Wednesday, October 28, 2009

St. Francis Animal Welfare Center Dinner

Last Saturday, October 24, the good folks at SFAWC held their 4th annual dinner celebrating the Feast of St. Francis. The dinner was held at the Wellsville Alumni Center. St. Francis is known as the patron saint of animals. Besides being a bit of a fund raiser the dinner is a "thank you" for the patrons of this all volunteer group for supporting their mission.

The event was emceed by 2nd V.P. Paul Blevins with invocation & benediction being offered by RPC's Rev. Bill Betteridge. There was door prizes, a Chinese auction, craft sale and a 50/50 drawing. In support of Breast Awareness Month all donations for one of the items raffled off went to the National Breast Cancer Fund.

Speaking on behalf of the group, member Bobbie Holt gave a brief history of their mission and an update of on the groups status. In response to a plea by Village Mayor Joe Surace the St. Francis group got started in 2006. Their mission is primarily to get the stray dogs off the street. At first they were located in the village dog pound but due to legalities conflicting with their humane care of animals they had to move out of there. They have been "homeless" for eight months now but that didn't deter the spirit of the SFAWC group.
Although their primary goal is to get stray & abandoned dogs off the street this dedicated group goes above and beyond that. Once an animal is taken in they are examined by a veterinarian, treated for fleas, dewormed, given shots and placed in foster homes. From there they are fed and looked after with TLC until they can be adopted into a permanent home. SFAWC has an association with various animal adoption leagues but try everything possible to place them first.

Presently they have six dogs in foster homes. Like Roxie, shown above, all but one are ready for adoption. The dog that is not ready has been so neglected and mistreated that he is a little gun shy of everything and anything. Mrs. Holt said he is a beautiful dog without a mean streak of any sort. He is simply scared and needs some time to adjust to trusting his human friends. He's slowly learning that he'll get a regular feeding and all the other necessities we show our furry friends.

No animal taken in by the St. Francis group is euthanatized just because. There has to be severe life threatening causes such as incurable health problems or near fatal injuries before it is even considered. Like St. Francis himself these folks believe the four legged ones have just as much God given right to live as us two legged critters.

SFAWC are currently working with the Village Zoning Office trying to get approval to use a donated building located up on Walden Avenue. If approved they hope to renovate the building and fence in the ground around it for use as a shelter. Until a new location can be found they can only take in six dogs at a time. If anybody is interested in helping with providing foster care give them a call at 330-831-0827 or 330-429-5073. Any help would be greatly appreciated with donations of any kind or amount. Donations can be mailed to SFAWC, P.O. Box 52, Wellsville OH 43968. As mentioned above this group is strictly volunteer. The only compensation they take is the occasional lick or wagging of the tail of a happy pup. Wellsville is fortunate to have a group like this and the angels of the Alley Cat Aid Brigade.

Thanks for inviting me ladies. Oh, and Paul, pink looks good on me but I gave the sweat shirt to the missus!


ole nib





12 comments:

Anonymous said...

"STRAY DOGS" should be reported to the county dog pound or the local animal control officer of Wellsville so that lost pets can be returned to their rightful owners. Pet owners are not aware that another organization is adopting out their pets without following the proper channels to reunite them with their families. St.Francis should operate as an adoption center taking in only pets where owners are reliquishing them due to the inability to care for them. Any cases where animals are found to come from an abuse or neglect situation the Humane Society of Columbiana County should be contacted to investigate and file charges. Removing an animal from inhumane treatment doesn't help correct the situation if the abuser is not held accountable. They will just obtain other animals and continue the cycle.

************* said...

They do try to find owners plus all their dogs are posted on petfinders. com

nib

Anonymous said...

Any responsible pet owner who is missing a pet will search every avenue they can to find them - including checking to make sure the St. Francis folks don't have them. I doubt the turn-around time for them to find a pet a new home has ever been so fast that it resulted in them adopting out someone's beloved pet. There can never be too many organizations out there helping our furry friends. YES - people should be held accountable and prosecuted if they are abusing or neglecting an animal, but that doesn't mean someone shouldn't rescue the animal ASAP from that situation. And if that someone happens to be the folks from St. Francis, then all I can say is GOD BLESS THEM!

Anonymous said...

There is "NO" account for St. Francis on Petfinder. There has NEVER been one. How would a responsible pet owner even know that St. Francis exsists in Wellsville? or what phone number to call. Most people don't even know that we have our own animal control officer and dog pound. If a dog goes missing you shouldn't think that a "rescue" would have your dog. After dogs are found and go to the pound for 72 hours with no owner responding then they are released to a "rescue" for adoption. If I lost a pet I would call the pound and see if they had it and leave my information should my pet show up there over the next few days. The dog pound is a "central" location for information so there is less confusion in finding your lost family member. St. Francis needs to decide if they are operating as a "rescue" or a "dog pound". That would make a difference in how money/donations are collected tax free.

43rocks said...

I have to agree with the first poster. Also, our animal control officer is doing a great job of keeping dogs off the streets. I am pretty sure that st.Frances has always taken in dogs from all over the county. I don't beleive they deal with many Wellsville dogs. Regardless, abuse and neglect situations need to be investigated. That is the best policy because it can save lives.

************* said...

Wrong, after 72 hours in the pound if no owner comes forth animals are turned over to the County Pound.

Do you really believe in Wellsville there are that many people who don't know about the pound or St. Francis. If someone loses a dog and doesn't I bet 2 out of 3 people they ask would give them a heads up. There's not much in the ville that goes on unknown.

nib

Anonymous said...

What are the local pound hours? I've heard a lot of complaining about St. Francis and complaining about the ACO not taking calls. Maybe people should cut both a break for a change. Most communities have neither.

************* said...

I totally agree. The ville is fortunate to have all three compassionate animal groups.

The number for the Animal Control Officer is 330-383-0225. That number is a Village provided cell phone with voice mail. Just a reminder, that job is only part-time. I have never seen any regular posted hours but have been told she is on call 24/7.

Does anyone have a contact phone number for the St. Francis group? I have a phone number but believe it is a personal phone.

nib

Anonymous said...

It seems impossible Nib, but many people do not know about these groups. Most know about the dog pound because it has a longer history. I have told many people to call these folks because they just were unaware they existed. They also do not know what a great resource the pound in Lisbon is. They still think it is like the old days. They now have rescue programs and adoption and do not euthanize unless a dog is vicious or very sick. No one should ever hesitate to take a dog there or to the animal control officer who will take them there. Thank you for the opportunity to say something.

Anonymous said...

I happen to know the Wellsville ACO and "all" calls have been answered since the day she started within 24 hrs. Not to mention she has been inforcing the "laws" of the ville when "no one" has done it before even though we have had ACO's in the past. She is the first ACO to actually write tickets to residents and hold people accountable.

Anonymous said...

I heard she works 15 hours a week m-f, 3 hrs a night, 5-8. All of Wpd has a key to the pound so they can do her job the rest of the week. All day, thru the night, and all weekend. Bet they're loving it. Maybe they should be paid for atleast 50 % of the job.

Anonymous said...

As far as the "ACO"....leave your children at home when you go on a call. Why risk them getting hurt??
Just not real crazy about the way the ACO has handled certain cases and tried to pass the blame on to others. If you mess up, own up. Got more respect for you then.