Monthly Archives: December 2010

These pictures come a little late, as Jason’s been busy trekking dogs through the snow in Queens and I’ve been up north doing the family thing for the holidays.  But without further ado, here are a few photos Jason was able to snap off while we volunteered at the Whiskers in Wonderland event, hosted by the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals.  We spent a little time helping Sean Casey Animal Rescue get set up, which is where I met Butterfly.  I don’t see her listed on the adoption page any more, so I’m going to assume she found her forever home. Congratulations to her new owners, that cat was a gem!  I also worked a bit with Buffy, a sweet black kitty with funny little fangs-don’t let her goofy pictures fool you, she looks much more like a cat than a bat!

Although the event was primarily for small pet adoptions, a few select pooches were invited to make an appearance. I had the pleasure of walking Miss Co Co, and Jason had this handsome guy named Bear.  It was a fun and rewarding day, with lots of folks leaving the building with pet carriers.

Next weekend the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals will be hosting an adoption extravaganza at the Metropolitan Pavillion in Manhattan. Jason and I will be volunteering from 10am-3pm on Saturday (and maybe a few hours Sunday…tbd) and we’d love to see you there! Admission is free, but there are adoption fees that vary depending on the rescue organization. These fees often cover the costs of shots, spaying/neutering and also help off-set the general costs of sheltering pets in need. Believe me, money spent adopting a shelter pet is money well spent!

This is a small-pet event, so there will only be cats and bunnies as far as I know. There will be lots of fun and informative events and guests, so even if you’re not planning on taking a kitty home with you you can still come out and have a great day surrounded by your fellow animal lovers. Check out the Mayor’s Alliance event page for further details.

Tonight we’ll be attending the Architects for Animals fundraiser at the Steelcase Showroom, 4 Columbus Circle.  Architects from around the city will be showcasing and donating outdoor habitats for homeless cats.  There’s still time to RSVP to RSVP@theswitzergroup.com There is a $10 suggested donation at the door. We hope to see you there!

In related news Jason and I are now TNR Certified.  On Saturday we attended a training session hosted by the Save Kitty Foundation and Neighborhood Cats and received our certificates after .  For those of you unfamiliar with TNR, it stands for “Trap, Neuter, Return.”  Feral cats often form colonies, much to the chagrin of their human neighbors who have to endure yowling, pet waste, and the unmistakable odor of un-neutered male cats.  TNR initiatives go into these colonies and work to trap the cats, get them fixed, and return them to their colonies.  Of course, every effort will be made to try and adopt out any kittens of friendly cats.  Feral cats, unfortunately, are not likely to be tamed and adopted so they are returned to their colony where their surroundings are familiar.  Re-locating these cats (or worse, having them put down) is not a solution because more feral cats will just come in, breed, and re-populate the colony resulting in more noise and stinkiness.  While no one likes to think of a homeless cat braving the elements during the cold winter months, there are ways to build inexpensive shelters, bringing this post back around to tonight’s event 🙂

For more information on TNR please visit the links above or drop us an e-mail.