Henderson, Louisiana: Meeting 12/9/2009 St. Martin Parish Animal Shelter Support Team Meeting

From: St Martin Parish Adoption <stmartinparishadoption@yahoo.com>

On Sat, Dec 5, 2009 at 11:07 PM, St Martin Parish Adoption wrote:

Please spread the word. We would like for this to a very fruitful event. Please forward to everyone you know. I hope to see you there.

Monique E. Louvier

Animal Control Coordinator

---

From: jeff dorson [mailto:stopcruelty11@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 03, 2009 11:39 AM
To: jeff dorson
Subject: Support Group Forms to Aid Local Animal Shelter

News Release: For Immediate Use
Contact Person: Jeff Dorson (901-268-4432)
Director, Humane Society of Louisiana

GROUP FORMS TO AID PARISH ANIMAL SHELTER

( Breaux Bridge , LA ) -- The Humane Society of Louisiana hopes to establish a shelter support group that will aid in the operations of the St. Martin Parish Animal Shelter and raise funds for additional supplies and equipment. A few other larger parishes, such as Jefferson Parish, have similar support groups that complement the shelter's work, but very few shelters the size of St. Martin's have one in place.

"We are impressed with the work of both Monique Louvier, Coordinator of the St. Martin Shelter and Dr. Amy Cangelosi, the shelter's part-time veterinarian, and we want to develop a community-based support group that will assist their efforts. It seems as though these two dedicated workers. along with Mr. John Ivanhoff, another hard-working employee, are doing the work of half a dozen people each and every day. They clean the shelter on a routine basis, medicate sickly animals, complete in-take procedures, oversee the adoption of animals, educate the public on the legal and ethical responsibilities of pet owners, assist law enforcement personnel on cruelty investigations, perform euthanasia, pick-up stray animals and respond to virtually every call placed to their shelter. They are our modern-day Three Musketeers," says Jeff Dorson, Executive Director of the Humane Society of Louisiana.

"I estimate that six to eight people are required to keep up with this workload, but the shelter's budget, which is barely more than $125,000 a year, won't allow for the hiring of additional workers. So, our solution to this problem is to provide dedicated volunteers who can help in and around the shelter, teach humane education in the schools, and develop and manage a successful off-site adoption and foster care program. By developing this support system, I think that this shelter can maintain and possibly expand its programs and services, without incurring any additional costs to the parish.. Our group will host the first organizational meeting in order to review our goals and set up some basic training classes in the near future. Our second focus will be to help develop some on-going fund raising plans and goals, so that the support team can purchase shelter supplies, equipment, and medicine that are sometimes in short supply," adds Dorson.

With more than 10,000 supporters, the Humane Society of Louisiana is one of the state's largest and oldest animal advocacy organizations. The group is based out of New Orleans and has six chapters throughout the state. For more information, please visit their website at www.humanela.org or call 1-888-6-humane.

What: Formation of St. Martin Parish Animal Shelter Support Team

When: Wednesday, December 9th, from 6: 30 to 8: 00 pm.

Where: City of Henderson Recreation Center , 1007 Amy Street , next to Henderson City Hall .