AAARF! donations are needed to help more abused animals
The Allegheny Abused Animal Relief Fund, better known as AAARF!, started with Cookie, a red-nosed pit bull with a sad face and battle-scarred body.
Cookie had been a champion fighting dog and at first glance, looked tough and menacing. When he appeared at a December 2000 news conference at the Allegheny County Courthouse, more than one observer nervously asked, “Does he bite?”
Cookie’s biting and fighting days were over, and he charmed everyone by licking faces and wagging his short, crooked tail.
District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. and Allegheny County Treasurer John K. Weinstein held the news conference to announce the formation of AAARF! to help Cookie and other animals that were neglected or abused.
In the first seven days, people donated $5,524. In the last 18 years, animal lovers have donated more than $1.3 million to help defray the veterinary bills of thousands of animals.
Cookie, whose photo still appears on AAARF! literature, made frequent public appearances at home shows, dog shows and other venues before he died at age 17 in 2011.
Now members of the AAARF! board are making a special pitch for more donations.
“We are very low-tech,” said Point Breeze veterinarian Larry Gerson, who has been on the board since the beginning.
AAARF! has no Facebook page. Donations are solicited on a pamphlet that accompanies the yearly dog license applications mailed to 100,000 dog owners by the county treasurer.
The average AAARF! collection is $80,000 to $90,000 per year, but that number has declined a bit in recent years, while the vet bills of abused animals continue to rise, board members said in a recent sitdown interview.
Originally AAARF! funds went to three shelters: Animal Friends, Animal Rescue League and Western Pennsylvania Humane Society. The latter two have since merged to become Humane Animal Rescue. David Swisher, president and CEO of Animal Friends, serves on the AAARF! board along with Dan Rossi, CEO of Humane Animal Rescue.
In recent years, smaller rescues have been added to the list of recipients, including Homeless Cat Management Team and its sister organization, Pittsburgh C.A.T., which had over $23,000 in medical expenses in 2018. They’re represented on the AAARF! board by Mary
Kennedy Withrow.
Here are some currentday recipients of AAARF! funds:
• A Shih Tzu-mix was a stray on the streets of the North Side when he was brought to Humane Animal Rescue with matted fur, infected ears and a severe medical condition that robbed him of his eyesight and caused great pain. Both eyes were removed and he spent many months recovering in a foster home. He is now named Elton and lives happily with his new adopted family, which includes a female Shih Tzu.
• When a cat was spotted with his head stuck in a jar, Homeless Cat Management Team volunteers trapped him and took him to a vet. After the jar was removed, he was found to be dehydrated and underweight and needed IV fluids. The vet bill for the cat they called Binks was $154.42, but other cats have had vet bills as high as $3,179. Binks made a full recovery and was adopted.
• Animal Friends received a complaint about a dog with a huge tumor who was having trouble walking. When the owner refused to get veterinary care, the shelter legally confiscated the dog and paid $2,953 to have a 3-pound tumor removed. Blue Pixie was adopted several weeks later.
Donations can be mailed to AAARF!, P.O. Box 1611, Pittsburgh 15230-1611. At the Duquesne Light Home & Garden Show on March 1-10, representatives from the Allegheny County treasurer’s office will be selling dog licenses and accepting donations in the Pets at Home area on the first floor of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
To report animal abuse or neglect, call humane investigation officers at Animal Friends at 412-847-7066 or Humane Animal Rescue at 412-345-7300 ext. 245.
For an emergency that requires immediate response, call 911 and report where the abuse is happening. Police officers have the power to investigate animal cases.