Tuesday, September 29, 2009
If you are here for the first time...
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
SAVE OUR STRAYS OF HUNTINGTON, VT
They are a wealth of knowledge when it comes to running a rescue. When NCAL eluded that we were afoul of the law with helping these kittens SOS assured us that we are still a private home with kittens NOT an "unlicensed facility" as Deb Fenel of NCAL had insunated in her email to us. (see post "in our opinion"). If that were the case every home that had a cat who had a litter of kittens would be an "unlicensed facility"!!!!
I have known Lisa Haynes for years and have helped them in the past fostering animals in need and can tell you without reservation.........THEY ARE GENUINE IN THEIR MISSION TO HELP STRAY AND NEGLECTED ANIMALS. There is no big facility to pay for nor are there elaborate payrolls to meet. Just real people trying to make a positive difference in the lives of the animals that are lucky enough to make their way Save our Strays. Big Kudos to them.... Thank you!
Monday, September 7, 2009
In Our Opinion...
-----Original Message-----From: catsofcambridge@aol.com [mailto:catsofcambridge@aol.com?]Sent: Monday, August 10, 2009 1:51 PMTo: ed@ncal.comSubject: Urgent Help Needed
Our medications are ordered for us through one of the vets we use, using his license. We can not dispense medications on our own without risk of jeopardizing our vet's license.
Before we can get medications from our vet for our animals he has to see an animal and test them as different illnesses call for different medications. Just like in humans, antibiotics for animals are not a one size fits all approach. Different diseases call for different medications. And the only way to know for sure what they have is to have a vet examine them.
If they have coccidia, they would be given Albon which is a mild antibiotic. It has to be given for two weeks, then another fecal done to make sure the Albon worked. Coccidia is highly contagious and can live on surfaces without a host (regardless of temperature) for up to a year!
If they have giardia, they'd be given Panacur which is also a dewormer.
Strongid/pyrontal is a fairly mild dewormer but it only kills pinworms. To kill tapeworms (which they probably have if they have fleas), they would need Drontal. Deworming meds are dispensed based on weight, so they would have to be weighed now, then they have to have the dewormer, then they need to be weighed again in three weeks to get the new dosage.
Doxycycline is a mild antibiotic and not as strong as Clavamox. It very well may not have been strong enough to knock anything out of their system. However, you will also need to be careful about giving them too many antibiotics as it will weaken their natural immune system.
One of our biggest expenses as a shelter is vetting, neutering and spaying all of our animals when they arrive. They are usually sick for many reasons, not the least of which is the stress from the change in their environment and the exposure to so many other animals. For the same reason that flu spreads so easily in humans in group settings, diseases in animals do the same and as a shelter it is one of our biggest challenges, next to trying to raise the money to pay for all the care the animals need, in particular vet care.
I don't know if you noticed when I was there Friday night but I was avoiding contact with the kittens as much as possible. I love animals and would have loved to pick a few of them up. However, I was coming from work. Much as I would have loved to pick up those kitties I tried to avoid touching any of them as I did not want to introduce anything from our cats and vice versa. If at all possible, our sick kitties are usually treated by only one person who gowns up to try and minimize the spread of infection, just as you do in a hospital. And even with all those precautions, we still have illnesses break out more often than we like.
We would love to be able to help, however we are not a vet and when you get into medications you are dealing with state licensing and prescription drugs. Not a good area for us to run afoul of the law.
Deb Fennell, Executive Director
North Country Animal League
3524 Laporte Road
Morrisville, VT 05661
Phone: (802) 888-5065 x.117
Fax: (802) 888-4408
Email: ed@ncal.com
Website:http://www.ncal.com/
"Promoting compassionate and responsible relationships
between humans and animals through adoptions,
education and outreach, spay/neuter programs,
support of cruelty prevention
and sheltering of homeless animals."
