August 2012 SFAC Newsletter

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Late
August, 2012 Edition
Letter from the Executive Director
We are having a fantastic summer at Saint Frances Animal Center. In fact, this entire year has been
amazing! We have so many things to share that we decided it was time for a newsletter; adoption
numbers are on the rise, donations are keeping us afloat and new programs and fundraisers have been
highly successful! We are so very thankful for such a wonderful ‘2012’ thus far!
If you haven’t had a chance to stop by for a visit, this newsletter should
bring you up to speed with everything “Saint Frances”. The staff,
volunteers and supporters of SFAC have been remarkable during the
changes to the facility, all of our new programs, the increased exposure
in our community and all of the many, many ‘full-throttle’ days that we
have experienced here lately at Saint Frances! I am so very proud and
humbled, of and by, this awesome group of people!
We are gearing up for our 2012 Saint Frances Animal Center Membership Drive. Enclosed, you will find an envelope with all the information
needed to become a member. We are working on some fabulous perks including discounts for grooming
as well as spays and neuters, really cool window decals (exclusive to SFAC members only), T-shirts, bumper stickers and much more! If you aren’t already a member, I would like to encourage you to please join us
in our mission to save the lives of shelter animals, prevent animal cruelty, neglect, overpopulation and
abandonment. One hundred percent of the proceeds from your membership will directly benefit the
animals of Saint Frances Animal Center.
Thank you to everyone for your continued support and faith in our organization! ‘Every day is a new
opportunity to make a difference in the life of a shelter animal.’ Together we can make a HUGE difference!
Happy summer to all,
Wendy Goude
“FROM THE
SCRATCHING POST”
SFAC Neuter-Thon and Spay Day
On Father’s Day, June 17th, Saint Frances Animal Center hosted out inaugural cat
‘Neuter-thon’! Forty-five male cats were brought to SFAC by their owners to
eliminate their chances of future “fatherhood”. With the help of Dr. Tom Hentges,
our Sunday Veterinarian, we were able to expeditiously perform all neuters with
an incredible discounted cost of $10 per surgery.
At 8:30, Sunday morning, the cars and cat carriers started lining up, taking advantage of this newly implemented
program. By 3:30 that afternoon, all forty five cats had been successfully neutered and then safely re-turned back
into their owner’s care. This event was such a success.
After the Neuter-thon, many in the community requested a special day for “females only”. With the Neuter-thon being successful, we decided to have the first ever “Spay
Day” at SFAC!
On Sunday, July 29th, SFAC spayed over fifty cats at a discounted price of only
$25. As with the Neuter-thon, the first ever ’Spay Day’ went like clockwork!
Because of these two evens, over 95 cats in
our community were spayed or neutered!!!!
In a year’s
time, the average female cat can produce up to 4 litters of
kittens. A female cat is also able to birth as many as fourteen kittens per litter.
With these statistics, per these two events, we kept at least 5,320 future unwanted kittens from being conceived. WOW!
Saint Frances Animal Center is committed in our mission to end the ever
grow-
ing cat and kitten overpopulation within our community. In addition to our SFAC
Trap, Neuter and Release Program for the feral cats, Saint Frances Animal Center
plans to host these Neuter-Thon and Spay Days several times a year. Hopefully,
we will begin to end overpopulation and neglect of our Georgetown County cats
and kittens.
Second Annual ‘Meow Luau’
On July 28th, Saint Frances Animal Center held its second annual “Meow
Luau” at the Island Bar and Grill in Pawleys Island. Despite the 102 degree
weather, we had an exceptional turn out and a GREAT time. The owners and
staff of the Island Bar and Grill did such a wonderful job accommodating our
crowd with a huge spread of delicious appetizers, drink specials and terrific
hospitality!
Thanks to all the SFAC supporters and cat lovers who braved the heat to come
out for this annual event. All of the money that was donated at the Luau will
fund equipment for our new cat porch!
This porch will serve as an outdoor extension off of our current cat room so
every cat at SFAC will have the option to be inside or outside whenever they so
choose! Fresh air and sunshine makes a very happy kitty! We strive to make our kids as happy as possible during
their stay at SFAC so we are so excited to get this project up and running!
