AARF Newsletter
Volume 6, Issue 1 March 2006
The goal of our newsletter is to keep members and friends up to date on events and plans of the foundation. If there is any particular topic you would like to see addressed in the newsletter, please send email to
aarfinfo@aarf.ai
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2005 Successful Year for AARF |
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Bingo Night at Roy's |
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Bargains Galore at Annual Yard Sale |
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Education Committee visits Prophecy Pre-School |
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Harney's Donates Holiday Cheer |
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Adoption Day News & Information |
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2006 Spay & Neuter Program Update |
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AARF Spotlight |
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AARF Wish List |
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Spare Change Drive |
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Support Our Sponsors |
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Praising the Mutts of Anguilla |
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Staying in Touch |
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Join Us! |
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Closing Thoughts |
2005 Brings Much Success for AARF
AARF President Chris Carty, has announced that 2005 was a very successful year. Our main project, a free spay & neuter program which assists in controlling the unwanted births of puppies and kittens, has provided surgeries for almost 500 dogs and cats since the program was started in 2003. AARF sponsored 94 free spay & neuter surgeries for those animals that were adopted from AARF in 2005 & old enough for surgery.
One
of AARF•s• principal activities is to accept unwanted puppies and kittens at
least 6 weeks of age that are eating on their own, as well as older dogs and
cats at no charge. If the animal is
in good condition and people friendly, AARF will try to find a home for it. The
animals stay at Morlens Veterinary Hospital at Sandy Hill for 10 days and after
that time, if no home can be found, the animal is humanely euthanized.
In
2005, 81% of the 186 animals taken in by AARF were adopted by on-island homes.
19% had to be euthanized; 10% of these were either too sick or wild to be
adopted, and sadly we were unable to find homes for the remaining 9%.
With the help of dedicated volunteers, AARF sponsors adoption days and
does its utmost to find a home for as many animals as possible. For an
organization, which is completely voluntary and has only been in existence for a
few years we are proud of our achievements thus far.
Our
two primary committees education and fundraising have been extremely active
during the past year. The education
committee has expanded its program of school visits by introducing an
informative Fun Page in The Anguillian newspaper. We are really pleased to
report that the fundraising committee has done a monumental job of raising all
the capital needed to keep the foundation running smoothly.
AARF would like to thank all of those that adopted over 150 animals throughout the year and we wish them much happiness with their very lucky pets. We would also like to thank Dr. Patrick Vanterpool and Amy Williams at Morlens Veterinary Hospital for the use of their premises, equipment and unstinting support. Thanks must go as well to the volunteers who assist in our many projects. Last, but most importantly we would like to thank you, for your incredible financial and moral support, and we look forward to our continuing good relationship in 2006.
Bingo Night at Roy's = Super Fun & Super Results
Roy•s•
Bayside – Sandy Ground, Anguilla was the place to be Saturday January 14th
as AARF sponsored the first of their planned
bi-annual bingo games in 2006 to raise money for their spay/neuter program - the
main project of the foundation.
Chairman
of the fund raising committee, Althea Turner noted that the proceeds from the
bingo night would be used to meet the $ 9,000 budget for 2006, which offers free
surgeries to all puppies and kittens that are adopted from AARF. This on - going
program, which has reached almost 500 dogs and cats since it began in 2003 has
helped immensely in controlling the unwanted births of puppies and kittens on
the island. We were so grateful to all that contributed prizes and/or joined us for
dinner and bingo which resulted in proceeds totaling over $5500 for the evening.
We are over half way to meet our 2006 spay/neuter budget!
Cross section of sell out crowd
The
bingo night, which included 30 games with fantastic prizes that were donated by
the businesses on Anguilla and two hotel stays donated by Royal Islander Club at
Maho Beach in St. Martin & Hurricane Cove in Nevis, was very exciting and
enjoyed by a sell out crowd of around 200 people.
Enjoying
the game!
Happy Winner!
Deputy
Governor Capes wins microwave!
Other
lucky winners:
Eula
claims her prize!
Inspector Watson receives his prize.
Rumple wins!
Another happy winner!
