Animals find out that yes, somebody loves them during shelter’s open house

By Owen Boss

GARDNER — In an attempt to raise money for the increasing number of animals the volunteers at the Gardner Animal Control Facility have to care for, the Community Animal Rescue Effort hosted an open house Saturday, and provided guests the opportunity to find some abandoned animals new homes. The facility is maintained through the C.A.R.E, which is a nonprofit group of Gardner area citizens established in cooperation with the city to care for the stray, abandoned and abused companion animals through offering temporary refuge. Virginia Foresman, a coordinator of the event, said that the focus of the open house wasn’t necessarily to get all of the shelter’s animals into new homes, but to raise money so that they can provide adequate care. “When animals have been left abandoned and homeless, we get calls from the animal control officer, and when the animal comes here we provide them with the care that they need, and we are raising money today for that reason,” said Ms. Foresman. “If these animals aren’t claimed before a certain amount of time they go up for adoption.” According to Ms. Foresman, the facility holds several fundraising events every year, but because of the increasing number of animals they have to shelter, events like this one will need to happen more and more often. “We have been seeing our numbers rising significantly due to the economic crisis that we are in,” said Ms. Foresman. “We currently have 15 cats and six dogs here, and we have to provide them with any medical care they need which means if they need shots when they come in, we offer regular check-ups and neutering.” The event found one lucky dog a new home when a young couple pulled off the road and welcomed a new member to their family. Lindsae Coy said that she and her boyfriend hadn’t planned on getting a dog that day, but thanks to the open house she found the companion she was looking for. “We really were just driving by and we weren’t actually planning on getting a dog but we saw the sign and decided we would come in and look at them,” said Ms. Coy. “We are moving and we wanted a yellow lab and he just seems very calm and cute, not crazy like some other dogs.” oboss@thegardnernews.com

Appeared on Page 1 on 6/30/2008 (Vol. 206 No. 154)