Please drop by the Center soon and check out the progress being
made on the Kitty Porch! We will post pictures of the new porch in
our next newsletter!
Mee
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Mem
Joyce Ferdon is a Georgetown
ber s
native and resident. She lives in the Historic
District of Georgetown with her husband, Ricky and her
furry kids, Nestle, Snickers. Twinkle, Angel, Louise and Clark. Joyce is an
IS Department manager with Georgetown Hospital System where she has
been employed for 27 years. As a SFAC Board member, Joyce is currently
serving on the Financial and Fundraising committees. She was the founder
of the SFAC fundraiser ‘Paws for Christmas’ which originally started in
1992. Joyce is also an active volunteer with Tidelands Hospice Annual Golf
Tournament and the Georgetown Wooden Boat Show. Joyce Ferdon is a life
long animal lover and advocate.
Upcoming SFAC Fundraisers…
We have two SFAC fundraisers in the very near future, the 6th
Annual ‘Mutt Strut Festival’ and the 1st annual ‘Dinner By the
River’. We are looking forward to both of these events and
would like to encourage everyone to attend.
Mutt Strut Festival
The 6th Annual Mutt Strut will be held on Saturday, October 6th in downtown
Georgetown at Francis Marion Park (located between the River
Room and the SC Maritime Museum) on Front Street. This
year’s festival will be from 11am– 1pm.
We are changing things a little this year. Instead of having
festival-like attractions, we are going to offer more helpful
booths which will focus on health, nutrition and overall
maintenance of the pets in our community. Saint Frances
Animal Center’s 6th annual Mutt Strut Festival will offer
a low cost vaccination clinic, grooming and microchip clinics, community dog baths, organic dog food and biscuits, high quality leashes, collars and accessories
and much more.
Many of our SFAC canines will be at the festival. They will be ready for the right Mom
and Dad to come along and sweep them off of their paws! Our dogs can
be fully adopted on the day of the event!
Please feel free to dress up your pets and bring them down to the
Francis Marion Park. We may not be having a parade this year
but...we are still encouraging all ‘mutts’ to strut their stuff!
Hope to see everyone and your pooches on October 6th!
DINNER
by the
RIVER
On a beautiful Saturday in October, under a drapery of moss, an elegant
dinner will be taking place along the banks of a picturesque river. The
setting in itself will be most exquisite, but when we put a glass of
wine in your hand and seat you at our dinner table, this night will soon
become one you will not want to forget….
The ‘Dinner by the River’ fundraiser will be the first of its kind for Saint Frances. On Saturday, October 27th,
one hundred SFAC supporters will be introduced to a magical experience!
Dinner by the River will be held on the grounds of Chicora Wood Plantation. This 300 year old plantation sits amongst thousands of Live Oaks on
the banks of the beautiful Pee Dee River. Chicora Wood is one of the most
cherished, serene plantations in the Southeast. We are so very thankful to the
owners of Chicora Wood who so graciously donated their grounds as the
venue for this event.
Chef Douglas Waldroup, a Peter Kump Culinary graduate from NYC, will be our
executive chef for Dinner by the River. He has spent the last several months creating a
perfect menu for this event! Every course presented at this fundraiser will be a signature
dish created by Chef Waldroup. We are very excited about having a chef with such
culinary skills to host our first Dinner by the River.
Due to seat limitations, only one hundred guests will be accommodated. We have
already begun booking reservations for this sit down, full course dinner. Tickets can be purchased for $100 per
guest, in advance only. No tickets will be available on the day of the event. If you are interested in becoming a
part of this first annual Dinner by the River and would like to be seated at the table, please call 546-0780,
Wendy Goude.
Ryan Miller, Eagle Scout with Pawleys Island Troop 340,
is building our outdoor cat enclosure to receive his scout
badge! This enclosure will give all of our cats at SFAC the
luxury of being inside or outside. We welcome him and
this great project!
Community Fundraiser for
SFAC - Thanks to these great
Johnsonville Middle students!
Hannah, Bethany, Megan and
Teanna.
In Loving Memory of Helen Shoemaker , who passed
away in August 2012. Helen and her dog, Bailey, were
great friends to SFAC over the years. Helen was one of
the original donation box creators and Bailey is still pictured on many of those boxes. We are currently receiving
in memory donations for Helen and Bailey. If you would
like to contribute call 843-546-0750.