The
prizes included dinners, wine, snorkeling trips, horseback rides, beauty
treatments, a microwave and many other items. Chris
Carty, President of AARF would like to
thank Roy and Mandy Bossons for all of their assistance as well as the use of
their restaurant and the following for their donations which made this night a
success:
Anguilla Garden Center Anguilla Rums Anguilla Techni-Sales
Anguilla Wellness Center
Caribbean
Cable Communications
Cheddie’s Carving/Le Petit Gift Shop
Corner
Bar & Pizza
Devonish Art Gallery
Fat Cat Gourmet
Hurricane
Cove Bungalows in Nevis Iced ’n Easy
Jason Allen – Tennis Pro
Kirk Russell – Photographer
Merchants
Market Ossia
Royal Islander Club Maho SXM
Sophie•s•
Hair Design Straw Hat Restaurant
Sunset Restaurant
Heather
Wallace, Vice President and Mistress of Ceremonies for the event also thanked all
those that joined AARF for a wonderful evening of fun and camaraderie and those
that volunteered to make this event a success.
BARGAINS GALORE AT 3rd ANNUAL YARD SALE
On
Saturday March the 18th, AARF presented their Third Annual Yard Sale at the
Agriculture Center in the Valley from 9 - 4. Lucky shoppers found bargains on
many items including clothes, house wares, books, electronics and toys. A
membership table was also available for new members to join AARF and existing
members to pay their yearly membership fees and to purchase AARF T-shirts.
Althea
Turner, fund raising chairman, headed the sale assisted by over 20 hardworking
AARF volunteers. The event entailed many hours of collecting, sorting and
pricing the donations stored at the AARF container, transporting the items to
the center and setting up plus the actual sale.
Chairman Turner reported the event was a huge success raising almost $4500 and combined with the proceeds from the January AARF bingo, completed the funds needed to continue the spay/neuter project that AARF has sponsored since July of 2003. Althea would like to thank everyone that donated their time and their treasures, as well as those that attended and purchased items at the event.
President
Chris Carty noted that AARF was particularly pleased with the number of people
in the community that volunteered their time this year to help with the yard
sale, including those that participated in the sale on Saturday.
Arrangements were made for the clothing that did not sell to be donated
to The St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. Gerard•s• Church.
Remaining books in good condition were given to the Anguilla Library
AARF will hold another bingo event this summer to help meet the ongoing expenses of food, boarding & health fees for the unwanted strays that AARF houses at the Morlens Veterinary Clinic; and other projects including feral cat and dog care.
If you didn’t get around to donating your unwanted goods to AARF for this sale, please remember that we will accept goods for next year•s• yard sale all during the year. Just drop your items at Anguilla Techni-Sales during their working hours.
Crowd rushes in as gates open!
Scenes from the sale!
Gayle our fantastic clothes booth chairman! Shopping for bargains.
Education Committee visits God of the Prophecy Pre-School
On Friday March 10th, Lynn Bartlett of AARF's Education Committee with Suzie Donahue made a presentation to the children of God of the Prophecy Pre-School about AARF. The program was enthusiastically received by the children who participated by answering questions about the correct care of your pet, as well as how to know what a dog was feeling - happy, sad, playful or angry. Janelle Greer presented the thank you from the school and a gift to Mrs. Bartlett, as well as a bottle of coins the school had collected for AARF. Mrs. Bartlett thanked the students and told them the money they had collected would be used to feed the homeless animals at that AARF takes care of.
Children learn what AARF stands for. Learning that dogs have feelings too!
Janelle
Greer presents thank you gift to Lynn Bartlett
Harney's Donates Holiday Cheer
At Christmas time, Martin Welch of Harney•s• and a group of friends having a pint at Ripples started singing a few carols that ended up as a true sing-along. Encouraged by the crowd someone passed the hat, which developed into the real spirit of Christmas as the proceeds from the impromptu event were donated to The Anguilla Animal Rescue Foundation. AARF President, Chris Carty thanked Mr. Welch for his donation and stated that she hoped it would become an annual event with AARF members and others in the community joining together to make it even more successful!
ADOPTION DAY NEWS & INFORMATION
Beginning
in November 2005 AARF initiated a new adoption policy that includes 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 ehrlichiosis, a blood parasite transmitted by ticks. Both of
these diseases are also common on Anguilla and life threatening.
New
owners will be 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.
AARF founded in 2000, is a non-profit organization solely funded by donations from caring animal lovers. Since 2003 when AARF initiated their free spay/neuter program more than 500 dogs and cats here on Anguilla have been sterilized. This program now focuses on animals adopted through AARF.
