Newsletter

Volume 3, Issue 2                                                                                      April 2003

The goal of this newsletter is to keep members and friends up to date on events and plans of the organization.  If there is any particular topic you would like to see addressed in the newsletter, please send email to news@aarf.ai

IN THIS ISSUE

	April is License Your Dog Month
	July is AARF Spay/Neuter Month
	Upcoming Fund Raising Events
	Pumpkin Finds a New Home
	AARF Education Committee Takes Its Message to the Primary Schools
	AARF Pets Available For Adoption
	A Dog's Plea

April is License Your Dog Month

All dogs living in Anguilla over the age of 6 months are required to be licensed by the Government.  In the past licensing occurred at the Treasury department (far right window) and the fee was EC$25.00.  Dr. Vanterpool reports that the new dog ordinance was passed last year and it included a tiered system of payment with a lower fee for spayed and neutered animals.  

At the time of this posting Dr. Vanterpool has not confirmed if the new law is being enforced for this licensing period.  As we have further details, we will keep you posted.

Please note the tag will have 2003 on it.

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   July is AARF Spay/Neuter Month 

The Executive Committee of AARF is pleased to announce their most recent decision to hold a free spay/neuter clinic in Anguilla during the month of July 2003.  After two and half years of fund raising, the Committee has determined that there are funds available to provide a clinic that will help to decrease the number of unwanted cats and dogs in our island nation.

This is our first opportunity to go into the Anguillian Community and provide a service that will help citizens of Anguilla.  It also puts on our shoulders a great responsibility to do it properly.  It is expected that this program will provide AARF with solid data that will substantiate a grant to be submitted to the Pegasus Foundation in November 2003.  It is our hope that we will be able to secure funds for an ongoing program in 2004 that will spay/neuter our rescue animals prior to adoption thus increasing our adoption rates, and provide an incentive program to encourage more citizens to spay and neuter their pets.

AARF's association with Puppy Angels over the past year has resulted in a number of our rescue puppies finding wonderful homes in the USA.  Specifically in the period from January to March 2003, 19 adult dogs and puppies were placed.  It is anticipated as we embark on this new venture with Puppy Angels and the Pegasus Foundation, the ways in which we can provide support to the community will expand to include education programs and medical testing supplies to mention a few.

Although the clinic is in its early planning stages, there are some details we can provide at this time.  Registration forms will be available to the public beginning mid April.  All participants will be picked through a lottery system that will be blind to need but will fit into a pre-assigned mix of cats/dogs and spays/neuters. The program is expected to begin on Friday July 4th, 2003 with a kick off reception.  Saturday the 5th and Sunday the 6th will mark the first weekend of intense spay and neuter activities taking place at Morlen's Veterinary Hospital.  AARF will look forward to Sherry and John Morrall of Puppy Angels joining AARF to assist in the first weekend of activities.  The project will continue throughout July with an expectation of handling 20 to 25 animals per week.

The coordinator for this program is Mrs. Suzan Donahue and she can be reached at tainos@anguillanet.com.  Suzan has put a great deal of effort into this project and we appreciate her hard work.   Please contact her directly with any questions you may have.

  There is no doubt that for this project to be successful we will require a number of volunteers from the membership and the community.  We hope that everyone will consider volunteering even a little of your time to help.  The following committees have been established to put the project into motion.

Further it is expected that we will require the following supplies to compliment the program through the month of July 2003:

	Newspapers!!!!
	Kennels
	Food
	Dog Bowls
	Blankets
	Flea and Tick Shampoo
	Old Towels for baths

Supplies may be dropped at any time at Morlen's Veterinary Clinic in Sandy Hill.

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Upcoming Fund Raising Events

AARF's fund raising committee spearheaded by Jacquie Connor has been working diligently to come up with new and innovative ways to raise money to support our ongoing objectives and projects.  They have come up with the following projects and tentative dates:

As Jacquie most recently stated in her presentation to the Executive Committee, this must be a team effort and will require support from the membership.  If you are interested in helping with any of these fund raising projects, please contact Jacquie at jaxconnor@hotmail.com  Jacquie and her team including Barbara Owen, Kathy Haskins, Suzan Donahue and Disa Billington have put a lot of effort into this project and we appreciate their efforts.

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Pumpkin Finds a New Home

You might recall from our last newsletter that Pumpkin was looking for a new home.  Kathy Melby had been fostering her for several months without success in finding her a new home.  On Friday, Nat Hodge posted Pumpkin's picture in the Anguillian and Kathy received a call the same morning regarding adoption.  

Here is Estelle of Anguilla Trading with Kathy Melby and her new companion Pumpkin.  We wish them both every success for a long and happy relationship together.  Thanks Estelle for giving one of our puppies a good home.

Suzan Donahue who was there for the adoption and is sharing this photo, states that one of the deciding factors for Estelle was that Pumpkin had been spayed.  This can only further our resolve that a spay/neuter clinic can improve our adoption rates and help the community.

AARF would like to thank Nat Hodge and the Anguillian for posting our puppies and contributing once again to finding great homes for our adoptable pets. 

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AARF Education Committee Takes Its Message to the Primary Schools

Michelle Owen-Vasillis took her education program into the Valley Primary School on Monday March 31st along with Suzan Donahue, Lynn Bartlett, and Kim Straubing.  Joining them was Sarah Bartlett, Lynn's very wise AARF rescue pet.

Sarah Bartlett goes to school

Sarah was a big hit with the children! Lynn explained to them that Sarah was an AARF adoptee and that she was very smart and had been trained to do some tricks. She had her sit, lay and even count which was amazing to everyone!

Michelle explaining about spaying/neutering and touching on all the things you should do to take good care of your pets including food, water, and exercise. She also presented them with a handout with information on how to avoid being bitten by a dog which she also talked about in her presentation.

Monday March 31 - Valley Primary - 8:45 a.m. (Michelle, Lynn, Kim & Suzie)

Tuesday April 1 - West End - 8:45 a.m. (Michelle, Lynn, Kim & Suzie)

Stoney Ground -1:00 p.m.

Wednesday April 2 - East End - 8:45 a.m. (Michelle & TBA)
         - Island Harbour - 10 a.m.

Friday April 4 - Road Primary (Blowing Point) - 8:45 a.m. (Michelle & Lynn)

Michelle is looking for someone to assist her On Wednesday April 2nd at the East End School and Island Harbour.  If you are interested, please contact her at owenvas@anguillanet.com.  It would be helpful if you had a pet that is well controlled to bring along to share your experiences with the children.

Our thanks and continued success to Michelle and her volunteers, Lynn, Suzan and Kim for all their hard work on the education program.

A cross section of Valley Primary School students

Kim, Lynn and Michelle talk about animal care to Valley Primary School Children

Kim, Lynn and Michelle talk about animal care to West End Primary School Children on April 1st

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AARF Pets Available For Adoption

AARF currently has 6 puppies available for adoption and 1 cat as shown below.  To see more information on our puppies available for adoption please click on the following link Dogs Available for Adoption and for information on Cats Available for Adoption.

Penny and Simone

7 other puppies are being fostered by a local resident.  The pictures below are an example and full details are available at Dogs Available for Adoption.

Andy(adopted 4/2/03) and Mac

For further information on adoptable pets, please contact Amy at Morlen's Veterinary Hospital 497-4600 Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.

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