President’s Report

2006 was an amazing year for our society. Not only did we exceed our goal of altering 500 cats and dogs but we also found new homes for 185 cats and kittens, [all spayed/neutered and tattooed or, in the case of very young kittens, with certificates covering the total cost of those procedures]. We paid for veterinary care for approximately 50 stray and low income family pets and, sadly, for the euthanasia of 30 hopelessly injured or ill animals.

As I flip through my 2006 engagement calendar I relive some sad memories. I remember Lois and Billy, for instance. Lois phoned in tears because Billy had not eaten for three days and she was sure he was in a lot of pain. Since her only income is a disability pension, Lois could not possibly afford to have her cat examined by a vet. While I drove her to Crescent Falls Veterinary Hospital, Lois told me that she had lost her only son to cancer two years ago. Billy had been his cat and, because of that, was doubly precious to her. When Dr. Ringness examined Billy it was obvious that he, too, was terminally ill with cancer. All we were able to do was to help Lois end Billy’s suffering by paying for his euthanasia.

But there are more good memories than sad ones. Brutus and his mother, Lizzie, were living in a pile of junk behind the Capri Motel in Enderby. Poor Lizzie had a horribly injured eye and Brutus was terrified of humans. Lizzie was spayed, had her eye removed and was adopted by a Crescent Falls staff member. Brutus, now known as Jake, was adopted just before Christmas and has discovered that some people are very loveable and not at all frightening.

We are a VERY busy organization. One day just before Christmas we received 45 phone calls, not counting the many daily calls taken by Margaret for the Lost & Found Cat Registry. Thanks to YOUR support and the wonderfully generous discounts given us by Creekside Animal Clinic and Crescent Falls Veterinary Hospital we are able to help most of our callers solve their animal problems. North Okanagan animals are very lucky to have all of us – vets, volunteers and donors - working on their behalf.

Fundraisers

Collectables Sale . Once again we culled the more valuable items donated to the garage sales. Director Pat Kirschner sorted and priced them. The August sale at Polson Place brought in a record $1 900!

Canine Capers. About 50 dogs and their families attended our third annual fun day on September 8 to compete in the Iron Dog Triathlon. Jean Boysen put the competitors through a version of Rally O, while Robert Pettit administered a hilarious IQ test and Heather Pettit conducted a chaotic mass recall. There were lots of prizes – each dog handler received an engraved dog bone shaped key ring donated by U * String * It Bead & Button Shop in Polson Place Mall - and a great barbecue organized by Laurie Johnson and Sandi Slizak. When the day was over and the dogs had gone home with their Darford’s loot bags we had $750 more in our spay/neuter fund.

Fall Garage & Garden Sale . We had so much donated after our spring garage sale that we were able to hold another sale which, combined with donated plants, raised $2,100.

Book Sale Our October Book Sale at Polson Place Mall topped $2,000 – a record breaker for us.

Christmas Bake & Craft Sale at the Village Green Mall brought in $1,073 in one day. Bunny’s gourmet jams and jellies and Lucy’s pickles and relishes were a big hit.

Christmas On A Budget Sale . This is a popular sale. In 2004 it brought in $300; in 2005 we were thrilled to make $1 000; In 2006 we made almost $2 000, an astounding total.

Photos with Santa . Santa, alias Ken Barker, and photographer Beth Wilson put in a long day on December 9. Close to 100 dogs attended our fundraiser sponsored by Complete Pet Mart which generously provided draw prizes, hot chocolate, and treats for both dogs and humans, as well as a beautiful setting for the photos. Newfies, chihuahuas and even a few brave cats posed with Santa and by the end of the day donations totaled $860.

Calendars . We returned to selling calendars this year, using a commercial product. The cost and time involved in producing our own didn’t warrant the money earned. We still have a few left. Let us know if you would like one or come to the Open House at Crescent Falls Veterinary Hospital on January 27 (see below). The calendars have been discounted to $3.00 each.

Crescent Falls Veterinary Hospital Grand Opening

Dr Kristina Ringness has been very generous with the massive discounts she has given us. Without her help and the help of Creekside Animal Clinic we would not have been able to alter nearly as many animals. We are pleased and proud to be featured at the grand opening of her gorgeous new clinic at 2800 45 th Avenue. Open House will be held on Jan. 27 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. We shall be featuring our cats for adoption and promoting the launch of Spay Days 2007. Come out to see the new building, meet Kristina’s new partner, Trinity Smith DVM, pick up a calendar and some raffle tickets for a lovely cat shaped quilt – a great gift for a child, grandchild, your cats or yourself. The quilt, created by Teresa Olson, also makes a beautiful wall hanging. See you there.

