Dear Friends of the Animals
It’s cold and in the Times of COVID we are spending more time indoors and thinking about the impact of safety measures on holiday traditions. We are finding alternative ways of giving among our families, friends and colleagues, and showing we care.
This past Giving Tuesday on December 1st, people showed they care. Street cats asked for help and donors doubled down. In this most extraordinary year, donations of all sizes combined to raise $42,400. Volunteers, cat colony caregivers, street cat ambassadors in neighbourhoods, and the HBSPCA are humbled by the tremendous support, all for the health and safety of street cats.
There are solutions to reducing the number of cats on the streets. Spay and neuter surgeries for pet cats keep numbers down and ensure pet parents do not get overwhelmed with all those kitties. Microchips helps lost cats get home. Otherwise, abandoned and lost cats become long time strays and make more cats. Kittens grow up feral with little or no people contact. Cats find themselves in colonies, seeking food and scant shelter. Numbers grow quickly.
The solution for street cats? Get them fixed rabies vaccinated. And tip the ear – an ear tip signals that someone cared enough to change the life of that cat.
Hats off to those who generously stepped up with their treasure and offered to match up to $1,000, $2,000, and $5,000 on Giving Tuesday. You created momentum for a humane cause dear to people’s hearts. The HBSPCA and its partners including the Hamilton Community Cat Network for street cat health and reduced populations, are deeply touched and energized.
This has been a special week too at the HBSPCA. We welcomed Melanie Barlow, CEO, on Monday November 30th. Melanie most recently was the Executive Director at Ancaster Community Services and is taking the helm at the HBSPCA and its service to community. I and the Team are working together to support a transition for success.
Be safe. Be Kind
Marion
Supporting transition. Keeping Distance. Staying Connected.