Daffy’s Pet Soup Kitchen is a wonderful organization that helps keep people and their pets together. If it weren’t for Daffy’s helping out local families in need to feed their pets most likely there would be a lot more dogs going to shelters.  Now Daffy’s needs our help to keep them going.

How can you help? Spend a day of fun on Saturday, June 13th at the First Annual Daffy’s Day block party from 12-5, all proceeds will benefit Daffy’s Warehouse Fund.

DAFFY’S PET SOUP KITCHEN IN DANGER OF LOSING WAREHOUSE

This is bad news. Very bad news indeed for over 1,000 family members and over 2,000 pets we’ve helped over the past 10 months.

Daffy’s has recently learned that, due to the current economic crunch, our warehouse sponsor can no longer afford to help cover our lease expense and we will be faced with the possibility of closing the warehouse by September 1st if other sponsors don’t step forward to assist us.

The need for a soup kitchen to provide free food to pets continues to grow. Daffy’s now has multiple locations in eight states, has been contacted by 20 other states to start up, and in Georgia alone, Daffy’s Pet Soup Kitchen serves more than 30 counties. This is all done with the help of volunteers and monetary and food donations. In addition, the initial startup costs and insurance is covered under Daffy’s umbrella; a division of the SOS Club.

Daffy’s needs your help now more than ever! Not only will your donation help the Lawrenceville, Georgia warehouse stay open, it will help the locations Georgia-wide and nationwide continue in their efforts. Without our Georgia warehouse we can not supply the other locations and without your help, we may not be able to keep our warehouse open. We currently distribute over 20,000 lbs. of food per month to families in need. Dogs and cats that we now feed will most likely end up in shelters with little hope of adoption.

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Here’s something to ponder, should the top dogs at a not-for-profit have a salary cap?

At the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals they are closing three shelters due to a 25% loss in its endowment. However, four of the five top administrators make over $200,000 a year.

“I think that some of that money would be better spent on caring for the animals,” said Joyce Godsey, a volunteer at the nonprofit Animal Rescue of Merrimack Valley.

In 2007, MSPCA’s chief executive officer, Carter Luke, received a salary and benefit package worth $340,595. The vice president of human resources received $215,723, the chief medical officer received $246,337, and the vice president of development received $202,880.

Since the MSPCA is funded by private donations some animal advocates feel like too much money is going towards salaries and not the animals. According to MSPCA spokesperson Brian Adams, the executives’ salaries are comparable to other nonprofit executives.

“We’re an organization with an operating budget of over $40 million and a staff of over 500,” Adams said. “This is a very large organization, with the leading animal hospital in the world, and we provide care for more animals in Massachusetts than any other organization. We have to attract the right talent, and we have to remain competitive. We can’t remain competitive by asking people to work for free.”

I think anyone who donates to a shelter realizes some of the money is used to payroll expenses, including salaries, and that not all the money goes to the animals. You need people to run and operate the organization, there’s no dispute about that.  However, how  much is too much when it comes to paying the top dogs. Give me a bark, let me know what you think.

Thanks to Eddie Essig for barking this story to me.

*Damon is adoptable from rhw MSPCA’s Western New England Animal Care & Adoption Center

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In Santa Cruz, CA the restaurants are going to the dogs.  Three months ago Whitney Wilde came up with  Woofers and Walkers, she wanted to organize a group of dog lovers to go for weekly walks ending in lunch at a local restaurant where they could sit and socialize. I’m liking the sound of this already.

“I’ve wanted to do this for five years now,” Wilde said. “As 41 percent of Santa Cruz County, I wanted to get dog owners together and put a public face on responsible dog ownership. Dog owners can be a real force in town.”

So far six restaurants have opted in, all have outdoor patio dining where dogs are now allowed.  The only rules, dogs must be leashed and cleaned up after. Many of the group members have dogs that are rescues, this is a great way to help socialize them.

Nelli, a mixed breed terrier, along with the majority of the dogs in the group, were rescue dogs the owners saved from being killed, or in Daphne Morrissey’s case, from the life of a greyhound race dog.

“She didn’t know how to be a dog,” Morrissey said, describing her dog, Bean, when she first got her. “She didn’t know what stairs were or what a mirror was or how to play.”

After training and joining social groups such as Woofers and Walkers, Bean has grown more comfortable around other dogs and animals.

“This is to show how thankful we are to have these rescue dogs, and yet we are all rescued because of them,” Wilde said during a special remembrance ceremony for Tilly, a terrier owned by Jeanne Allen of Santa Cruz that had to be put down last week after battling illnesses.

“Not only is someone like Jeanne a person who has rescued dogs from being killed, but she is a great person,” Tess Cain said. “This group goes way beyond dog walking. This group has bonded us together and our dogs have been playmates ever since.”

We have a lot of dog walking groups in the Atlanta, GA area but none that end with lunch.  This is such a great way to show those who don’t own dogs that dog owners are a responsible group.

If you live in the Santa Cruz area you can join Woofers and Walkers every Sunday for a different adventure.

*(Picture courtesy Shmuel Thaler/Sentinel)

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Times have been tough and foreclosures are at an all time high.  This recent phenomenon is not only effecting homeowners,  it’s leaving their furry companions at risk as well. The possibility of 2-4 million Americans facing the loss of their home equates to about 1 1/4 million companion animals potentially being homeless.

Eddie, one of my favorite newshounds, dug up a story on No Paws Left Behind. It’s an organization dedicated to becoming the voice of these pets.

No Paws Left Behind, Inc. is a focus driven not for profit organization, designed to bring awareness to all communities the silent victims of foreclosure who have no voice or rights to implement change. As a united front, we will restore moral obligations toward all pets that have the potential to be, or have been, left behind to suffer needlessly.

We further pledge to act as a support group for those who find foreclosure imminent and need help to find shelter for their beloved pets; be a resource for those who find or know of abandoned pets; and last, but by no means least, we must unite to end the needless suffering by creating a national movement targeting lawmakers to change the laws categorizing pets as personal property.

A big thanks to No Paws Left Behind who is trying to keep these pets from becoming throwaways.  If you want to donate a  $10, tax deductible, donation it will help keep these animals safe and will also get you a very cute gift.  There are four different gifts to choose from, no cheesy stuff, and all donations go to ensure that no paws are left behind.

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Here’s a fun trivia quiz to win 10 zealies.  It’s not hard, just requires a little digging.  The first one with the right answers wins.  Here goes…

What was the first group started?

What is the last group started?

Which group has the most members?

Which group has the least members?

Times a wasting, go dig up some answers.

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