Rescue group in need of foster volunteers
When San Juan Bautista residents found four two-week-old kittens
stuffed into a plastic bag, they knew where to take them.
Volunteers and staff members of All Creatures Great and Small
Animal Rescue, Inc., were already gathered on San Benito Street for
a pet fair during the 21st Annual Hollister Festival and Car
Show.
Rescue group in need of foster volunteers
When San Juan Bautista residents found four two-week-old kittens stuffed into a plastic bag, they knew where to take them. Volunteers and staff members of All Creatures Great and Small Animal Rescue, Inc., were already gathered on San Benito Street for a pet fair during the 21st Annual Hollister Festival and Car Show.
Vivian Kennedy and other volunteers were on hand to take in the tiny kittens. So small they fit in the palm of one’s hand, the kittens needed an immediate meal of goat’s milk. Volunteers washed fleas off the animals. The parasites can cause many health problems for tiny animals, from anemia to intestinal issues.
The next step for the rescuers was to find a family that would take the kittens home until they are old enough to be spayed or neutered, have their vaccinations and are ready to be adopted into a permanent home.
“The number one thing we need right now is foster homes,” said Kennedy, who founded the rescue organization, “Someone who wants to take a dog into their home to be part of their family, and also for cats or kittens.”
At one point the group had as many as 13 foster homes, but as some families have moved out of state the numbers have dwindled.
Another need for the group is transportation. When shelters become overcrowded and All Creatures doesn’t have volunteers to take in animals locally, they set up caravans to get the animals to other rescue groups or shelters – some as far away as Tahoe.
“We had a caravan a couple weeks ago to Washington state for a dog,” Kennedy said.
The organization also needs help caring for feral cats, something they do in an attempt to control the number of abandoned kittens, such as the ones found last weekend.
Caring for such young kittens, whose eyes were just opening, is a round the clock job. The kittens must be bottle fed every two hours and need help with eliminating after meals.
“They need to be feed every three hours at that age,” Kennedy said. “It’s no different than a mother feeding a baby, except you don’t have diapers. It’s a commitment and something you have to commit to for a period of at least a minimum of up to five weeks.”
In addition to the basic care, the kittens will need to be socialized so they are comfortable around people when it comes time to be adopted.
Hollister residents Mary and John Szpara stepped up to the challenge, offering to take the kittens home with them. When the kittens are old enough, the rescue group will make them available for adoption. The adoption fees for dogs and kittens range from about $140 – 200, but the fee includes their spay/neuter, shots to date, deworming, mircochipping and a vet check up. Cats are also tested for Feline Leukemia and dogs are tested for heartworm.
“The best thing I can tell the public is to spay and neuter [their pets],” Kennedy said. “You know what the best thing I could hear would be? That there were not going to be any more [abandoned] puppies or kittens out there.”
How to help
Creatures Great and Small Animal Rescue are always looking for more volunteers or donations of money or supplies. For more information, call 636-7559 or visit www.allcreaturesgs.org.
