After years of searching for a permanent home, the East Greenwich Animal Protection League recently found a building off Centerville Road in Warwick they are looking to buy. But they need help. And they need it now.
Their “PAWS-ABILITIES” Capital Campaign runs through Sept. 27. Here’s the link: http://tilt.tc/Nk9F. There is a long way to go to meet the $100,000 goal but director Tammy Flanagan remains hopeful.
“The Weiss Family has generously donated the first $25,000 to put us well on the path to our goal, but we still need your support,” reads the text on the EGAPL donation page. “We save hundreds of animals’ lives every year from high-kill shelters and we also take in stray, turn-in or unwanted animals from our community. You can be a part of helping us save lives by helping us make our dream of a new facility into a reality! Please donate any amount that you can and please help us by spreading the word about our campaign.”
The EGAPL is a 501-C3 non-profit organization with an overall budget of more than $100,000. They receive $18,000 a year from the Town of East Greenwich, which does not have a municipal animal shelter.
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East Greenwich has been long overdue for their own shelter and while this building off Centerville Road in Warwick has finally become a possible home, how embarassing that a community with the stature of the residents and businesses here in East Greenwich are unable to support a facility right here in our own town like other cities and towns around the state. Remember that our East Greenwich roots go back to fishing, farming, caring for our animals, helping our neighbors and caring for the land.
Is this fundraising for a permanent shelter the sole responsibility of EGAPL? East Greenwich residents and businesses pay a good amount in taxes, licenses, and already help fund the police department’s animal control officer. At last check, the $8 dog license fee is broken down: $1 for spay and neuter, $2 for the dog officer and $5 goes to the Town coffers.
Volunteers have always been, and always will be, the backbone of this great organization, but there are many more costs associated with running a shelter full time than just buying a building. Maintenance, building out kennels for dogs, isolation rooms for cats, insurance, staffing, utilities, equipment, food, spay and neuter, rabies and microchip projects, veterinarian services and the list goes on.
There is some talk,(rumor?) that someone has come forward and is willing to donate open land in East Greenwich to the EGAPL to build a shelter.”Snoops” may not be able to verify all this information, but as residents we need to put our hearts,voices and resources behind this project…where ever it will be.
It seems to me to be a better idea to spend the $400,000, allocated to nature trails and MORE soccer fields on the McHale property, on a permanent home for stray and abandoned animals here in E.G. Priorities seem to dictate this but I realize protocol also must be obeyed.
Bill, interesting thought, however the EGAPL is a private nonprofit, wholly separate from the town. While it does operate as a long-term shelter for dogs who are picked up by EGPD and not claimed, that is only a small part of its mission and budget.