The Shelter Cats and Our Virtual Shelter .

With the sudden resignation of Hazel Turchinetz last October, the board appealed to those of you with e-mail addresses for help placing the 28 cats Hazel was sheltering in her husband’s workshop. Several of you found homes and Director Laurie Johnson and volunteer Beth Gibson put together a great ad with pictures of all the cats and their individual stories. They also got a sponsor for each picture and the money raised more than covered publication costs. It was a great success. We are happy to report that the last 3 cats from Hazel’s were adopted in early January. We now use a Virtual Shelter and individual foster homes which website operator Laurie Johnson describes below:

It has been nearly one year since I volunteered to work on the VDACS web site.

Since then I have not just added photos to the site but have also added new galleries, including the VDACS Fundraiser gallery where people can view pictures of recent fundraisers, and find out what fundraisers are coming up.

I have also added a community gallery. This is for people who need to find a new home for their pet. They can send me a picture and info and I will post it in this gallery. So far we have had a two for two-success rate. But we now have two more looking for homes: Pricot whose owner has gone into a senior’s facility and Paw who is 13 years old. Paws and his owner have moved to a home where he has to be indoors only, and his owner is suffering from allergies.

The third gallery I started is called New Beginnings in Forever Homes. This gallery has pictures of cats that have been adopted from VDACS in their new forever homes. I just started this month but the pictures are coming in. We have pictures of Rita (now Ruthie) who was adopted last year. Also there is Jake (formerly known as Brutus) a little guy who didn’t want to leave his foster home, but finally the right family came along and, as his picture in the gallery shows, is very very happy.

My top priority will always be to find good and loving home for our feline friends. The more people who know about the site the better chance our foster cats and kittens have at finding that purrrfect home.

We seem to have a fairly good adoption rate with cats mostly being on the web site for only a couple of months.

So if you hear of anyone who’s looking for a cat or kitten please send them to: www.vernonanimalcare.com

Ed.Note: Director Laurie Johnson can be reached via e-mail: ladybuglaurie@shaw.ca

Winter Carnival Parade

Director Marti Giroux is organizing a float for the parade. Mounted on a truck belonging to Doug Kirschner of Hap’s Midtown Service, our “Cats” float will get our spay/neuter message out to a very large cross section of the population.

The Road Ahead

1. We plan to repeat or exceed the 500 spay/neuters we achieved this year.

2. An important part of population control is dealing with feral colonies. Three new ones in Vernon have been brought to our attention near Polson Place, the Prestige Inn and Floorco [behind Canadian Tire]. We have a “fleet” of six humane traps which are in constant demand. This year we will apply to the Community Foundation of the North Okanagan for a grant to purchase more.

In Memoriam Donations

VDACS has gratefully received the following donations in memory of beloved friends and companions:

Audrey Brennan Susie Dodd Daphne Rangen Louella Emelie Schram “Maico” “Sophie”	Muriel Williams John and Deborrah Janzen Carole Berg McAllister, Yosh Nadrozny, the Bay Social Club, Jean Page, Steve and Jean Halowski, Mary Dantzer, Elaine Rutschke Betty Shumay Joan Salt Lesley Bartram
In honour of Jan Bigelow John and Deborrah Janzen

We have also been honoured by bequests from the estates of Molly Peters and Irene Gallacher.

Upcoming Events

Saturday, Jan. 27, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Crescent Falls Grand Opening at 2800 45 th Avenue

Saturday, Feb. 3, 12 noon Winter Carnival Parade Watch for our float!

Tuesday, March 13, 7 p.m. Annual General Meeting People Place

Saturday, March 31, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Spring Bake Sale Polson Place Mall

Thank You Cards To:

Complete Pet Mart for hosting our Santa Photos and donating food for our cats.

Petland for adopting out many of our cats, organizing a food drive for the kitties and selling our calendars.

Armstrong Vet Clinic, Creekside Animal Clinic, Crescent Falls Animal Hospital,Hunter’s Store, Roots ’88 Hairstyling and Vernon Veterinary Clinic for selling our calendars.

Laurie and Rosemary Johnson , June Willetts [ Penticton ] and Muriel Williams [ Penticton ] for making hundreds of catnip mice to benefit our spay/neuter program.

Teresa Barker for her beautiful by donation draw baskets and for making a beautiful Santa suit for her husband, Ken, to wear for the Santa photos. [Thanks for lending us Ken, too!]

Dagny Nadeau for her huge donations of cat food.

All our members and supporters It goes without saying that what we can do depends on the amount of donations we receive. Last year your support saved many lives – both now and in the future. Please consider using the attached form to renew your membership and/or make a donation.