Mrs. Boyd's Prince George Episcopal
class visits Saint Frances to learn how
to properly treat, take care of and train
a pet. The class spent the afternoon
touring the grounds and visiting with
all of the animals. We enjoyed having
these future pet owners on an
educational visit to SFAC.
Bone Appetit Cookbook
HAS ARRIVED!
Order Today
$10.00
Saint Frances Animal Center
sends 609 cats and dogs
HOME!
Our Adoptions Department led by Lead Adoptions
Counselor, Rebecca Ritch, is doing an amazing job in 2012. We have
seen 609 of our furry kids go into wonderful homes through adoption,
foster placement and Rescue programs! SFAC has increased
our Adoption program by venturing into new places like
the Farmers’ Market, Tractor Supply and Wal-Mart.
This is in addition to our established adoption events at
Pet Smart in Charleston, Mt. Pleasant, West Ashley and
Myrtle Beach. The Adoptions team has also exposed our SFAC animals to
many followers on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. In addition, the
Adoptions team has set up a Blog specifically for our Saint Frances animals. We are finally becoming a part of the 21st century and it is paying
off in leaps and bounds. Because of the hard work and dedication of this
Adoptions Team, we are saving the lives of many, many shelter animals
and expecting a record number of adoptions for SFAC in 2012!!!!
“Great job, Adoptions Team”
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Dara
Thank you
to the
Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office
Dara, our infamous Black Lab, is doing fantastic! She was the only
survivor of the 3 dogs found in the IP Canal muzzled and bound
with duct tape. After extensive tests and surgeries, all results came
with great news attached! She is in one-hundred percent great
health. All tumors found in the abdomen were removed and the
biopsies found those tumors to be benign. She is indeed our miracle pup!
As many of you are aware, the person allegedly responsible for this heinous crime
was arrested by the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office and is currently behind
bars We would like to thank the Sheriff and his wonderful team of investigators for
their expeditious and thorough job on this case.
Cajun and Lady, 2 of our SFAC Alumnus,
strolling down the beach during a daily walk.
They are loving their new lives since being
adopted from SFAC in 2011.
Meet another new Board Member
Stephanie Eldridge has lived in Georgetown for 10 years. She is
married to Chris Eldridge and has two daughters, Maggie (10 years)
and new baby Teagan.. Her other "children" include Murphy and
Daisy Mae (adopted Boston Terriers from SFAC and NCBT Rescue) and
Midas and Millie (adopted kitties from
SFAC). Stephanie works as a real estate
broker for Watermark Real Estate Group.
“Looking good, Cajun and Lady!”
SFAC Introduces new Program "Feed Those in Need"
An anonymous donor sent 490 pounds of Iams Dog and Cat food to
SFAC which will be used in our new 'Feed Those in Need' program. SFAC is
now offering assistance to pet owners in our community who are
temporarily unable to afford to feed their pets. All food that is donated to SFAC is
now used in this new program "Feed those in Need". This program is designed
to keep many animals from having to be unnecessarily relinquished into our
animal shelter.
Over 100 dogs in our community
Received Free Vaccines at SFAC
On May 21st, Saint Frances held its annual Free Vaccination
Clinic for dogs. This annual event is sponsored by Ark
Animal Hospital and conducted by Dr. Andrews and her
staff. We had a record breaking turn out this year with
over 100 canines (and their owners) coming to this event!
A special thank you to Dr. Andrews and her staff, Terry
Senior and Franc Coker for such a wonderful contribution!
Grooming Now Available
@ SFAC
Franc Coker's wonderful
granddaughter,
Ella,
raised over $800 to help
with the medical expenses
of Dara, the black Lab. She
sold
lots and
lots of
doughnuts from early in
the morning to late afternoon to raise these funds.
"Good job, Ella!