In
January as the 10 day time limit for sheltering unwanted dogs and cats drew closer
an Adoption Day was held at Lakes World in the Valley to try to find homes for
several dogs and kittens that we had not been able to successfully home. The
kittens went quickly as they often do, but we were having a difficult time
placing the 9 puppies that we had - including 2 older female dogs - one with an
injured leg from a previous accident. Mike Schmitz a tennis pro that works here
in Anguilla was so concerned about the plight of these unwanted animals that he
took his time and much effort to place the remaining 5 dogs including the 2
older females in forever homes. We are grateful for his help as well as to all
of you that continue to open your hearts to these unwanted animals and give them
another chance.
Althea & Carolyn help find homes for puppies. Puppies wait in hopes of a "forever home".
The Hodge Family takes home a new member!!
Mike Schmitz finds homes for 5 lucky
puppies! Thank you Mike!
2006 Spay and Neuter Program
AARF's main project is our spay and neuter program. Since we began in the summer of 2003 we have spayed or neutered over 500 animals at no charge to their owners. As previously noted our focus in 2006 will be the puppies and kittens that are adopted through AARF. In 2005 we had over 150 adoptions and of course, with each adoption we add more to our spay/neuter list! This year all funds for the program are coming from the donations of residents and visitors, as well as our fund raising projects. We thank all of you for your support of this very important program. Please remember to call Amy at Morlens 497-4600 if you are interested in adopting a puppy/dog or kitten/cat. If there are none available she will be happy to take your name and phone number and call you as soon as an animal comes to the shelter.
AARF Spotlight
In this issue the AARF Spotlight shines on our Fund Raising Chairman Althea Turner!! Like a whirling cyclone Althea is always in motion and AARF has been so lucky to have her as a member of our executive board for the past 2 years. As chairman of the Fund Raising Committee Althea has managed her volunteers to 3 major fund raising triumphs and raised over $15000.00 for AARF's projects since June of 2005! In addition to two very fruitful bingo nights at Roy's in July 05 and January 06, Althea lead a group of 20 volunteers to another achievement two weeks ago at our 3rd Annual Yard Sale. Organized, energetic, inspired and hard working Althea has taken on the responsibility of this extremely important committee and made it a huge success. Althea came to Anguilla over 20 years ago and built a home here. She and her husband Bob and daughter Breeze are all a huge part of AARF - they are wonderful foster parents, spay & neuter supporters, adoption day volunteers and collection box builders/accountants, in addition to Althea's fund raising activities. We are so fortunate to have Althea as a part of our team.
Thank you Althea!!
AARF Wish List
We are often asked by island visitors and AARF supporters "what can I do to help?"
Of course, your monetary donations are the lifeblood of our organization - we could not survive without the donations of the many kind and generous animal lovers that support AARF.
In addition at the clinic, we always need donations of
Towels (used are fine!) to dry our puppies and kittens after their initial flea and tick baths
Newspapers - to line the kennels
Cat & Dog Food - to feed our feral animals
Litter for our kittens/cats
Crates
Paper Towels
Garbage Bags
Flea/Tick shampoo/spray
Bleach/Cleaning supplies
Surgical gloves for clean up
Computer/printer/paper/ink
Check our website for donation information at www.aarf.ai
Spare Change Drive:
Our "Spare Change Drive" is on-going so don't forget to drop those "heavy" coins and that extra cash at one of our locations! We really appreciate your donations! Bob Turner has used his superb carpentry skills to create permanent donation boxes for AARF. Althea, Bob's wife, is our fundraising chairman and you might see her running here and there placing these new eye - catching boxes in our supporting businesses. The donation boxes are located at the following establishments - Vinissimo, La Sirena, Straw Hat, Caribbean Cable Communications, Bartlett•s• Collections, Wallblake Airport, Christine Fleming's Mini-Mart, Ashley's Pet Shop, Best Buy, Anguilla Post Office - Retail Store, Lake's Grocery, Sophie's Hair Design, Morlens Veterinary Clinic, Tropical Flower, Fat Cat, Anguilla Techni Sales, Ace Hardware and Roy's Bayside Restaurant. Thank you Bob for sharing your talents and to all the business's that have agreed to support our cause.
