Sweetest is the caption for all four of these cuties. Contact Dottie Smiddy if interested at (937) 244-0852.

Congratulations, Sherri Donner, winner of the PUPS’ Mother’s Day Basket!

Wondering what to give Mom for Mother’s Day? How about purchasing (donating) some chances on this gorgeous basket? $5.00 a chance (donation) or three chances for a $10.00 donation. Hurry! Drawing will be on May 11th, but delivered locally (Clark County area) in time for Mother’s Day! Whether you are the fortunate one or not, mom will love your kindness given towards a good cause. Here are just some of what’s inside:

$30 gift certificate Bonnie’s Nursery and Garden Center
Chianti Scentsy and 5 scent packs donated by Deanna Bennett
Certificate for a massage by Rita Chapman – $55.00
Bottle of Chianti Wine / Basket donated by Skalny Basket Co.
Silpada Necklace and Earrings set
Premier Jewelry Set-Copper Cuff, necklace and earrings
Avon Bubble Bath and Skins-So-Soft
Beautiful Scarf
Pouch and Pin
Wicker-looking copper lantern and basket donated by Skalny Basket Company

Value: $400

Click onto the safe link for donation…

The Doris Day Animal Foundation, a national non-profit organization founded by the legendary actress and animal welfare advocate, has provided a grant to Pets Uniting People Society of Tremont City, Ohio, for use with their spay/neuter efforts.

“When we learned about PUPS and its low-cost spay/neuter program, we wanted to help,” Miss Day said from her home in Carmel, California. “We fund many charitable 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations helping the animals and the people who love them. PUPS is doing good work, and we’re pleased to help.”

“The grant will assist our PUPS’ program by funding approximately 50 cats for surgeries and rabies shots.” says Carolyn Hayes, PUPS’ Director. Since December, 2010, 150 cats from 7 cat colonies throughout the county, were neutered or spayed through the PUPS’ program. Of these 150 cats, 50 kittens were people-friendly allowing them to be adopted into loving homes. In addition, with the “PUPS Digest”, educational and awareness efforts send positive messages to our county officials and the general public that cat colonies can be controlled and retained with healthy, inoculated cats so that they may live peaceably within our community. We thank Miss Day and her Foundation for assisting us in giving so many cats a second chance at life.

Other grants which the Foundation has provided include funding for college scholarships, programs for senior citizens to care for their pets, programs for rescue dogs, Kevlar vests for service dogs, rescues of greyhounds, run-sheds for horses, reduced adoption fees for seniors to adopt senior pets, wildlife sanctuary assistance, and reduced cost spay/neuter programs as well as a feral cat TNR (trap, neuter & return) program, to name but a few.

The Doris Day Animal Foundation, www.ddaf.org, has the simple and straightforward mission of helping animals and those who love them. DDAF provides funding to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations for animal welfare work with specific low-overhead programs, including animal rescue, lifetime care for search and rescue dogs, helping people care for their animals, assisting with care for horses, paying for spay/neuters and other animal-related needs.

Big shout out goes to the Kroger Store, Derr Road, and Drug Mart in Enon, OH, for allowing P.U.P.S. to offer materials for “World Spay Month” and “World Spay Day, February 26, 2013″.

P.U.P.S. is trying to make a difference for cats in our community. The answer is not “trap and kill” as so many people believe. The answer is “education, awareness, and responsibility” with the proven successful Trap-Neuter-Release program. That’s the P.U.P.S. response to people who inquire as to what we do. We want to educate and inform the community about the humane answer to animal overpopulation. It’s quite simple: neuter or spay your pets.

http://www.kroger.com

and go to the Community Rewards link and follow the prompts. If you do not have a computer, ask a Kroger checkout clerk about what you desire to do.

P.U.P.S. NPO is 82712 or type in our full title: Pets Uniting People Society.

P.U.P.S. is the only 501c3 nonprofit organization who initiates the T-N-R program in Clark County. The Humane Society of Clark County does not use any county monies for the caring of free-roaming cats. Since there is a void in this area, P.U.P.S. has designated part of its program to educating the community about trap-neuter-release.

Remembering a movie line, “what we have here is a failure to communicate”. Certainly that’s what society is dealing with regarding some people who fail to neuter/spay their pets. What’s their excuse? Some are: “We don’t have the money, it’s cruel, my pet never leaves my property”, and the list goes on and on. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Help us promote to bring awareness to educate the public and offer a free or low-cost neuter/spay days or clinics. We need neuter/spay days now in many zip codes in our Central Ohio area. We express the concern and offer awareness about what is needed to accomplish such a project in one grant proposal after another. We hope the plea is answered soon.

As Director of P.U.P.S., I talk to many people about our neuter/spay program. When having coffee one morning with my sister, one of the owners of the coffee shop said, “there’s something about the thought of neutering my cat…it’s like taking away his macho-ness” (if that’s such a word). What? You are kidding, right? I really believe the guy was serious!! Until all our society understands the importance of neutering/spaying, there will be continued homeless or sheltered animals and many will die because of the failure to neuter or spay.

