Animal Friends Society holds Valentine’s dance fundraiser

By Anne Eickstadt

REPORTER

The Animal Friends Society of Boone County held a dinner/dance fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 11, to raise money to benefit their spay/neuter program for farm and feral cats.

“We used to be an auxiliary to animal services but that went by the wayside in 2011,” Secretary Paul Zanter, said. “Now, we have a low cost spay and neuter program. We do humane animal care training presentations. We also provide animal rescue services to provide aid for rescued animals who are damaged.”

The dance was used to raise money for spaying and neutering.

“That’s the most expensive thing. We can do two feral/barn cats a week right now which adds up to about 104 cats a year. That comes to around $4,160 a year,” Zanter said.

“A lot of our fundraisers are to continue the spay/neuter program. Other times, we hold fundraisers to keep the organization running. That costs about $1,500 per year.”

To get to this level of animal care, has come with a lot of hard work.

“We started helping animal services in 2010,” Eleanor O’Donnell, one of the founding members of the group, said.

“We’ve evolved. We used to do many things but decided to concentrate on just a couple. We do a spay/neuter program. We have helped with the black bears at the conservation district. We support service dogs. One gal said she was afraid to go out. Then she got a dog and now she goes everywhere.”

There have been other success stories accredited to the Animal Friends Society of Boone County as well.

“One man came in, ‘My daughter says I need a cat. I don’t need a cat.’ A couple weeks later, to hear him tell it, that cat is the smartest cat who ever lived. The cat provides him the company he needed,” O’Donnell said.

“We got a dog, Bubba, who looked very sad. We show ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos of him to people and hear, ‘That’s not the same dog.’ Six months of medicine, care, food, and training, and Bubba is sitting up, alert and happy. He just needed a little time and care and he has become a service dog.”

Since there have been so many success stories, the Animal Friends Society of Boone County wanted to focus on spaying and neutering animals, so the animal populations don’t get out of control, which means less domestic animals will be left out on the streets to fend for themselves.

“The Animal Friends have a spay and neuter program for feral cats and barn cats, Cherie Bartlet said. “We also provide dog and cat food for the Boone County Food Pantry. We have small donation collection boxes in businesses around town. They look like dog houses.”

The Animal Friends Society could always use more help.

“It’s an all volunteer organization. We are looking for more volunteers,” Bartlet said. “We meet once a month for programs in the lower level of the Belvidere Township Building, on the third Thursday at 6:30 p.m. We’d love to have everyone and anyone join us.”

The Animal Friend’s Society is able to continue their efforts thanks to the generous donations of local businesses and organizations.

The Acoustic Millennial Band performed at the dance. The Flower Bin provided flowers for each table.

Mrs. Fisher’s Chips, Party Animals, and the UAW Local 1208 Women’s Committee provided food for dinner and raffle items.

For more information, go to: www.animalfriendsbc.org.