As you know, we are crazy animal people (okay, so one of us is :-) - The other one of us is pictured on the right pushing a pet carriage full of live pets....hmmmm who is crazy?
Over the past few months, we have been volunteering at the Animal Rescue League in Conway (ARL-N). Working there is one of the most rewarding things we have ever done. The operation at ARL-N is very impressive – the shelter is clean, they are quite frugal, have enthusiastic and dedicated employees and lots of great volunteers. Best of all, they are caring for hundreds of very scared, abused and abandoned animals each year.
This is a very tough year for many. Lots of animals have been dropped off simply because their owners can’t afford to feed them…it’s very sad for all involved. The shelter is being asked to care for more animals, yet many of their regular donors can’t afford to give.
The shelter is projected to help 1,000 animals this year, nearly double the number in 2010. They were there for animals like Hobbes, a cat who was beaten and thrown off a roof in Berlin by a group of kids. ARL cared for her until she was well and is now living with a wonderful family, who will ensure that she is never hurt ever again. And then there's Studley, the pit bull who was wandering along in North Conway until he was hit by a car. The shelter staff tended to her injuries and a staff member fostered her; you probably know the end of the story, the foster mom could not bear to let her go and today Studley is living the good life!
This is the first year in their history that there was not a waiting list for kittens – they are currently housing 23 kittens with several pregnant mommy cats about to give birth in foster care! There are another 37 older (very sweet) cats in the cat house who need love & care until they go to their forever home.
ARL-N gets shipments of dogs, rescuing them through a program called “A Flight for Life”, sponsored by Operation Pets Alive, to bring 20+ dogs (all facing euthanasia due to overcrowding) to Conway from Montgomery County Animal Shelter in Texas.
They need help - therefore, on September 24th, we will be walking to help support this great organization.
If we raise $1,000 we get an Ipod. If we raise $5,000 the prize is an Ipad. Since we don't need any of those things, we plan to randomly select someone who donates to us and give them the prize.
Every penny helps!!
.35 feeds an animal for the day
$1.00 buys a package of plastic straws to help with the enrichment program (yes, cats love straws)
$5.00 buys some animal treats!
$10.00 buys a big bag of cat litter.
$20.00 feeds two animals for a whole month!
$40.00 feeds all the animals in the shelter for a day!!
$50.00 pays for a female cat to be spayed
$70.00 pays for a male cat to be neutered.
$90.00 pays an adoption fee for an animal, making it more likely that they are adopted.
ARL-N is a 501-3C and all donations are tax deductable. You can donate online with a credit card. All donations are secure and sent directly to ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUE OF NH-NORTH by FirstGiving, who will email you a printable record of your donation. Please make a donation by visiting our FirstGiving page:
http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/linda-hall-little/2011walkfortheanimals
Or you can mail donations to us at PO Box 132, Jackson, NH 03846.
Thank you for considering this request for your support. We realize that there are many great non-profits out there and you have to pick and choose, especially in this economy. That’s okay if this just isn’t your thing.
Please consider forwarding our message to 2-3 of your animal lover friends and/or dropping off a roll of paper towels, a ream of copy paper or some cat toys (corks, straws, toilet paper rolls, pipe cleaners, etc.) . Here is the link to the wish list: http://www.conwayshelter.org/pages/wishlist.html
Sincerely,
Linda and John Hall-Little, Rascal, Jackson & Daisy
P.S. If you know anyone looking for a pet, please ask them to consider adopting from a shelter!