-----Original Message-----From: catsofcambridge@aol.com [mailto:catsofcambridge@aol.com?]Sent: Wednesday, August 12, 2009 2:34 PMTo: ed@ncal.comSubject: Re: Urgent Help Needed
Hello Deb,
We did end taking a group stool sample to our vet and they did indeed test positive for coccidia. So we are going to start treatment tonight from the vet. Now we are going to have to treat the whole population..... Since it was a legal issue for the vet to provide us meds thru you without seeing cats....is it possible that you help defray the cost involved in treatment for this thru our vet? That way there are no legal issues! Don't need that!
Let me know your thoughts....
Michele
And this was Deb's response:
Hi Jasmine and Michele,
I received both Jasmine's email and Michele's email today as I was attending the Vermont Humane Federation meeting yesterday.
First, the state perspective on cats:
Without my prompting, cats was an hour long agenda item. All the shelters at the meeting have enormous waiting lists for incoming cats. Due to lack of adoptions some shelters and rescue groups, who euthanize for space, are having to euthanize large numbers.
These are not cats from feral cat populations; these are domestic cats who have come in as strays and owner surrenders. If they get feral cat calls they refer them to TNR programs and do not work with any feral cat populations as they are already overrun with domestic cats.
One organized rescue operation, with 501 (c) (3) status, expects they will go out of business within a month to two months as their donations have dried up and the costs of rescuing are outpacing their funds and they are the only rescue in two counties and they have no shelter. They were trying to raise funds for a shelter and weren't successful so they have just been focusing on kitten adoptions out of a feed supply store.
Second, the local perspective on cats:
We still have over 50 cats on our incoming wait list. NCAL has not had one application for a cat adoption in the last two weeks. We took our first one today.
Third, the reality of NCAL's financial situation:
We have some donors and run some fundraisers. Right now they are only keeping the doors open. When I started June 8, we had already used up $55,000 of a $75,000 line of credit since January. A spring mailing had been done before I arrived which brought in some money through May and June but not the amount it usually does. We held Mutt Strutt which brought in $5000. That paid a little more than 1/2 of our bi-weekly payroll when you include benefits and taxes.(DID ANYONE ELSE CATCH HOW MUCH PAYROLL IS GOING ON AT NCAL!!! I WANT TO BE ON THEIR PAYROLL... CLEARLY THEY ARE PAYING THEMSELVES WELL!!! -JASMINE) Our next fundraiser is Pedal for Paws August 22nd.
My first two months were spent learning our financials and our donors so I can go out and ask for donations. I did a lot of analysis so that when I go speak to donors I can speak clearly and concisely on our needs. We hosted an event and invited donors to meet me a week ago and now I am starting the asks to the attendees. All the while, we still have bills coming in that have to be paid.
Over the past two weeks we have had to use the rest of our credit line to meet cash flow as we have not had another event since Mutt Strutt. We do not have an endowment or other funds to draw on. Thank goodness for a line of credit or we would already be out of operation. We are crossing our fingers our next fundraiser on August 22 brings in enough money to pay another two weeks of payroll. And I have someone who has offered a challenge grant that would meet the next two weeks of payroll after that if I can find donors to match. And then I will hopefully find a few more donors who can help us pay for the rest of September and October. I wish I could say it is no problem, however each payroll we are wondering if we will come up with the funds for that payroll. If we don't manage that, our already overworked and underpaid staff will not keep working even though they love what they do. If they don't keep working, we, too, like some of the organizations yesterday asking for any ideas on how to keep operating, will be forced to close our doors as we can't operate without our staff to care for animals. And that is only payroll, that does not include all our other expenses like vets, medicine, cleaning supplies, food and so on. We get some donations for product but we also have to buy a lot.
So the decision you are asking me to make is this. Do we help you pay the vet bill for the kittens or do we pay our staff so we can keep our doors open and provide shelter for the homeless animals already here and on our waiting lists? As a person, of course I want to help and wish I could. However, as an employee and leader of an organization, based on our current financial situation, it would not be responsible of me to suggest that we give money to another group when we are struggling to pay our bills ourselves. Is this unique to us? No, talk to any nonprofit leader right now and they are all facing the same issues. (YES, DEB, WE KNOW EVERY NON PROFIT IS FACING THIS AND YET THE FRANKLIN COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY HAS BENT OVER BACKWARDS TO HELP US GET THE THINGS WE NEED! -JASMINE) The economy is improving but not to the point where people are giving like they have in the past.
