Animal Lovers League of Glen Cove

The Animal Lovers League is going all-out to be a last years spay-neuter numbers with four Februrary Spay-taculars! (Feb 7, 14, 21, and 28) Volunteer vets, techs, shelter staffa nd other volunteers will provide totally free spay-neuter services for feral and unowned cats. Too many kitties are out there for caretakers to feed and care for now, so we are determined to make a great big dent in those "fertile feline's" breeding activities! We don't want more kittens being born to suffer. The free clinics are open to all individuals who need help, and all cats will be vaxes, eartipped, de-flea'd and sent from the volunteer workstations for TLC recovery time. Traps will be available and training sessions on how to trap provided. Please join us for Spay Day USA and make a difference! Spay-neuter educational materials will be distributed in English and Spanish throughout the community.

For those of you who hate missing out on what is going on at the shelter while you are away, you are in luck! The Animal Lovers League is now on both Facebook and Twitter.

We would love to see you guys following our tweets and commenting on our Facebook page. The shelter encourages everyone to log on to our pages and check out what they have to offer. Don't forget to upload your photos of own animals you have adopted from us. We love to see their new happy homes!

The Animal Lovers League is grateful to Pet Peeves, Inc. for their continued support of our shelter outreach programs. Our Safe Haven Program, which has provided temporary care of their pets for victims of job loss, eviction and sudden hospitalizations has helped 133 victims of these sad times.

From: Joan Phillips 516-671-7767
What: An annual campaign of The Humane Society of the United States to inspire people to save animal lives by spaying or neutering pets and feral cats.
When: Officially the last Tuesday of February, with events and activities taking place throughout the month of February.
Where: Across the United States and U.S. territories.
Why: Four million cats and dogs—about one every eight seconds—are put down in U.S. shelters each year. Often these animals are the offspring of cherished family pets, even purebreds. Maybe someone's cat or dog got out just that one time or maybe the litter was intentional, but efforts to find enough good homes failed.

The Animal Lovers League of Glen Cove, NY, sponsored month-long activities in celebrate Spay Day USA, a nation-wide annual campaign of the Humane Society of the United States to inspire people to save animal lives by spaying or neutering pets and feral cats. Officially the last Tuesday of February, the Animal Lovers chose to follow HSUS recommendations to conduct events throughout the month.

Long Island veterinarians volunteered their skills at the Animal Lovers Shelter over the course of 3 Sundays. They topped last year’s impressive number of 130 feral cats (spayed or neutered, inoculated, and medical problems addressed) by tallying a whopping total of 173 felines who will not be giving birth to two to three litters of kittens in the next year! That’s thousands that won’t be born to suffer. The free clinic was open to anyone in need of help, and training in trapping was offered at the shelter by skilled shelter staff.

Vet technicians, shelter staff and volunteers, 56 in number, manned specific work stations as feral cats went from spaying or neutering, to ear-tipping for permanent identification, to the vaccine station and then to the ear-cleaning, flea and ear-mite treatment station…wrapped in warmed towels throughout the process. After being thoroughly checked in the “Feral Cat Spa”, the fortunate felines were passed to another group of volunteers who placed them back in their traps and monitored their recovery. The “assembly line” approach was a sight to behold, with cheerful assistants performing their tasks with great efficiency and tender care. The Recovery Group made sure each cat was completely awake from anesthetic before it was released to its caretaker to be recuperated. The Animal Lovers held ferals before and after the surgery days for those who did not have the resources to recover the cats properly. Tired participants glowed with the feeling of the great good they had accomplished. They realized that the quality-of-life for the cats altered that day will be vastly improved. Spay/neuter is a proven way to reduce the vast numbers of animals who are born only to die prematurely and without a family to love them.

In the midst of one clinic, two women arrived at the shelter in an agitated state, carrying a young cat with a mayonnaise jar stuck on her head! They had managed to follow the cat in the pouring rain until they could corral her and bring her to the shelter. The cat was anesthetized, the jar removed and the cat was spayed while she was still sleeping. Her name was changed from “Hellman” to “Mayo” when it was discovered we had a female, not a male. The cat is young enough to be socialized and will ultimately be placed for adoption. Her kind rescuers obviously saved her from slow starvation and raised awareness about leaving open jars in places where animals of any kind can stick their head in to eat the contents.

