AARF Newsletter
Volume 6, Issue 4 December 2006
Dear AARF Members and Friends - the goal of our newsletter is to keep you up to date on events and plans of the foundation. Please don't hesitate to send an email to aarfinfo@aarf.ai if there is any topic you would like to see addressed in our newsletter. In this issue - read about our first fundraiser of 2007 the upcoming Bingo at Roy's on Saturday January 13th 2007. Also take a moment to learn more about erlichosis ,check out the holiday greetings from some of our adoptees and see what the AARF committees are doing.
Thank you, Suzie DonahueIN THIS ISSUE:
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2007 FUNDRAISING KICKS OFF WITH BINGO JANUARY 13TH AT ROY'S |
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AARF PARTICIPATES IN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CHRISTMAS FAIR |
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CABLE & WIRELESS DONATES CELL PHONE TO AARF |
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COMMITTEE REPORTS |
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AARF SPOTLIGHT |
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"HAPPY TAILS " |
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2006 SPAY & NEUTER FIGURES |
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ADOPTION PROGRAM UPDATE |
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EDUCATION CORNER |
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JOIN US! |
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SPARE CHANGE DRIVE |
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ON A LIGHTER NOTE |
BINGO NIGHT AT ROY'S - SATURDAY JANUARY 13TH!
Althea Turner, AARF•s• fundraising chairman, has announced the next fundraiser will be Bingo Night at Roy's Bayside Grill on Saturday January 13th 2007. Beginning at 5:30 with Happy Hour, dinner ($15US) will be served at 6 and bingo will start at 7PM sharp!
There are wonderful bingo prizes that include gift certificates for dining, golf & tennis, spa and hair care and much more and a very exciting raffle that includes:
1st prize: A round trip cruise for 2 to Antigua with stops at several islands on EasyCruise
2nd Prize: Dinner for 2 at Altamer
3rd Prize: $100 Hair Design Certificate
4th Prize: Lunch for 2 at Scilly Cay
5th Prize: $100 cash.
Raffle tickets are $5US OR $13.00EC or 3 for $13.00US or $35.00EC. Raffle tickets are being sold by AARF members around the island during the next few weeks and you can call Althea Turner at 497-6493 for more information if needed.
Bingo tickets for the night which will include 25 games will again be $20 US. Make it a night and come early for dinner at 6 PM which is an additional $15 US.
Mark those calendars and plan to join us for a fun evening with proceeds going to help meet our spay and neuter budget for 2007.
We are hoping that this event will be as successful as the one last year, where we filled up to capacity and had many happy winners!
For questions or directions contact AARF at 476-2731 or Althea at 497-6493.
AARF PARTICIPATES IN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CHRISTMAS FAIR
Saturday, December 16th, was a busy day for AARF as we joined a group of 25 other organizations and businesses for the Chamber of Commerce Christmas Fair. Volunteers helped to inform the public about AARF and to promote our adoption program with a poster showing photos of previous adoptions. AARF T-shirts, caps & bags, Christmas animals toys for children; and Christmas toys & chewies for animals were for sale.
Ashley's Pet Store donated pet food and different animals goods for a dog & cat raffle. The happy winners were Joan Hill for the cat raffle and Lynn Bartlett for the dog raffle.
Memberships were also available for persons interested in joining AARF.
Thanks to Debbie, Joan, Maria, Gayle, Chris, Amy, Suzie and Althea for taking time from busy schedules to work at the booth and to all of you that stopped by.
CABLE & WIRELESS DONATES CELL PHONE TO AARF
Lester Forman,
Vice President of Sales and Mobile and Giesel
Francis, Marketing Manager at Cable and Wireless presented a cell phone
and service plan to the Anguilla Animal Rescue Foundation on Monday December 18th.
Chris Carty, AARF President and other board members were in attendance to
receive this very generous donation.
The phone will
be used by the organization to respond to calls from the public regarding cat
and dog issues, questions about their general care and animals available for
adoption. In addition, information concerning AARF fundraisers will be
obtainable including details of the upcoming bingo night scheduled for January
13th at Roy•s•. To
contact AARF please call 476 - ARF1 or 476 - 2731.
All issues concerning animal cruelty should be addressed by the Anguilla Police Department 497-2333 and all goat problems to the Department of Agriculture at 497-2615.
Pictured
left to right are Giesel Fleming of Cable & Wireless & AARF members
Maria Forman, Althea Turner, Gayle Gurvey, Suzie Donahue, Diane Sheehan, Chris
Carty and Lester Forman/Cable & Wireless
COMMITTEE REPORTS
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Education -Lynn Bartlett is working with the schools and planning lessons around AARF in conjunction with the Science Curriculum. She also has plans to work with the Girl Guides on a project to make dog biscuits.
