A trio of South Cariboo women have come together to form the Guardian of the Animals this spring.
Made up of Gisele Poliseno, Maurene Adams and Elizabeth Christensen the group aims to help pet owners in need pay the cost to spay and neuter their cats and dogs. All three women are former volunteers with the BC SPCA and wanted to help meet a need in the community.
"What we've decided, the three of us, is that we wanted to start up something that will be able to help out with the spay and neuter program in 100 Mile House," Poliseno explained. "The SPCA, since last April, is no (longer) supporting the low-cost spay and neuter programs in B.C. We decided last year that maybe we should look at doing something like that just to be able to assist with some of our residents that are not able to afford the full cost of spay and neuter."
Poliseno said she, Adams and Christensen have worked together for many years volunteering with the 100 Mile House BC SPCA. While they never had a shelter like the Williams Lake SPCA, they were able to help run the old spay and neuter program, man the local hotline and take in puppies and kittens through the use of foster homes. The number remains active but is no longer actively monitored.
Since the SPCA's official support for the low-cost spay and neuter program was pulled, the trio has been looking at ways to fund the service locally. Christensen noted it was a program that seemed to have been working well before the SPCA ended it province-wide.
"There are so many people who love their animals but for various reasons, they just don't have the income (to spay and neuter)," Christensen said.
Poliseno agreed with Christensen that the cost is a barrier for some pet owners. She added sometimes people will have to find new homes for their pets or will have to deal with unexpected litters of puppies and kittens.
Not spaying and neutering pets can also unintentionally contribute to the feral population of a community, especially when it comes to cats. Feral cats have long been a persistent issue in the South Cariboo with colonies propagating themselves in part thanks to non-neutered and spayed pet cats who breed with the wild cats.
"It's definitely a problem. People move and leave their animals and then they aren't spayed and neutered. The SPCA, at one time, did provide a service where they would pay the full amount to spay or neuter feral cats," Christensen said. "I don't know if we're willing to go into that right now."
The three have set up an account with Lakeland Veterinary Clinic where they'll begin to stockpile donations and money made from fundraisers. This will then be used to assist those with financial troubles to spay and neuter their animals with the Guardian of the Animals paying up to 50 per cent of the cost. Adams, who got her cat Baroness spayed recently, said the cost to spay and neuter a cat is around $400 for females and less for males to be neutered.
Poliseno explained they'll have a form at Lakeland Veterinary Clinic applicants will be able to fill out. Applicants will have to provide them with a copy of their income tax so the group can confirm they need the financial assistance.
"It's just for cats and dogs. No pigs or anything else," Adams remarked with a chuckle. "They have had (pigs) done before."
To help fund this project, Adams said they have purchased a table at the South Cariboo Farmers Market on Friday, May 9 outside the 100 Mile House Community Hall. They'll be running a bake sale and selling pansies planted in teacups, all available by donation. Depending on how it goes she said they may attend the market throughout the summer and run multiple bake sales.
Christensen said people could also donate directly to their account at Lakeland Veterinary Clinic. However, because they are not a registered charity or a non-profit, she said they cannot issue tax receipts.
"If someone came up with a fundraising idea, we'd be more than open to it," Poliseno said. "This is new for us, it's like a trial and error right now. Hopefully, we'll be able to get this up and running and assist anyone who needs it."
Anyone looking to volunteer or donate is invited to reach out to Poliseno at 250-395-9082 , Adams at 250-395-4879 and Christensen at 250-706-9405 or lizandthecats6@gmail.com.
"It's like the show I just watched, Four Old Broads, but this is the Three Old Broads," Adams quipped with a laugh.
