You might be the kind of family that had a gift under the tree for the family dog – or dogs – or the cats, birds, ferrets or whatever your pets. Well another way to honor animals might be to consider their welfare and their value in your holiday or year-end charitable giving. The Central New York S-P-C-A uses donations and bequests to provide medical care for animals and a safe haven for those abandoned or mistreated. The agency also does animal cruelty investigations.
You might have heard recent news about the S-P-C-A because an ex Director is accused of stealing more than half-a-million dollars from the organization along with two other employees...and they’re trying to recoup some of those funds.
Paws of C-N-Y uses animals to help people. Board President Jessica Marabella says they’ve found pets can have healing powers.
“We now that there are benefits to having positive interactions with animals. We know that they can cheer us up. They lower blood pressure. They can make you active. They can calm people’s anxiety. There are so many benefits to interacting with a pet.”
Paws of C-N-Y has also discovered a different kind of benefit...since dogs are good listeners.
“We bring pets to libraries and schools to give younger kids an opportunity to practice reading, to a pet who’s obviously not judging their pronunciation or their ability to read. So that’s a little bit of a different program.”
PAWS stands for Pet Assisted Wellness Services...and they provide their therapy, reading and other services in Onondaga and four other counties. Much of their work is done through volunteers.
Skanda Farms serves as a rescue organization for horses and other farm animals. The group took in the 14 wild horses back in 2013...and has since cared for geese and other waterfowl, goats and other animals. Ellen Beckerman says animals need help for a variety of reasons.
“We have some really sad, unfortunate cases where there’s cruelty involved. But most of the cases are very loving, well-intentioned animal owners who have a decline in their ability to care for their animals. That could be horse owners who fall on the ice and break their hip in the winter and can no longer get to the barn. It can be divorce, sudden unemployment, or illness.”
The farm is known as “The Haven at Skanda.” Owner Marion Secor also uses the animals for therapeutic and educational purposes. Donations support the care of animals ...they also run Horses for the Holidays accepting grooming and veterinary services. So a chew bone or scratching post is a nice gift for an animal...a donation to an animal non-profit also carries with it some holiday cheer.