I realize you did not create the cat population problem. I know you felt you were facing an animal cruelty case initially and acted under those assumptions. Then you found out the situation was different and should probably be addressed by a TNR group. I also understand how hard that would have been to not be able to help those kittens and just turn the issue over to a TNR group. However, that is what we have been working on with the other large populations in Lamoille County who came to us months ago. We have found resources for T-N-R for the adults if possible and, as we have some space, we take in some of the kittens. That is what we, and every other shelter, face every day. Who do we help and who do we not help. It is a terrible decision to make. That is what makes this field of work so hard. We are not choosing one group over the other, just like all the animals on our waiting list, we have to take animals, or groups of animals, in the order they come. As Pamela from VT CANS, who was at the meeting yesterday said, "I go after the low hanging fruit. I have to constantly say no to people and I attack the ones that are willing to allow me to Trap-Neuter-Release. If they aren't willing to let me release, I don't work with them as I can only do so much. If I eventually run out of work with the low-hanging fruit I will go after the high hanging." Feral cat populations are not part of our mission. Is there a need there? Definitely. However, in order to survive as an organization we have to decide who we can help. When our organization was created the founders decided to work with companion dogs and cats through adoptions, sheltering, spay/neuter and support of cruelty prevention. Unfortunately, the need in those areas is so great, it strains all of our resources. Is one animal more deserving than the other? No, they are all deserving, however we are limited to doing what we can with the resources we have. That is how other organizations arise, when a need is not being met. Would we love to be able to help with every animal issue out there? Of course. Can we? Not if we want to keep meeting our own mission as we will spread ourselves way too thin.
And, unfortunately, the other thing that makes this field so hard, is it costs money to do what we do and there is not a lot of it out there. That was why, when we met last Friday, I suggested I could ask our board if we could serve as a fiscal sponsor for any funds you raised. I knew we didn't have funds to help, so that was a way to help as it would not require any of our own funds that are so direly needed to keep the doors open. However, yesterday I found out, from the other members of the Vermont Humane Federation, (IS THIS A THREAT??)that when you took in more than five animals, you technically became a shelter and that now makes you subject to needing a license to operate, state shelter and care regulations, and subject to inspection. If we were to help you we would be helping an unlicensed facility under current state law. ( WE ARE A PRIVATE HOME ..NOT A FACILITY) (THERE IS NO LAW STATING THAT A PRIVATE HOME CAN NOT HAVE 5 OR MORE CATS) The other cat populations we are working with are housed outdoors so we are not faced with this same situation. Now, even if we had funds to help, we have the added challenge of your status as an unlicensed facility.
I think the only other way we can help at this time would be to add your kittens to our waiting list and take them in as we are able to help them find homes, as we are doing for the other feral cat populations we are helping.
Maybe Alley Cats can help as feral cats is their mission. That was some of the information I passed along to you. I would really try contacting them. I understand how frustrating this must feel to you and I am happy to talk about it to try and brainstorm other ideas. I can also put you in touch with Joanne Bourbeau from HSUS to see if she has any other resources I may not have as I am so new to this field.
If you are still interested in starting a non-profit rescue group, here is an easy to read how to list.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2117271_start-nonprofit-animal-rescue.html
I leave on Friday to take my daughter to college and will be gone until Monday, August 24. I will have some access to email, but it will probably not be on a very regular basis. I just wanted to let you know in case you contact me and I do not get back to you right away.
I hope you will understand that for the rest of this week I really have to focus on trying to get some funds, before I leave, to keep NCAL operating. I wish we could do more. I hope you understand the challenges NCAL is facing.
Deb
Deb Fennell, Executive Director
North Country Animal League
3524 Laporte Road
Morrisville, VT 05661
Phone: (802) 888-5065 x.117
Fax: (802) 888-4408
Email: ed@ncal.com
Website:www.ncal.com
"Promoting compassionate and responsible relationships
between humans and animals through adoptions,
education and outreach, spay/neuter programs,
support of cruelty prevention
and sheltering of homeless animals."