Support our Sponsors:
We acknowledge
and thank with much gratitude the following businesses for their contributions to AARF
in 2005 /2006. We urge you to support them!
| Anguilla Garden Centre | Anguilla Techni-Sales | Ashley's Grocery & Pet Stores |
| Caribbean Cable Communications | Essentials | Expan, Ltd. |
| Funtime Charters | Harney's | Haskins LTD |
| Hurricane Cove / Nevis | Irie Life | Keene Enterprises |
| Kim’s Baskets | Lake's World | Mango’s |
| Micasa | MyCaribbean.com | Roy’s Bayside Grill |
| Seaside Stables | Shaken Not Stirred | Straw Hat |
| The Pumphouse | Video Dynesty | Vinissimo |
| World Art & Antiques | KPMG | Jo Anne Mason |
|
Sophie's Hair Design |
Anguilla Rums | Anguilla Wellness Center |
| Cap Juluca | Caprice Restaurant | Cheddie's Carving & Gift Shop |
| Corner Bar & Pizza | Devonish Art Gallery | Fat Cat Gourmet |
| Fran's Ice Cream Parlour | Iced N' Easy | Jason Allen - Tennis Pro |
| Jeanne - Marie Yoga | Kirk Russell Photographer | Le Bon Pain |
| Play A Round Golf | Merchants Market | Ossia |
| Royal Islander Club St. Martin | Sandals & Such | Sunsets Restaurant |
| Tasty's Restaurant | Cove Castles |
Praising the Mutts of Anguilla
Reprinted
from Anguilla Life Magazine - December 2005
By
Chris Carty & Suzie Donahue
When you “Google” dog breeds there are 4,720,000 results! Attempts to classify dogs probably date from the time when humans discovered that certain canine traits were more useful than others. The earliest known system of classification, that of the Romans, included categories for housedogs, shepherd dogs, sporting dogs, war dogs, dogs that ran by scent, and dogs that ran by sight. More than likely not one of today•s• long list of breeds mentions the Anguilla Long Dog, Coconut Retriever or any of the other descriptive names Anguillians have created for the mixture of dogs we have here on our island!
It
would be interesting to find out how some of these “looks” arrived and we
can only guess that probably the Dachshund or Basset Hound, the Springer
Spaniel, the Labrador Retriever, Boxer, etc, etc were brought here and then
mixed and remixed and mixed again to create these wonderfully different dogs
that we call AXA dogs!
Often
called “mixed” or affectionately “mutts” our AXA dogs probably evolved
just as any other mixed breed does, but what is interesting about Anguilla•s•
mixes is that we have such a varied selection! Because the mixed dog breeds draw from a broader genetic pool, they are not prone to
genetic illness that is predictable in many pure breed dogs. In addition, many
times their character is a combination of several dog
breeds, which can complement the strengths of each dog breed, while
diminishing the extreme often undesirable
behaviors of many pure breed dogs. Genetic tests show that all dogs are descended from an Eurasian stock,
even the now extinct pre-Columbian dogs of the Americas.
So if
you want a dog that has been naturally selected by mother-nature, that has not
been inbred; a dog who has not inherited weak characteristics, a dog who does
not live just to herd, to guard or to be groomed for Cruft•s• or Westminster,
then look for one of our own special guys.
He can multi-task! and with
loving care and training you will soon have an all-round, well behaved dog who
can herd and guard and strut with the best of them.
Today
on Anguilla, we also see the characteristics of one pedigree lineage or another
in a litter of local “mutts”. Many
more people are importing pure-bred dogs, and unfortunately, some of these
animals are not controlled, and are allowed to stray and run free, and of course
they will do what comes naturally! However,
they regrettably sometimes bring with them the weaknesses associated with their
particular breed, the only consolation to this problem is that, as we all know,
if dogs are given their choice, and a little privacy, purebred and crossbred
dogs, after several generations will always revert to the original “dog”.
Having
evolved from numerous influences over the years, the typical Anguilla dog is a
sociable, spirited individual with character.
He•s• always alert and will defend his owner•s• property with great
enthusiasm, whether it be a towel on the beach, or his own back-yard.
He tolerates the climate much better than his master as he has the knack
of finding the coolest spot in the house or yard. He comes in all sizes, shapes
and colors with blue eyes, brown eyes or yellow eyes and coats of black, white,
crème, brown with spots and with stripes of many colors.
The dog population here has been allowed
to pretty much grow and develop with the emphasis on spaying and neutering a
relatively new concept. Female dogs will mate only when in heat, which occurs
about every six months and lasts from 18 to 22 days. Birth of the puppies occurs
after a gestation period of about nine weeks. The size of the litter varies to
some extent with the size of the dog: small dogs rarely bear more than 2
puppies, while the largest breeds average closer to 10. Did you know that one
unspayed female dog and her offspring could produce 4,372 puppies in 7 years??
