Febuary 14 is National Pet Theft Awareness Day

Last Chance for Animals (LCA), a national, nonprofit animal protection organization, invites you to participate in a national campaign aimed at raising public awareness of a threatening epidemic – pet theft. Nearly two million companion animals are stolen each year. Some are taken under false pretense through “free to a good home” ads, abducted from their yards, or are taken from humane shelters through a practice called pound seizure. These animals are then sold to research laboratories, dog-fighting rings, or puppy mills, where they are abused and often killed. Read more.

We have good news, and we have bad news. Which would you like to hear first?

Here’s the bad news: As of January 1, 2012, the Pennsylvania SPCA will be closing its Centre Hall branch. It would be devastating to the community to lose this shelter that takes in homeless pets including dogs, cats, horses, pot-bellied pigs, goats, bunnies…basically any pet in need. Without a shelter, the fate of unwanted and stray animals would be uncertain, at best.

So, ready for the good news? Pets Come First (PCF), a local non-profit group, has just signed a lease to take over the facility as of January 1, 2012. PCF, an all-volunteer organization, has already effected many changes at the Centre Hall SPCA since 2002, transforming it from a shelter with an 87% euthanasia rate to a no-kill facility where every adoptable pet is given a fair chance to find a new home.

Pets Come First has two main focuses: spaying/neutering and finding homes for homeless animals. Taking over the shelter will help PCF advance both of its goals. Plans call for having the shelter open for adoptions four days a week instead of the present seven days. The other three days would be used for taking in animals, transporting them to local vets for medical care, evaluating behavior, and training. The facility will give PCF a place to house and show pets available for adoption and will also serve as a base for PCF’s long term spay/neuter assistance program and low cost clinics. In 2009 PCF worked in partnership with the Hundred Cat Foundation (HCF) to develop a trap/neuter/release (TNR) program in Centre County; it currently leases the house on the property and will continue to do so, offering low cost feral TNR clinics.

PCF needs your support to be successful!

Since its inception, the Pennsylvania SPCA has relied solely on donations to keep it operating. The shelter receives no state or federal funding. The same will be true for Pets Come First; it will be dependent exclusively on community support.

So, how can you help? Donate money, materials, or time!To ensure that monetary donations benefit the local shelter and local animals, contributions must be made to Pets Come First, The New SPCA! by visiting www.petscomefirst.com or mailing your check directly to Pets Come First, The New SPCA!, P.O. Box 493, Lemont, PA 16851. (Any donations made payable to the PSPCA in either Philadelphia or Centre Hall will not support the takeover scheduled for January 1, 2012.)

Fundraising campaigns are under way to raise $250,000 needed annually to operate the shelter. If you or your organization is interested in raising funds for PCF, email info@petscomefirst.com. We have several projects in which the community can become involved. For details, visit www.petscomefirst.com and view our Home Page and Fundraiser Page.

Another way to support Pets Come First, The New SPCA! is by purchasing our new T-shirts. They are available for $25 each in two colors, kiwi or gray. Email info@petscomefirst.com, indicating quantity, size, color, and mailing address. Payment can be made either by mailing a check to Pets Come First, c/o Pets Come First, The New SPCA!, P.O. Box 493, Lemont, PA 16851, or by visiting www.petscomefirst.com and making payment via PayPal. Once payment is received, T-shirts will be mailed to you. Be sure to add an additional $5 for shipping each item.

Interested in volunteering? More volunteers are always welcome! Whether you can give an hour a week, an hour a month, or just an hour or two every once in a while, we can put you to work. Volunteers are needed to transport animals to the vet, clean cages, walk dogs, and temporarily house adoptable pets. ‘Afraid you’ll get too attached? Consider volunteering for off-site tasks. We need people to maintain the website and Facebook page, distribute lists of adoptable animals, and work at events. Visit www.petscomefirst.com and click on the Volunteer Page to signup online. Remember that until January 1, PCF does not have an actual facility; all PCF animals are in foster care. However, PCF is working in partnership with the SPCA to schedule volunteers as needed both at the Centre Hall shelter and with the PCF animals in foster care, so we ask for your patience during this transition time.

