Asbury Hall at Babeville became an orphanage of sorts Sunday afternoon for the fuzzy and furry.
The room was full of puppies — with their tails wagging, and tongues ready to give out plenty of kisses — and soft, furry kitties looking longingly from their cages and hoping for a snuggle.
They were there to impress as part of The Maddie’s Pet Rescue Project in Erie County. And impress they did.
Meanwhile, West Side activist Robin Johnson continued her mission to save abandoned and abused cats through a fundraiser for the rescue group she founded, Connecticut Street City Kitty. Held at Nietzsche’s, it pulled in about 200 people, and organizers hoped to achieve their goal of $2,400.
Johnson’s effort began in 2000, when she adopted “Black” and “Blue” from the SPCA to control rodents eating glue off envelopes in her Connecticut Street print shop. She has rescued more than 50 cats, paying for spaying and neutering, and finding them homes. She has nine at her shop; four at home.
The ironic twist is that Johnson disliked cats as a child. Now, she loves them.
“Cats are amazing creatures. They do know their names,” she said.
Back at Maddie’s Pet Rescue, a lot was happening inside the SPCA’s Whisker Wagon. Sisters of St. Joseph Patrice Ryan and Bee Manzella decided to foster Sally, a 3-year-old Labrador retriever/ beagle mix, for a week.
“We’ll see if it’s a good match,” Sister Manzella said. “If it is, we may have a dog again. They’re part of God’s creation. They need to be cared for.”
Already, Sister Manzella was smitten with Sally.
“It’s a beautiful little dog and has black and white paws,” she said. “Her color drew me because we used to wear black habits.”
Dedicated volunteers teamed up to raise money and help find homes for many abandoned pets as part of Maddie’s project, which began a little more than a month ago. About $12,000 was raised during the adopt-a-thon kickoff. The money will be used to treat animals that might have had to be euthanized. The event drew about 300. A handful of puppies, kittens and two cockatiels were adopted, with other adoption-spending.
“The response has been phenomenal. We never imagined we’d reach so many people,” said Kara Lee, project coordinator for the local Maddie’s Pet Rescue Project. “It’s a project not many people know about. This has really helped spread the word.”
Featuring a coalition of seven pet rescue agencies in the county, the project pledges to save more than 2,500 animals from euthanasia by 2014.
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