Since AARF (Anguilla Animal Rescue Foundation) began their educational program
focusing on spay/neuter in 2003 the foundation has provided funds for over free
500 surgeries to the islands dog and cat population. We are now focusing on
animals adopted through AARF or need based families and depend solely on
donations from the public and our fund raising activities for support of our
programs. As well as supporting AARF by adopting animals abandoned by their
owners, many caring visitors help support our organization in other ways. We are always grateful for their gifts of animal supplies and
equipment and their kind words and encouragement give us the motivation to
continue.
As
you drive around Anguilla sampling the many beautiful sights including the
beaches and flowers take a look at our various “mixed dogs” and see if you
can identify a specific dog breed or two or three in him or her!
The
Anguilla Long Dog is one of a kind! Visitors to our shores have done much to
popularize this special individual and many have been adopted by our guests and
found loving homes overseas. These
dogs are just like our other loveable mutts in every way, except that they all
have those short stumpy legs, big feet, and a long, long body. He/she even turns his short stubby legs inward, as
surely it must be his close cousin the Basset does!
Anguilla Long Dog Joshua!
Saba
And
obviously a terrier of some sort once made a visit or two here - the puppies
below can attest to that!
Maggie
Stompy
Who
knows what Chanelle•s• genealogy is – any guesses??
This
puppy is just one of the many “faces” of our AXA dogs!
Sheba
CJ
These
two puppies are littermates!
Think
maybe Wanda has a bit of Rottweiler in her?
And
perhaps the Springer Spaniel influence could have been involved in this beautiful
creation!
Anguilla
is often called the Rainbow Island – maybe it isn’t just because we have a
lot of beautiful rainbows here, but also because we have an assortment of dogs
that are all the colors of a very special rainbow!!
STAYING IN TOUCH
Remember Maggie and her story?? She was found extremely thin and dehydrated at Rendezvous Bay in November 04 and after an escape on the runway in St. Martin & a delayed flight and then a limo ride to her new home with Steve and Angela to Wisconsin she appears to be doing very well and we hear she enjoys the snow a lot!!
Steve and Angela love Maggie so much that they designed and printed with the kind assistance of Kramer Printing, bumper stickers to help AARF with their fund raising. "I love my Anguilla Long Dog" stickers are available at Bartlett's Collections at the Sandy Ground Roundabout for $5.00. Thank you Steve and Angela - not only for giving Maggie a wonderful forever home, but for your continued support of AARF.
New AARF Bumper Sticker
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Join Us!!
The Anguilla Animal Rescue Foundation (AARF) always needs members and joining us isn't expensive and 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) $10.00 EC / $3.72 US
Regular $25.00 EC /$9.30US
Senior (65 and over) $10.00EC/ $3.72US
Family $ 40.00 EC/$14.88 US,
Corporate $300.00 EC /$11.60US.
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 call Amy at 497- 4600 or Suzie at 497-8177.
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
Pictured below are Bean, Dakota & Ebony. All three of these beauties are Anguilla Dogs and were adopted through AARF's program with Puppy Angels. They live with another dog, 2 ferrets, a gerbil, fish, frogs, snails and a cat in New Hampshire. They have a huge fenced in yard and love to play in the snow. Lisa, who works with Puppy Angels, says Bean is her shadow and sleeps by her feet every night, Dakota is a sun goddess and enjoys carrying around her "binky" which is a cat bed and Ebony is a couch potato! Thanks Lisa for sharing your story with us!
Bean Dakota Ebony
Closing Thoughts:
Just a Dog
From time to time, people tell me, "lighten up, it's just a dog," or, "that's a lot of money for just a dog." They don't understand the distance traveled, the time spent, or the costs involved for "just a dog." Some of my proudest moments have come about with "just a dog."
Many hours have passed and my only company was "just a dog," but I did not once feel slighted.
Some
of my saddest moments have been brought about by "just a dog," and in
those days of darkness, the gentle touch of "just a dog" gave me
comfort and reason to overcome the day.
If
you, too, think it's "just a dog," then you will probably understand
phases like "just a friend," "just a sunrise," or "just
a promise."
"Just a dog" brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy. "Just a dog" brings out the compassion and patience that make me a better person.
Because of "just a dog" I will rise early, take long walks and look longingly to the future.
So for me and folks like me, it's not "just a dog" but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment.
"Just
a dog" brings out what's good in me and diverts my thoughts away from
myself and the worries of the day.
I hope that someday they can understand that it's not "just a dog" but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being "just a /man/woman."
So the next time you hear the phrase "just a dog", just smile, because they "just don't understand."