Interested in donating supplies? They are always needed and can be dropped off at the SPCA; however, before spending money on collars, leashes, or toys, please contact the shelter as food is always the main priority. (Preferred items: cat litter, 9 LivesTM cat food and dry kitten food, dog food, gas cards, cleaning supplies, gift cards to local stores…and, of course, cash)

It’s going to take a lot of effort from a lot of volunteers, but PCF President Deb Warner says, “With your help, we remain strong in our commitment for this to be a successful transition. We will continue to work in partnership with other local rescues to provide monetary and voluntary resources to support and sponsor local animal programs within our community.”

As bad as it gets

The day before Thanksgiving the PSPCA Centre Hall shelter had received a call from a man whose mother had been found dead in her home.  The coroner had called and told him the house was pretty bad and there were several sickly cats and one dead.  The SPCA doesn’t have anyone to send out for situations like this, but employee Cheryl Sharer was so concerned she called Pets Come First.  I live near Clarence and she wanted to know if I could help. I called the son and tried to find out information–were cats spayed or neutered, how many, etc.  He knew nothing except what the police had told him. The police had bought some food and left half a bag on the counter.  He said the house was locked except for the patio doors.  I told him I would go on Friday; however I couldn’t get the cats out of my mind.  I called Jess Hitchings a PCF volunteer who agreed to go with me that very evening.

At 6 pm on Thanksgiving Eve with water and food Jess and I made the trip to Clarence.  At first we couldn’t find the house even with a GPS.  I stopped at a house where PCF and Hundred Cat Foundation had done TNR a few years ago.  As luck would have it, the house we were looking for was right next door.  This neighbor had been feeding the 20 or so cats that were outside of the house.  He had been helping the elderly woman with groceries and errands.  Jess and I headed over to the house which had lights on but all the doors were locked.  Grass in the yard was over 3 feet with cat paths.  We found the patio doors on the side of the house and had to climb 4 feet to get inside.  I went first and was met by a horrible stench, a badly neglected house and a dead cat right inside the door.  As I helped Jess up she was gagging and had to cover her mouth.  You see situations like this on Animal Planet, but nothing prepares you for the smell and the horror of a home where the owner just couldn’t take care of herself anymore much less her animals.

Boy, girl, boy, boy, boy, boy and another boy underneath the gray one!

As we made our way to the kitchen, we were met by a few of the cats. There was food pulled from the bottom cupboards all over the floor.  I put bowls of water down and filled another with food.  One of the cats, a blind kitten, just stayed by the water bowl and drank the whole time we were there.  There was an open stairway to the basement and there was a cat lying in a blanket at the bottom.  She was so weak she must had gone down there to die.  I ran bowls of food and water down to her and she crawled out of her blanket to eat.

Upstairs we found more cats lying together in a linen closet.  They slowly came out to eat.  They just sat there and stared at us–looking like living skeletons. After speaking to the neighbor we figured the cats had been in the house with the deceased woman for a week with no food or water.  After checking the house, we found 12 live cats and three dead ones.  We were both very traumatized by what we had just experienced.  How this poor woman was left like this was very sad!

The girls!

I called Donna Herrmann of the Hundred Cat Foundation and we went back out on Friday to rescue the cats. The second time of being in the house was even worse.  As Donna took pictures, I began gathering the cats and putting them into carriers.   Donna found another dead cat downstairs.  I captured 11 cats and one got away so I set a trap. Donna took four of the cats including the blind kitten and I took the other seven.  I returned the next morning to find the cat had escaped the trap.  I reset the trap and went next door to ask the neighbor if he would PLEASE check the trap to help me.  I had to begin organizing help for the rescued cats.  I stopped back and the remaining cat was trapped!!

I will never forget the smell of that house.  Right now we are concentrating on getting the cats healthy.  They will be spayed, neutered and vaccinated on January 22.  The biggest problem is diarrhea, but they have all been wormed and treated for fleas.  Two were tested negative for FIV.  They now act and look like cats.  My 8 still cuddle together after they eat and now I hear the sounds of purring!

I have called the son several times and he has never returned my calls.  All expenses are being covered by Pets Come First and The Hundred Cat Foundation.

Deb Warner
President PCF