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Fundraising -Althea Turner AARF participated in the Chamber of Commerce Christmas Fair on Dec 16th. Plans are underway for our first fundraiser of 2007 - Bingo at Roys on January 13th, including a raffle with 5 great prizes. The annual yard sale is planned for mid March. Many people are remembering that AARF has an annual yard sale and are dropping off their "unwanted items" at Anguilla Techni-Sales. After the Bingo night, volunteers will be helping to sort and start pricing the items. The container is filling up: if anyone has some extra time and would to help price & organize the goods for the sale, please contact Althea Turner (497-6493)! She also needs volunteers to sign up for trucking, organizing and selling at the yard sale. The spare change drive continues with many new businesses participating. See the list of businesses under the section marked spare change drive.
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Adoption Day/Volunteers - Maria Forman Adoption Days have been going well! A poster has been created to increase awareness and interest in adoptions and will showcase animals that are currently available. New volunteers are always needed and AARF is pleased to have so many new faces to help with our projects.
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Membership - Gayle Gurvey Membership continues to increase and the committee is also working on designing an updated AARF brochure.
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Spay/Neuter - Suzie Donahue The spay/neuter surgeries for this year have almost doubled from last year.
AARF SPOTLIGHT
The AARF Spotlight this issue shines on Dr. Patrick Vanterpool, DVM, who is responsible for the success of AARF's ongoing spay and neuter project. Dr. Vanterpool is the chief veterinary officer for Anguilla, a graduate of Tuskegee University, School of Veterinary Medicine, in Tuskegee, Alabama and owner of Morlens Veterinary Clinic in Sandy Hill.
Dr. Vanterpool has worked closely with AARF since its inception in 2000 and served as the first president of the foundation. His dedication to the goals of AARF and to the spay/neuter project has resulted in a very successful year in which there were 170 sterilization surgeries performed on dogs and cats here in Anguilla.
We are grateful for his continuing support of AARF, for his generosity in allowing us to house our homeless animals at Morlens and for the care that he and his veterinary assistant Amy Williams give to them.
Thank you Dr. Vanterpool - without you AARF would not be where we are today!
HAPPY TAILS
Greetings from AARF Adoptees!
The holidays are a time for "keeping in touch" and we thought you would like to see some of our adoptees that have moved far away!
Sarah was adopted by Lloyd in March of 2003 and now lives in Hawaii - she sends a big Aloha to everyone here in Anguilla!
Sarah on her adoption day March 03 Sarah in Hawaii Dec 06
Luca - October 2003 Luca - December 2006
Luca (above) from Cap Juluca played the guests for years - she knew when the suitcases came out it was time for her to look for another benefactor. She lived at an AARF members house for several months and was spayed at that time, but continued to return to the Cap until she was adopted in May 05 and now lives very happily with Archie & Sandy in Virginia.
Guilla (below)was adopted by Mike and Cindy Raso on their honeymoon here in 2003 and now lives happily in Maryland!
Maggie (below) lived on the beach at Rendezvous Bay where she begged for food each day until she was adopted by Steve and Angela Stancyzk who took her home to Wisconsin. Her adventure to her new home included a rescue on the tarmac at St Martin airport and a limo ride home from O'Hare airport in Chicago. She loves her brother Webster and enjoys her cold weather wardrobe!
Maggie & Webster preparing to chase squirrels Maggie's winter coat! Maggie - no longer skin & bones!
2006 SPAY & NEUTER FIGURES
AARF is very pleased to announce that for the year 2006 Dr. Vanterpool assisted by veterinary assistant, Amy Williams performed spay or neuter surgery on 170 dogs and cats in Anguilla. Of the 170 surgeries 85 were dog spays, 32 were dog neuters, 36 were cat spays and 17 were cat neuters.
Since the inception of our spay/neuter program in Anguilla AARF has sponsored surgeries for almost 650 animals.
Did you know that one unspayed cat and her offspring can produce 420,000 kittens in 7 years? And one unspayed female dog and her offspring can produce 4,372 puppies in that same time span. AARF is making a difference through your support and generosity at our fundraising events. Thank you!
2006 ADOPTION PROGRAM UPDATE
A year ago in November 2005, AARF initiated a new adoption policy that included a fee of $20
US to adopt an animal from AARF. This small fee includes a free spay or neuter
when the puppy/kitten is old enough for the surgery (between 4 & 6 months),
worming, flea/tick bath and the animals first set of vaccinations. Cats are also
tested for feline aids/leukemia, which is an incurable disease transmitted from
cat to cat and is common here on Anguilla. Dogs are tested for heartworm, a parasite transmitted by
mosquitoes and erlichosis,a blood parasite transmitted by ticks (See
more about this disease in the "Education Corner" below). Both of
these diseases are common on Anguilla and can be life threatening.
New
owners are provided with information on the proper care of their pet and
encouraged to call AARF is they need any other assistance.
In
addition, AARF has also developed a surrender form that allows the owner of an
unwanted dog or cat to leave the animal at Morlens at no charge. This permits
the animal to then be put up for adoption. These animals will be accepted free,
but need to be eating on their own which is usually at 6 weeks of age or older.
