INTRODUCTION
The Anguilla Animal Rescue Foundation was registered as a
“Friendly Society” under Anguillian Law in March of 2001 and has been active in
the community since that time. AARF is
an all-volunteer organization with no paid positions. The following is a report of AARF•s•
activities during 2003.
HISTORY
A number of residents concerned about the welfare of animals
in
During the first two years, the organization focused on
beginning an education program and fund raising activities to help support
animal care and spay/neuter activities in
AARF also was responsible for caring for and finding
suitable adoptable homes for
EDUCATION INITIATIVE
The AARF Education Committee made presentations at all the
pre-schools during 2002 as well as local NGO•s• such as the Rotary Club. It was also responsible for presentations at
Camp Be Aware, a summer program for school-age children. In May of 2003 the committee made presentations to the primary schools
island-wide.
Presentations were age appropriate and included information
on proper care and treatment of pets, vaccinations and preventative care such
as heartworm and tick prevention, as well as how to avoid a dog bite. The program was assisted by an AARF rescue
dog named Sarah.
Sarah showing her
obedience skills for Valley Primary School Children
FUND RAISING
Volunteers have worked steadily to raise funds to support
The Anguilla Animal Rescue Foundation•s• programs. AARF volunteers manned booths at local events
including the Soroptimist Christmas Fair, The Agriculture Show, the ABC Flower
Show, and on numerous occasions at the Post Office. The primary source of revenue was sales of
merchandise showcasing the very popular AARF logo along with donated items such
as raffle baskets for both dogs and cats, pet beds and
various craft and “white elephant” items. During these
drives volunteers promoted AARF and its programs, and encouraged membership in
the organization.
Donation boxes were placed at various locations island-wide
where persons wishing to contribute placed cash and coins.
AARF merchandise was also sold throughout the year at
Ann Brown,
COMMUNICATIONS
The Anguilla Animal Rescue Foundation has maintained its own
web site (www.aarf.ai) since the inception of
the organization. The site contains
information about the history of the organization, education about pet health
issues and vaccinations, pet adoption, organizational events and a lost and
found area.
An electronic newsletter is produced 6 or more times a year
to keep readers up to date on the activities of AARF as well as issues related
to pet health care. There are currently over 131 subscribers to
the newsletter and the web site has received over 5800 hits.
AARF has been represented in a number of publications
island-wide including The Anguillian, The Herald, The Light and many of the
local web sites such as iloveanguilla.com and news.ai.
For the past eight issues AARF has been given the
opportunity to tell its story in Anguilla Life Magazine which is distributed
across the island and is a favorite of tourists.
Most recently The Anguilla Animal Rescue Foundation has been
included in Anguilla Tranquility Wrapped in Blue. This high profile publication sponsored by
the Tourism Board is sold in a number of locations across the island and is
found in many hotel guest rooms.
MEMBERSHIPS
Significant effort was placed on increasing memberships over
the last year. During 2003 AARF noted an increase in our corporate memberships
and an overall growth of 11%.
The membership distribution for 2003 as of the Annual
General Meeting is shown below:
|
Corporate |
5 |
|
Lifetime |
9 |
|
Regular |
24 |
|
Family |
23 |
|
Senior |
4 |
|
Student |
2 |
|
Total |
67 |
Membership
income was $2,539.97.
ADOPTION STATISTICS
As of
|
Admissions |
197 |
|
Adoptions |
154 |
|
Euthanized |
42 |
|
Waiting Adoption |
1 |
These numbers reflect a 77.5% increase in the number of
admissions and a 250% increase in the number of adoptions over the 2002 figures. The increased adoption rate can be attributed
to a number of adoptions in the
Since December 2000 when record keeping was begun, AARF has
cared for 420 of
All animals are housed and cared for at Morlen•s•
Patson adopts a 3 year
old spayed cat who was surrendered due to allergies in the home.
FOSTER PARENTING
AARF has developed relationships with a number of residents
of
David Johnson and
Frank Costin fostered Lucy and Linus 2 sisters waiting to fly to
ANIMAL TRANSPORT TO
2003 marked an unprecedented number of adoptions for The
Anguilla Animal Rescue Foundation. A
major reason for this increase was AARF•s• affiliation with Puppy Angels of New
Hampshire. Sherry and John Morrall who
formed their organization in 2001 to support
A number of visitors to the island volunteered over the year
to fly with puppies to the
The program was further assisted by strategic alliances with
Save a Sato and Second Chance Rescue in
Spay/Neuter Pilot Program
For the first time The Anguilla Animal Rescue Foundation
provided a free spay/neuter clinic to
The goals of the program were to:
- Spay/neuter
approximately 100 animals
- Raise
public awareness of the advantages of spay/neuter
- Increase
public awareness of pet health issues and disease prevention such as heartworm,
ehrlichia and annual vaccinations
- Support
Government initiatives such as the Dog Act 2001
Dr. Patrick Vanterpool provided his clinic and services at
significantly reduced rates to support the initiative.
Break down of funding for the program is as follows:
Pegasus Foundation US$1000.00
Puppy Angels US$1000.00
AARF US$2030.00
A Kick Off celebration was held on the evening of
Mrs. Lanna Hoyoung,
Sherry Morrall,
Educational materials were distributed to all caretakers as
well as flea/tick prevention provided by Hartz. Surgeries performed are shown
in the table below:
|
Female
Dog |
42 |
|
Female
Cat |
17 |
|
Male Dog |
26 |
|
Male Cat |
11 |
|
Total |
96 |
The program was supported community wide and involved a
number of volunteers and local businesses.
On
|
Female Dog
|
6 |
|
Male Dog |
3 |
|
Female Cat
|
2 |
|
Male Cat |
3 |
|
Total |
14 |
Total cost
of the program was US$4600.00.