Monthly Archives: September 2013

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I recently had an email from Emily Gates a rescuer and animal lover who regularly pulls dogs from the Franklin County Dog Pound. Emily is also part of a group called Advocates for Franklin County Dog Shelter Dogs.

On Thursday, September 26, at 6 pm, Advocates for Franklin County Dog Shelter Dogs will hold their first annual Remember Me Thursday Candle-Lighting Ceremony.

Here is the information from Emily’s press release:

“The Advocates for Franklin County Dog Shelter Dogs are uniting with animal-lovers and animal welfare organizations globally to participate in a Remember Me Thursday candle-lighting ceremony. The candles, which will be lit at the exact same day across the world, will honor the millions of pets who lost their lives without the benefit of a loving home. By uniting in this way, on one very special day, the worldwide awareness campaign hopes to shine a light on the millions of healthy pets still awaiting adoption and encourage communities to opt to adopt and reduce the millions of orphan pets euthanized each year. Advocates for Franklin County Dog Shelter Dogs invite the community to the Remember Me Thursday candle-lighting ceremony, Thursday, September 26th, 2013, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., taking place outside the Franklin County Dog Shelter, 4340 Tamarack Blvd, Columbus, Ohio, 43229, (behind Menard’s on Morse Road).

“Remember Me Thursday is a global awareness campaign championed by Mike Arms, President of the Helen Woodard Animal Center. It asks organizations and individuals to dedicate the last Thursday of September, annually, to remembering the millions of healthy orphan pets who lost their lives over the last year without the benefit of a loving home. Last year, at the Franklin County Dog Shelter and Adoption Center, 4,739 dogs and puppies, 565 cats and kittens were put to death at the shelter, and 3,144 dogs were adopted. Thus far in 2013, 2,597 dogs, 210 puppies, 118 cats and 41 kittens were euthanized and 2,427 dogs were adopted. 

“Individuals can get involved by attending the candle-lighting ceremony at the shelter, by lighting a virtual candle on-line at www.remembermethursday.org; changing their Facebook profile pictures to the Remember Me Thursday icon all day, September 26th; spreading the word about Remember Me Thursday on Facebook, Twitter and other social media channels using #LIGHTFORPETS; and most importantly by always adopting and encouraging friends and family to do the same.

“Advocates for Franklin County Dog Shelter Dogs invite the community to be a part of the movement at this very special Remember Me Thursday candle-lighting ceremony. A video will be shown, candles will be lit, and people will honor the lives of those cats and dogs who were thrown away by society and put to death at the shelter. Over 50 people are expected to attend.

“’There are approximately 1 million people in Franklin County, many of whom have pets but only 30% of these pets come from shelters or rescue groups,” said Emily Gates, one of the organizers of the vigil. The rest come from pet stores, puppy mills and breeders,” she said. “Thousands of beautiful, healthy orphan pets die at our shelter every year without the benefit of a loving home, simply because the public is not aware of how truly amazing these animals are. We believe the shelter can do much more to get these dogs seen at events, through the use of social media and radio and TV appearances and get more dogs adopted.’

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“’Tragically, the Advocates for Franklin County Dog Shelter Dogs see so many wonderful pets that are simply abandoned because their owners lost their homes, had to move or didn’t understand the time and care that a pet requires,” said Todd Patrick. “The shelter can lower euthanasia numbers by partnering with community groups and working to help the dogs or cats stay in their homes instead of entering the shelter. These pets can be anything from purebred or pit bull mixes, well-behaved or needing some training, very young or entering their senior years, but many of these loving animals don’t get a second chance because the shelter won’t go the extra mile for them.’

“The Remember Me Thursday candle-lighting ceremony starts at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday.”

For information on the Remember Me Thursday candle-lighting event call or email Emily Gates at 614-406-9423 or affcds@gmail.com.

You can LIKE Advocates for Franklin County Dog Shelter Dogs on Facebook HERE.

You can also let Advocates for Franklin County Dog Shelter Dogs know you will be attending the Remember Me Thursday event, by joining HERE.

Read the official Remember Me Thursday poem HERE.

