Staff member hosts ‘fun-raiser’ for animals at Houston SPCA
Through no fault of their own, some will be spending this holiday season alone in a cage with nothing but the fur on their backs. One full-time UHCL staff member is extending the spirit of giving to the animals at the Houston SPCA with a Cause for Paws “fun-raiser.”
Bansari Moffe, international secretary for the Office of International Admissions and Programs, is making sure the animals at the Houston SPCA are feeling the love this holiday season by collecting toys, treats, blankets and bedding. Anyone wanting to donate items can drop them off in the donation bin, set up outside the Office of International Admissions and Programs located in Bayou Building Room 2123, through Dec. 14. Moffe asks that no rawhide bones or chews be donated as the Houston SPCA cannot accept them.
Moffe and her husband, Anthony, a project manager for Drake Controls, will personally deliver the collected items the weekend after the drive closes so the animals can enjoy their new toys and beds by Christmas.
The Moffe’s were inspired to give back to animals who are still waiting for their forever homes by the unconditional love their Siberian Husky, Emi, shows them daily.
“My husband and I are fortunate enough to be able to provide for her a warm, comfortable home with as many treats, toys, blankets and love that she can handle in return for the unconditional love that she showers us with, day in and day out,” Bansari Moffe said.
The Moffe’s decided that instead of buying each other gifts for Christmas, they would extend that love to the animals at the Houston SPCA.
“We are taking the money we would have spent on those gifts to provide the animals with the joy of play, the delight of treats and the comfort of a warm bed,” Bansari Moffe said.
The Houston SPCA is the city’s largest animal protection organization and shelter. The Houston SPCA services include sheltering, admissions, adoption, cruelty investigations, found animals, disaster relief, etc.
Those who want to help but cannot donate material items or money are encouraged to make a commitment to donate time as a volunteer.
“The act of simply walking a dog or cuddling with a cat can enrich their day,” said Kerry McKeel, director of communications for the Houston SPCA.
Because of the amount of training required, the Houston SPCA does not offer one-time volunteer opportunities for individuals.
McKeel also suggests fostering an animal during the holidays as a way of giving back if adopting is not an option at this time.
“Temporarily fostering an animal can give them a nice vacation from the shelter and the opportunity to experience a home during the holidays,” McKeel said.
The Houston SPCA provides foster training and covers all expenses associated with caring for a foster animal, including feeding and medical expenses.
To find out more information about the Houston SPCA and ways to volunteer visit their website at http://www.houstonspca.org.
Straight from the SPCA:
“No, but we have no time limits and we do not euthanize animals for lack of space. We are a managed intake shelter. We do, however, euthanize animals for aggression and for untreatable and/or contagious illnesses based upon available treatment space and SPCA of Texas policies.
Once a reservation is secured, an animal will not be turned away because of looks, breed or non-contagious, treatable health conditions based upon available treatment space and SPCA of Texas policies. The only factors that determine whether an animal is adoptable are the results of the health and behavior evaluations.”
These seem like quite reasonable exceptions, if any exceptions are allowed.
It is awful what people do to animals, and many turn a blind eye to it. They do not take proper steps to address their part in the equation. Many treat pets as… well.. stuffed toys. Not as living creatures.
I have dogs. I take my dogs out in public. I take my dogs to dog park. I have been in many situations where people (who may very well have good intentions) bring dogs that are aggressive, or seem to otherwise have problems getting along with other dogs. I should NOT have to worry about that while I am in public. My dogs do not do that. If my dog did, I wouldn’t bring it places.
You cannot reason with a pet. You can’t explain it manners at some point in it’s life. Abnormally aggressive dogs should be removed from the gene pool. Aggressive behavior is generally caused by two factors. Environment and genetics. Some breeds are more prone to this behavior because their lineage as they have been SPECIFICALLY bred for these traits.
I don’t care why a dog is aggressive, I don’t want other people owning it. I shouldn’t not fear for my animals, my family, because someone else adopted an animal that exhibits abnormally aggressive tendencies.
Stop with the hippy nonsense. The end game of the SPCA is to get an animal adopted. To suggest they accept pets with the idea of offing them when it’s inconvenient is either disingenuous or ignorant.
The SPCA is a non-profit. Many of the folks there are volunteers. I know a few that have even adopted animals while being “employed” there. Any one of us could be a non-profit. Any one of us could take home one of these animals and give it a home. Feed it, shelter it, care for it. All at our expense, our time.
If the poster above isn’t actively adopting or sheltering/fostering these otherwise “death row animals” and simply virtue signaling by trashing the SPCA, he/she is doing a disservice to stray/surrendered animals. This problem is not fixing it self by talking about it.
Go adopt. Give a pet a home.
As this reader is so adamant about the Houston SPCA killing animals, I would presume that you would have adopted a pet to have “one less” facing a possible fate. Why not support those who are trying to do good and if people didn’t let animals loose they wouldn’t end up in shelters. Shelters, in general, only euthanize pets that cannot be adopted for ill health. These shelters do the best they can which appears to be more than the reader. Why not put the blame on the people who let animals loose; after all, aren’t they the ones who are really causing the problem. Shelters do their best to help and the local shelter which is getting these donations, have a good reputation for not euthanizing animals. Let’s keep a positive spin on this and not do the “bah humbug” approach.
“The Houston SPCA is the city’s largest animal protection organization and shelter” NOT TRUE. It is not protection nor sheltering when a facility KILLS the vast majority of animals entering their doors.
I’m glad these 2 people are kind hearted and are working to help animals, but they really need to research before donating to some “shelters” in Houston. There are 5 so-called shelters in Houston who, together, KILL around 80,000 pets every year. The Houston SPCA is one of those high kill shelters. Even though they can say no to intakes when they are full, they keep taking in animals and they keep KILLING them. This is NOT sheltering.
In fact, former employees have reporte that many donated items don’t go to the animals, but end up in storage. Apparently, some employees find it more work to give the animals these these donated items, so they just don’t. And, if you donate money, that money could very well be used to buy the “blue juice” i.e. poisons that they use to kill animals.
Please research before you donate. There are a lot of good No Kill rescue groups who could use these items as well. The rescues pull animals from death row in kill shelters like the Houston SPCA. There is also Friends For Life, Houston’s largest No Kill shelter. They save animals from death row as well and take those animals that many kill shelters like Houston SPCA, would just kill because they require a little more work to adopt out.
Support the NO KILL shelters and rescues. Stop supporting killing of pets.