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.’
“’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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