About Remember Me Thursday:

Animal lovers and organizations across the globe unite on the last Thursday of September to light a candle in remembrance of the millions of orphan pets who lost their lives without the benefit of a loving home and to shine a light on the millions of orphan pets still waiting for their forever homes. The Remember Me Thursday global awareness campaign is championed by Mike Arms, President of Helen Woodward Animal Center, and creator of both the International Pet Adoptathon and successful Home 4 the Holidays program which, in partnership with national animal organizations, has placed 8.3 million pets in homes since 1999. He is joined in partnership with the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, which represents over 150 animal welfare organizations in New York, New York and by animal organizations worldwide. For more information, please visit www.remembermethursday.org.

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On Tuesday, September 17 through Wednesday, September 18The Columbus Foundation will present a 24 hour opportunity to match donations to Central Ohio non-profits that are part of their PowerPhilanthropy–up to 1 million dollars! From 11 am on September 17 to 11 am on September 18, credit card donations of $20 or more will be matched by The Columbus Foundation.

To participate, just visit Columbusfoundation.org.

Click on the GIVE NOW button.

Select the non-profit of your choice from among 600 organizations that are part of PowerPhilanthropy. There are 21 organizations that are listed under “Animal Welfare and Conservation.” To see all of the groups, go HERE. Click on “Program Area” and select “Animal Welfare and Conservation.”

One of the groups I am recommending that people donate to is Columbus Dog Connection. Columbus Dog Connection has a new Mobile Spay/Neuter Truck and to ease the burden of fundraising for other rescues, they also write for and share grant money to help save more cats and dogs.

The second group I am suggesting is The Ohio Wildlife Center. Any donations that are made to the Ohio Wildlife Center will be used to help wild animals that have been injured and to support their work in the hospital and in their educational programs. They are a great place and I have taken rescued baby birds, bunnies, and other wildlife in need to them on many occasions.

Another group I love is Pet FBI Pets found by Internet. Pet FBI helps to reunite lost pets with their owners by allowing people to post photos and information on pets that have been lost and pets that have been found.

I also have a soft spot in my heart for the Ohio House Rabbit Rescue and the Columbus House Rabbit Society. After fostering a bunny that was dumped at my parent’s house out in the country, I have a special love for Little Bunny Foo Foos and all those special people who save these soft, gentle babies.

We use SOS of Ohio, Shelter Outreach Services for many of our feral kitties. They have a wonderful program where they will allow you to bring a trapped cat in without an appointment from Tuesday to Friday, 8 am to 3 pm. They’ll fix the kitty and send it back home with you by 5 pm the same day. Plus, they are one of the few vet hospitals in Columbus that will not declaw. Love that! Our vet, Dr. Kim West and her partner, Dr. Evelyn Tannhof at Health and Harmony Animal Hospital are the only other office besides SOS that I know of that refuses to declaw.

Additionally, you can pick these other great organizations:

1. Friends of the Shelter which provides funding for the Franklin County Dog Shelter.

2. Cat Welfare Association is a shelter dedicated to finding homes for cats and kittens.

3. Cozy Cat Cottage is another wonderful shelter that cares for cats and kittens until they can find permanent, forever homes.

4. Colony Cats also helps numerous kitties in the area. They are also premiere trappers, doing Trap-Neuter-Return projects all over the county.

5. Almost Home Dog Rescue provides homes for homeless Collies and other dogs looking for their families.

6. Capital Area Humane Society fights animal cruelty throughout Columbus and advocates for animals in the county.

And the final two groups I am putting a good word in for are not animal related, but are still favorites:  WCBE, 90.5, our local public radio station, and Friends of the Drexel, supporting the independent movie theater in downtown Bexley.

I am an NPR junkie and my views of the world come directly from WCBE. I don’t watch the news on television (too depressing), so the only real world news I get is from my public radio. I also love seeing the lesser known and usually award-winning films at the Drexel Theater in Bexley.

Pick one of these non-profits or one of the other 600 that are involved in The Big Give on September 17 and 18 and double your donation for many great causes. Believe me, most charities can use the extra help right now!

 

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