It is hoped that unwanted dogs and cats will be taken to Morlens instead of
being left to fend for themselves and causing a nuisance in the areas where they
are abandoned.
We are pleased to report that since January of this year AARF has found homes mostly in Anguilla for 143 puppies/dogs and kittens/cats. Thank you to everyone that has welcomed these unfortunate animals into your hearts and homes and given them a second chance!
In October our new Adoption Day Chairman Maria Forman held 2 adoption days and another in November at Lakes World. A third day was held on December 23rd adjacent to Ashley's.
Curtis Somersell adopts two lucky girls! Waiting for that special person to come along - Shervon Fleming did!
Frank Webster and Michael Martin adopt AARF puppies at Morlens Veterinary Hospital.
AARF would like to thank Lake's and Ashley's for allowing us to use their premises to hold our adoption days. Without their cooperation we would not be as successful.
EDUCATION CORNER
What is ERLICHOSIS?
As
a pet owner you need to be aware and learn more about a disease that can be a
deadly killer and is claiming lives of dogs (extremely rare in cats) in Anguilla.
That killer is Ehrlichiosis a tick-borne disease that invades white blood cells
and inhibits the basic function of the bone marrow (making new cells to replace
the old). Once an animal has been infected, white cells die off faster than the
bone marrow can replace them.
So how do our animals get this disease? A tick transmits the disease through
their saliva. There is a 1-3 week incubation period, which is followed by three
stages of the disease: acute, sub clinical and chronic.
Because the disease affects many systems of the body the signs of the disease
vary greatly. In most cases, the early signs are very subtle and in almost all
cases they mimic those caused by other diseases. In the acute phase the signs
are often very similar to viral infections. The animal may run a fever, lose
their appetite, act depressed, show abdominal or eye pain, or have breathing
problems. Very often the animal wants to be left alone. But due to the fact that
the disease can manifest itself in many body systems, almost any physical sign
that is not normal can signal this disease.
It is extremely important to catch the disease at the early stages and treat
before the disease goes into the chronic phase. A simple blood test can show
abnormalities and very good results in treatment can be obtained with
appropriate antibiotics if done early and aggressively.
However,
the best way to deal with this disease is through prevention/avoidance by
controlling the tick infestation on your animals by tick control products such
as Frontline, routine checking and removal of ticks, and avoiding high tick
infested areas.
Some of the varied clinical symptoms of Ehrlichiosis are:
Lethargy
Depression Fatigue Weight
loss Fever Weakness
Arthritis
Obsessive or repetitive behaviors Increased thirst and
urination Incontinence
Secondary cystitis Spontaneous bleeding
Respiratory distress Pneumonia
Coughing Sensitivity of the skin Abdominal
tenderness Muscle Wasting
Tonsillitis Head tilt
Disorientation Neck or back pain
Seizures
Discharge from the eye or nose Scrotal and limb
edema Retinal hemorrhages
JOIN US!!
AARF always needs members and joining us isn't expensive and can be very rewarding! Memberships are vital to the life of the organization and all fees go directly to support AARF programs including animal care, free spay/neuter clinics and education.
Membership dues are:
Student (Under age 18) $13.00 EC / $5.00 US
Regular $53.00 EC /$20.00US
Senior (65 and over) $13.00EC/ $5.00US
Family $ 80.00 EC/$30.00 US
Corporate $300.00 EC /$112.00US.
Lifetime memberships
(one time fee) $500.00EC / $186.00US.
We are always looking for new members to support AARF fundraising events, assist at Morlens Veterinary Clinic or to help us with our on-going spay and neuter project. If you would like more information on AARF please visit our website at www.aarf.ai, send us an email at aarfinfo@aarf.ai or contact our Membership Chairman Gayle Gurvey at 264 - 497-5445 or US toll free 877-471-2733. Or call AARF at 476-2371.
If you are interested in becoming a member you can obtain a membership form via our Membership page. Or you can get one at
Morlens
Completed membership forms may be sent to:
AARF
SPARE CHANGE DRIVE
Our "Spare Change Drive" is on-going so don't forget to drop those extra coins and cash at one of our locations! We really appreciate your donations and the proceeds go to our LeHigh Fund which is set up to assist financially with medical treatment for pet owners. Thank you Bob for creating these permanent donation boxes for AARF. Althea, Bob's wife, is our fundraising chairman and as you can see she has made this a family activity! The donation boxes are located at the following establishments - Vinissimo, Straw Hat, Caribbean Cable Communications, Bartlett•s• Collections, Wallblake Airport, Christine Fleming's Mini-Mart, Ashley's Pet Shop, Best Buy, Lake's Grocery, Morlens Veterinary Clinic, Tropical Flower, Fat Cat, Anguilla Techni Sales, Ace Hardware, Roy's Bayside Restaurant, Rendezvous Bay Hotel, Smokey's at the Cove, Irie Life, Barrel Stay Restaurant and Foods 95.
Thank you to all the business's that have agreed to support our cause.
ON A LIGHTER NOTE ..........
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HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!