Please act now and get your pet neutered or spayed. It’s your responsibility as a pet owner. Check local resources to find the best organization to go to for affordable surgeries. Do not take this task lightly. In addition, if you have a pet and a veterinarian says the female is incapable of becoming pregnant, get a second opinion. One lady told me that’s what her veterinarian told her about her dog. Guess what? Her dog gave birth to six puppies!! This lady was fortunate that she could find homes for all the puppies. However, too many times, this goes in the other direction and often the reason why hundreds of dogs and cats wind up in a shelter.

With grant funding, P.U.P.S. plan is to begin an intensive “in-your-face” awareness campaign for neutering/spaying. No, it won’t have all those depressing pictures of animals, but it will have real statistics and what’s needed to get the job done. It begins with awareness. February 26th is “World Spay Day”. Are your pets neutered and/or spayed? Do you know of a cat colony that needs assistance?

We are hoping that the weather cooperates so our “awareness days” at the Kroger Store, Derr Road, can take place soon.

If your group or organization needs an event speaker, please consider me, Carolyn Hayes, P.U.P.S. Director. Contact information link is on this site. I’d be happy to talk to your group or organization about how important our (and other organizations’) neuter/spay program is to communities throughout our country.

Cats and kittens are not running amok in every nook and cranny at the Smiddy house, barn, and garage. Oh no! Dottie (P.U.P.S. Board Member Dave Smiddy’s wife) fosters kittens and cats and is very organized with her small-scale sanctuary. She quarantines any new kittens that come to her until she can get them veterinarian checked. She gives all the kittens and cats play time outside their clean and comfortable cages

to run around the house during certain times during the day to get them used to her dog Zoey and obtain their need for exercise. Dottie told about how the wee-babies on the bottle would listen to her so attentively as she would tell the kittens how God loves them and she does too. She says it’s difficult giving up these babies when they are weaned, but knows they are getting great homes and most of the time is able to stay in touch via email and facebook with the different families who adopt them.

Pets Uniting People Society aids with some of the expense, ie neuters, spays, and rabies shots and the rest she and her husband pay for out of their own pockets. They are the most compassionate people we know. Countless kittens and cats have been adopted due to Dottie’s patience and excellence with photography and describing each animal.

In the current issue of “PUPS Digest” one page sported Smiddy’s adoptions; however, the entire 16-page publication could justify her stories of rescue and adoptions, not to mention her, other board members, and volunteers’ care of colony cats throughout the Clark County area. They are very thorough and consistent in helping various colonies live healthy and long lives in their natural, outdoor environments, making sure they are comfortable with housing even during the winter months.

 

Grateful to The Ohio Pet Fund, our first grant award, for helping P.U.P.S. with its neuter/spay program.

These three cats (two grey are about a year old and the tiger is no more than two years old) that were used to living inside a home became homeless recently due to their owner deciding she didn’t want them anymore. She moved away and gave them to the daughter who moved into her condo. Then when the daughter moved in, she booted the cats out because she says her toddler is allergic to them. Instead of taking the responsibility of finding these cats a home (inside or outside); the women wiped their hands of the responsibility. This is why it is so important to teach children that once they acquire a pet, if they cannot keep it for some reason; they are responsible for finding the pet or pets a home and not put the task onto others.

Now a neighbor has shown compassion for the homeless cats and feeds them, but they cannot stay in this environment because it is a condo complex and they do not allow any outside animals.

P.U.P.S. was notified by the son of the neighbor of these people. With P.U.P.S.’ assistance, the neighbor and her son are helping to find these cats homes. The neighbor already has two inside cats of her own and cannot take the responsibility of more. Will you help us find these cats a home? They do not have to stay together. If they are not already altered, P.U.P.S. will have them neutered or spayed and have rabies shots administered. Please share these babies to everyone to get the word out about finding each one a nice home. They deserve it! Thanks!

Congratulations to Mike and Sharon Gulvas. They are the winners of P.U.P.S. Christmas Critter Raffle Basket. Mike and Sharon purchased their raffle tickets at the Northwestern High School Vendor Fair on Saturday, November 10th!

P.U.P.S. looks forward to attending the Northwestern High School Vendor Fair again next year. It was a fun day!

Mike wanted to thank all the businesses that donated items for this basket and the P.U.P.S. Board Members for all their work they put into this endeavor.

On behalf of the P.U.P.S. board, kudos to the businesses that provided the cool items to place inside this basket and a big shout out to Skalny Baskets for donating these beautiful baskets to fill to the brim! All the businesses and organizations who helped with our baskets for “Autumn Leaves” and the “Christmas Critter Basket” will be listed in the Christmas edition of “PUPS Digest” which will be out soon!