Please call Becca for an
appointment
(843)546-0780
Walk with the Saints
Saint Frances Animal Center’s ‘Walk with the Saints’ program is
already exceeding our expectations. We began this program in July
and a month later it has tripled in size! Every Tuesday, a group of
volunteers (dog walkers) meet in the SFAC lobby around 9:30a.m. to be
paired with a SFAC dog for the weekly walk. Once the walker is paired with
the perfect partner, they transport the dog in their vehicle to Front Street. We have been
meeting at Bienvenue Home Accents, an incredible shop with great merchandise, located across from
the Georgetown Times on Front Street. After everyone arrives at Bienvenue, we go for our weekly stroll
through downtown Front Street and along the Harborwalk, stopping at several stores where merchants
greet us with cold water and dog biscuits. The locals, tourists and downtown merchants have really
enjoyed seeing us every Tuesday! This one hour, once a week, walk has made an incredible impact at
SFAC. The exercise, socialization and the change in scenery has been wonderful for our kids. Not to
mention, the added exposure they receive on these walks! ‘Walk with the Saints’ has proven to be very
pivotal in finding homes …with more than half of the ‘Saint’ dogs being adopted! Did we mention how
much the volunteers enjoy the walk??? The kids??? They LOVE it! This once a week event has turned
out to be just what the ’dopter ordered… Please join us any Tuesday at Saint Frances, if you would like
to do something great for a very appreciative shelter dog. See you next Tuesday!
New Board Member
Bailey Kendrick moved to Pawleys Island from Greenville,
SC in 2001 to work for Georgetown Hospital System, where
she continues to work today. She is a graduate of The
College of Charleston. She enjoys being
on the Board of Directors and also volunteering
for St. Frances. Bailey loves animals and enjoys kayaking,
bicycle riding and going to the beach. She is also
a volunteer for South Carolina United Turtle Enthusiasts and The Arthritis Foundation.
Saint Frances Animal Center’s
Open House
Saint Frances Animal Center opened our doors to the
community for a full tour and a ‘meet and greet’ on
June 28th and 29th during our Open House. Since many
renovations were completed, we decided it was time to
invite members of our community and share our
accomplishments as well as our future plans for Saint
Frances.
Many could not believe all of the changes that were made in such a
short period of time. In less than a month, every building was
repainted and the dog areas received brand new fencing as well as
new bedding for winter months. All cat rooms are now completely
cage free with themed murals painted on all the walls. We have new
‘cemented-in’ play areas with lots of equipment for our younger
dogs and puppies. We have also created several enclosed grassy play areas with swimming pools for our larger dogs. We have completely renovated our lobby and offices.
We finally have a paved road, with newly painted paw prints, leading to our facility.
Everything here at SFAC looks totally different! Our animals love all of the changes!
Because of the generosity from many local businesses in Georgetown, Saint Frances
was able to complete these renovations at almost no expense. We would like to
thank everyone who helped to make this renovation possible. Please support and thank
the following individuals and businesses for their wonderful donations to SFAC:
Saint Frances Animal Center would like to thank the
following for their donations to our recent renovation.
Please support these local businesses.
J & S Flooring
The Shutter Shop
Habitat for Humanity
Sherwin Williams
Benjamin Moore
Keels Culberson Swinnie
Prince George Framing
Thomas Supply
Ready Mixed Concrete
Island Signs
Salvation Army
Carolina Charm
Bienvenue Home Accents
And also a special thank you to these individuals
for their contribution to our recent Open House:
Bradley Floyd , Rebecca Ritch, Jason Cantley , Mike Goude
Bobby Owens, Todd & Cam Welden, Kimmie Marlowe,
Roger Healey, Bryan Cooper, Douglas Waldroup
Joyce Ferdon, Betsy Niles, Kevin Jayroe
Verne Ray and Vicki Grant
Non– Profit
U.S. Postage
PAID
125 Ridge Street
Georgetown, SC
Georgetown, SC 29440
Permit No. 408
www.sfanimals.org
(843)546-0780
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
Our Mission is to provide a safe and nurturing environment for abandoned and mistreated dogs and cats until they can be
placed in loving homes. Raising awareness
through public education, community outreach and a wellness clinic, we seek to
promote respect for the lives of cats and
dogs by breaking the cycle of abuse, neglect and pet overpopulation in our community.
SFAC Board of Directors
Doug Jenkins
Ruth McLellan
Bradley Floyd
Lisa Johnson
Anne Hartis
Joyce Ferdon
David Graham
Bailey Kendrick
D.I. Wilson
Stephanie Eldridge
Anna Lesley
Nancy Cave