Grateful appreciation is extended to Dorian and Norman Feckl and Pet Peeves, Inc., whose support made the purchase of medical supplies and equipment for the clinics possible.

In conjunction with the month’s activities, a free workshop in the Town of Babylon entitled “A Community Approach to Feral Cats” was presented by Animal Lovers League President Joan Phillips and Grace DeVita, President of Second Chance Animal Rescue. Seventy-three attendees, including the Babylon Animal Shelter Director, two Council-persons and two veterinarians attended the three hour program. Joan addressed the need for a collaborative approach including officials, the veterinary community and individuals to find a solution to the overwhelming and increasing numbers of feral cats…namely Trap-Neuter-Return. After explaining the advantages of “TNR”, a plan-of-action to be followed was outlined to get the community actively involved, including the necessity of having a game plan before one begins to trap (i.e., appointment or arrangements with a veterinarian, etc., and the importance of managing a colony in a sanitary and unobtrusive manner. A “hands-on” demonstration of how to trap by Grace DeVita and instructions on subsequent management and monitoring followed.

It was a lovely surprise to the attendees when Babylon Shelter Director Chris Elton announced the Town’s new low-cost spay-neuter program for feral cats. All attendees received a CD and DVD courtesy of the Feral Cat Program of the Humane Society of the United States.

The Animal Lovers’ Spay Day USA efforts brightened the dark month of February with the warmth of communities coming together for the creatures whose lives have been so positively-impacted.

Spay-Day USA, a program of the Humane Society of the United States, incorporates events held during the entire month of February. Shelters, rescues and individuals throughout the country are encouraged to offer spay-neuter clinics and vouchers, educational awareness programs and media support in their community and HSUS offers advice on how they can facilitate a successful event . The message is that by spaying and neutering both owned and unowned pets, the numbers of unwanted animals being euthanized each year can be reduced drastically.

The economy has made it very difficult for caretakers of feral cat colonies or individual ferals to feed them. The Animal Lovers League Spay Day USA event is geared toward preventing the birth of kittens who may suffer and die along with their mothers. The Animal Lovers League is offering workshops facilitated by Director Joan Phillips to educate officials and the public about the benefits and "how-to" of Trap-Neuter-Return and following up with 3 free spay-neuter clinics at the Animal Lovers Shelter on Feb. 8, 15th, and 22nd.

All shelters and towns on Long Island are being offered the workshops.

Veterinarians, techs and others will man care stations in the Animal Lovers Shelter in this totally VOLUNTEER effort to drastically reduce the number of kittens born this spring and in the future. All cats will be inoculated for FVRCP and rabies, ear-tipped, treated for parasites and monitored during recovery.

Please help us show that Long Island does care to make a difference. Call or email to get appointments for ferals to be altered and trapping information. Volunteers are needed to help with admittance, recovery and phone monitoring. Donations of money for supplies, or actual supplies, such as towels, cotton, isopropyl alcohol, quilts and sheets and other things are urgently needed.

Join us please…our numbers will be listed as part of the national effort to prevent the euthanasia of unwanted pets. Together we can truly make a difference.

Please e-mail animallovershelp@aol.com or call the shelter at 516-676-5913 to get involved or get help.

Photo below: the left ear tipped indicates an altered, rabies inoculated, cat.

     It’s nearing the end of September and already this fall is a busy one for the Animal Lover’s League. As the summer warmth dwindles and cold air brushes in, our concerns grow for those outside who lack warm beds. Thus our mission to find safe and loving homes for our current shelter pets becomes more and more dire. So this month we kicked things off early with the Third Annual Locust Valley Dog Festival on September 21. The event called on local organizations and residents to bring out their canine company or canine friendly goods to raise money in support of the Animal Lover’s League. The day was a great success and our adorable puppy Zack found himself a home. T-shirts, raffle tickets, and goodies went home with other supportive pet owners and a few dogs even won blue ribbons for best in show at the dog contest.

