From: Elizabeth Howard, Coordinator - holisticliz@hotmail.com
Our primary mission is to feed the pets of the homeless people In our community. We are an all volunteer group, so all donations can go to the benefit of the animals. We have several projects in process at this time and volunteers are needed to give fresh ideas, energy and time.
We’re planning a pet food drive for October or November and we need several volunteers to help plan and carry it out. Please let us know if you can help. Looking toward the future, in order to increase donations of pet food and funds, we’re considering an ongoing table at a street market as well as tabling at grocery and pet supply stores. Such tables need staff so volunteers will also be needed for this.
We’re also seeking volunteers to help pick up donations, take pet food to storage areas, prepare food for distribution and then distribute the pet food. Our major distribution time is on Wednesdays at the Downtown Public Library and this has proved to be a compatible venue. We also go to campsites to distribute food and we help with transport of animals and people to clinics for spay/neuter and medical needs.
We were shocked on Wednesday when four separate cat/kitten situations were reported to us. It seems that each of these groups of rather wild felines will need to be trapped and then spayed/neutered before being returned to the caretakers who have promised to continue to feed them. They are loved and their caretakers are taking a responsible position. This is a serious situation and one where we will need a lot of help. Please consider volunteering to help these cats. We will help you learn the processes and some valuable helping skills.
In August and September we were able to help quite a number of dogs who live with homeless people. We will usually hear through people who know us that there are dogs at a camp who need help. In August we helped Tanya and Dan to have their adult dog neutered and receive vaccinations. A young pup they had adopted was also neutered and vaccinated. At another camp we found a young dog in need of spay and an older dog who needed to be updated on vaccinations. The same at the camp next door where the resident had kindly taken in a stray.
We link with local free and low cost clinics such as Operation Catnip and Petsnip and they are a great asset to the animals. We are also associated with the Home Van, a local organization long known for their care and compassion in meeting the needs of homeless people.
We need pet food for dogs and cats, preferably bags of good quality dry food. We need to increase our supplies with the cooler weather of fall and winter just around the corner, when dogs, cats and people all need to increase their food intake. To make arrangements, contact Elizabeth Howard, Coordinator, at 352-473-9423, holisticliz@hotmail.com (NE Gainesville) or Jan Zak, Volunteer, at 352-372-4305, jzak17@yahoo.com (SW Gainesville) and possible pick of larger donations.
For general information and to volunteer, contact Coordinator Elizabeth Howard, 352-473-9423, holisticliz@hotmail.com. Financial contributions can be made payable to Home Van Pet Care Project, Inc., and mailed c/o Elizabeth Howard, P.O. Box 14305, Gainesville, FL 32604. You can also donate by Pay Pal on our blog, http://homevanpetcareproject.blogspot.com. All goods and and monetary donations are greatly appreciated and tax deductible.
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