A ‘humane' review of 2006

To the Editor: Happy new year to all two- and four-legged residents in our communities. It was an interesting and challenging year for the Warwick Valley Humane Society. Our organization handled and rescued over 860 animals of assorted species including abused dogs, critically ill cats and kittens, swans, goats, chickens, roosters and sheep, injured wildlife such as owls, hawks, vultures, and infant squirrels, bunnies and birds. We have nearly completed our new pole barn to be used for emergency disaster relief housing for pets as well as for fundraising events, educational seminars, and dog training. We welcome partnering with Dr. Sonja Stell, certified dog trainer and behavior counselor of Pawsitive Pet Training, who is temperament-testing our shelter dogs and offering a free training lesson to all adopters from our facility in addition to her regular training classes and pet first aid courses at the humane society. We have completed construction of our “other animal area” and are delighted to have received the donation of a shed from the Town of Warwick. Last year, we also gratefully received a donation of a flat-bottom boat with oars and safety equipment for any future lake rescues. We are ecstatically pleased to announce that the towns of Warwick and Chester have once again subsidized the spay, neuter and return program for outside cats. Residents within these two towns are eligible to receive a $50 refund upon written proof of spay/neuter of a cat to be presented to our society, which is managing these funds. Both towns are to be commended for their willingness to help reduce the overpopulation of stray cats and for their compassion in alleviating the needless suffering associated with their reproduction. Feeding a stray cat is not an act of kindness, unless the food provider accepts full responsibility for their actions by spaying or neutering. Once you feed a stray it will not go away, and food keeps the stray healthy enough to keep having kittens, litter after litter. Our motto: “Feed ‘em, Fix ‘em!” The Warwick Valley Humane Society has been the recipient of a tremendous outpouring of support throughout the year from individuals and businesses. We deeply appreciate the assistance of the few veterinarians who provide discounted medical care to our shelter animals and help the victims of animal neglect and cruelty. We offer a big thank you to those who contributed to our various funds for needy animals or shelter projects; to those who donated daily supplies, their time, money and/or items for all of our fundraising events, which were all very well attended and most successful. To the wonderful individuals and families who opened their hearts and homes and adopted a dog, cat, ferret, rabbit, rooster, or bird from the shelter, we couldn’t do it without you. We hope that we have thanked one and all either in person or with a personal note. The continued support of our communities is invaluable to our organization. We strive each year to provide a clean, comfortable safe haven for the hundreds of unwanted, abandoned, injured, and abused animals that need our help. We will continue to work closely with our local, county, and state law enforcement to protect all animals. And we will attempt to assist residents of Warwick and Chester with animal-related problems and concerns. We look forward to another interesting and challenging year and thank everyone for their loyal support of our endeavors. Suzyn Barron, president Warwick Valley Humane Society