      Although cats weren’t invited to join in the fun they’re still a happy bunch here at the shelter. Cats and kittens are no scarcity around here, and still abandoned felines turn up on our doorstep so frequently that we fear the colder seasons will be especially hard on our furry friends outdoors now that our facility has reached capacity. Unfortunately it seems as if a day here at the shelter wouldn’t be complete if a person didn’t call looking to surrender a needy cat or kitten. Only a few weeks ago a small box with two abandoned feline babies made its way to the door of our shelter with no explanation. They were small and weak, one more lively than the other. We named him Spunky for his loud personality and wailing cries, and for his bright blue eyes eager to see the world around him. The other tiny bundle of soft fur lay motionless and still, its eyes only opened as narrow slits. We could tell they had probably been in a home, unwanted and finally left on their own. After some bottle-fed nutrition and warm blankets we hoped the sicker of the two would last the night. His short little breaths and limp neck were clear indicators that he would not. The next morning, only Spunky was still alive. Since that night Spunky has significantly improved and was taken home by a kind foster family where he will stay until he is stronger and ready for adoption.   The phone continues to ring round the clock with concerned cat lovers reporting stray kittens and adults. All we can do is hope that more of our cats will be adopted, making room for the cold and withered outside.

      Fortunately we’ve bid farewell to some cats and kittens in the last few weeks, and a good feeling always settles over the shelter as we see them head off to their new homes. Donations, the lifeblood of the Animal Lover’s League, are always received gratefully, while the younger generation seems eager to volunteer. Two Locust Valley High School students held an incredible donation drive over the summer that accumulated in hundreds of dollars worth of dog and cat toys, specialty foods, collars, beds, and other necessities.   Donations like these are so much help. We hope that our generous neighbors and animal lovers continue to support us throughout the year!

      For now, we are looking forward to fundraising at our Annual Benefit Dinner on October 16 and our TNR programs held monthly to help manage the feral cat problem on Long Island. Please keep us informed on what’s going on with the animals in your neighborhood, and check out Petfinder.com to view our most recently updated pets, just type in 11542 as the zip code!

County Legislator Denise Ford, Legislator Diane Yatauro, Dr. Laura Gay Senk, and the Animal Lovers League co-founder Joan Phillips pose for a photo following a meeting to discuss humane and positive solutions to the number of unowned (feral) cats. Joan addressed the need for all animal shelters to have spay and neuter programs, ideally on premises, so that no animal would leave the shelter unaltered and the municipality would have a resource to have the feral cats altered. If all communities on Long Island joined in the effort, the feral cats would live better lives because they would no longer be fighting, breeding and struggling to feed litter after litter of kittens. The public woulds benefit as well because there would be no smells of tomcat urine, yowling and fighting. The number of feral cats would diminish due to attrition, so the solution is a winner for people and felines

Next time you visit the Shelter ask for one of our loose change donation cans for your home!

The 6^th Annual fundraising dog walk for the Long Island Chapter of the American Parkinson's Disease Association will be held on Sunday, October 26. The Animal Lover's League will be there to support this great cause as well as raise money for our shelter. Registration for dog walkers begins at 11:00 a.m. and the walkathon begins at 12:30p.m. The registration fee is $25, which will go towards scientific research for the disorder and the promotion of public awareness of Parkinson's disease. Please come out and enjoy this fun day for Long Islanders and their dogs and come by our table to see the dogs currently at our shelter!

On Sunday, September 21, Locust Valley held its Third Annual Dog Festival to support the Animal Lover’s League. Situated on Forest Avenue with the grace of a perfect autumn sun, the festival attracted dog lovers of all breeds, from tiny Chihuahuas to great Bull Mastiffs. Supporters of the Animal Lover’s League came out to celebrate our shared love for dogs and to help raise money that will benefit the shelter and its humane programs. A dog show competition, training and grooming demonstrations, and dog portraiture by a local artist brought together pet owners (and their pets) as well as potential adopters from all over the north shore.

Perhaps the event’s greatest success was the adoption of one of the shelter’s favorite canines. Zack, a Rottweiler-mix puppy, met his soon-to-be parents and is currently living in a nice home with two wonderful adopters happy to have a dog in their lives. The festival was a great lead into October, which is Adopt-a-Shelter-Dog-Month. In case you missed out on the fun don’t worry, it’s still a perfect time to reach out a kind heart to those in need. If you are in the market for a loyal companion, please don’t forget about the shelter dogs waiting to be rescued and given a real home. Remember that a saved pet is always a grateful one and there is never a day that a loved dog won’t make you smile at least once!

Right now, we are holding many dogs available for adoption. We are anxiously searching for the right homes for them all and are reaching capacity in the kennel! Please come by the shelter to meet our dogs and cats for adoption and to learn about ways you can show your support by volunteering or by making a donation!