SIDNEY — SCARF (Shelby County Animal Rescue Foundation) celebrated its seventh year of organization in 2019.
SCARF’s mission is to raise funds to support the Shelby County Animal Shelter in safe adoptions, education & community outreach concerning abused and neglected animals, medical procedures, eliminating euthanasia of adoptable animals, and maintaining best practices.
“SCARF works to assist the employees of the Shelby County Animal Shelter in their efforts to care for dogs and cats in the Shelter. In 2019 SCARF contributed over $1500 for immunizations, $17,000 for vet care, and $4300 for TNR services and facilitated the collection of donations consisting of food, blankets, treats, toys, cleaning supplies, etc,” said Julie Ehemann, SCARF vice president and Shelby County Commissioner.
Her report coninues:
SCARF volunteers assisted the Shelter employees with their spay/neuter clinics and low-cost vaccination clinics providing services to over 50 local pets. Volunteers also helped to groom and exercise shelter dogs to keep them more sociable and active.
SCARF conducted adoption drives on behalf of the Shelter at PetValu and at Lochard’s Hardware. SCARF also assisted people in finding adoptable pets via support of the Animal Shelter’s adoption process and the utilization of www.petfinder.com. With SCARF’s help, the Shelby County Animal Shelter had over 94 percent of dogs coming into the shelter adopted or re-united with their owners. 2 percent were transferred to rescue centers throughout the United States or remain waiting for adoption leaving the euthanasia rate at less than 4 percent qualifying the Shelby County Animal Shelter the designation of a “no-kill” shelter.
Various fundraisers were conducted this past year including Walk to End Parvo, Cans for Canines and Felines, Dimes for Dogs and Cats, Top Dog Calendar Contest, the Top Cat Contest, and the Lip-Sync Battle.
The Shelby County Animal Shelter and SCARF, along with support from the City of Sidney, continued a TNR clinic (trap-neuter-return) program using SCARF volunteers to trap cats at pre-determined locations with a mobile Veterinarian unit utilized to perform spay and neuter procedures before the cats are returned to their neighborhoods. Cats are given rabies vaccinations and are given health exams while at the clinic. Seven clinics were scheduled in 2019 resulting in the seizure of 207 cats to be altered. Plans are in place for twelve clinics in 2020.
In November, SCARF and the County celebrated the long-awaited grand-opening of the new animal shelter named the Bob Sargeant & Family Animal Shelter and Adoption Center. Freytag and Associates developed the plans with the advice of Shelter Planners of America while Westerheide Construction were the builders. Support from the community with donations over $2.4 million helped to make this state of the art facility a reality.
SCARF is pleased to support an educational program called PEP! (Pet Education Project). Utilizing the PEP! curriculum, SCARF volunteers and shelter employees help children learn the proper way to care for animals with the tag-line “Be Cool, Not Cruel.” The PEP! program reached over 400 Shelby County youth in 2019 with various talks and activities, and we hope to continue expanding this program in 2020.
SCARF volunteers are extremely grateful for the continued support they have received from the community, and efforts will continue in 2020 to support the needs of animals in Shelby County.
SCARF would like you to “like” their FACEBOOK page so you can follow their activities or find out more at www.helpshelbycountyanimals.com
