Open day raises funds for SPCA
The Colson Road animal shelter is opening its doors to invite people in too - for a day.
North Taranaki SPCA is preparing to host its Open Day, a major fundraiser, on Sunday, February 26, from 10am - 2pm.
The big day out was designed to give the public a little more insight into what the organisation do, with a highlight of the day set to be the hands-on petting zoo.
‘‘The open day is always a fabulous day which gives people who may not usually visit the SPCA a chance to look around. The kids always have a fabulous time,’’ said SPCA spokeswoman Jackie Poles-Smith.
The family affair has a host of other fun things on offer for the entire family including; a bouncy castle, face painting, cake stalls, raffles and a sausage sizzle.
The animal shelter strives to find the best match between their furry orphans and potential new owners and Poles-Smith said the gold coin event helped to raise money for their animals.
‘‘Best of all lots of them find new homes.’’
With 90 percent of homeless animals that needed foster homes being kittens and mother cats, Poles-Smith said this time of year there were a lot of little kittens being born, which meant volunteers were kept extremely busy caring for them.
She said money raised went some way towards de-sexing the felines to reduce the number of kittens around.
Each year the North Taranaki SPCA provides care to almost 2000 animals, and it is not simply the newborns who arrive at the centre.
It is a 24-hour emergency service that responds to a raft of complaints for multiple reasons including neglect, abuse, lost or stray, and unwanted animals.
The list of what the charity organisation do to care for animals in the community goes on - and on, but there are a raft of ways people could help to ease there work load and costs.
People could adopt a pet, de-sex and microchip their own pets, contact the SPCA if you are concerned that an animal is not being well treated or neglected.
In terms of the Open Day, the volunteer team would be be appreciative to those people who could help supply some yummy baking for the cake stall, which in turn will also go directly to their four-legged friends.
If you are interested in helping out please contact the centre on np.spca@xtra.co.nz or 06 758 2035.