The CAWS Strut a Tail-waggin’ Success

It was a bright, sunny afternoon in May made even more beautiful by the many smiling faces and wagging tails of the participants of the Second Annual CAWS Strut, a 5K dog walk-a-thon. More than 60 walkers and friends of CAWS attended this year’s event, held at Confluence Park, and over $3,000 was raised through business sponsorships and 5K pledges. All proceeds went to benefit the CAWS Adoption Center in Delta.

Lunch was prepared for all participants and the camaraderie between humans and canine was a joy.  Prizes were awarded for top adult and youth fundraiser; best trick, best costume and best human/pet look alike. Sue Shelton was the top adult fundraiser bringing in almost $800 in cash and in-kind pledges while Skylar Anderson won top youth fundraiser with $100 in pledges.

Thank you to our business sponsors: Alpine Bank, Big O Tire, Thunder Mountain Speedway, C&J Cafe, Hellman Toyota, First State Bank, Alpine Fencing, Homestead Meats, D&B Liquors, Native Reflections, Drost’s Chocolates, The Wagon Wheel Cafe, Divine Experience Salon and Spa,  Devil’s Thumb Golf Club, Delta Federal Credit Union, and 4Imprint.

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CAWS Announces Crowdfunding Partnership with LoveAnimals.org

We are excited to announce a new partnership with the crowdfunding website, LoveAnimals.org and we would love to have your help.

LoveAnimals.org helps organizations like CAWS raise money for critically needed projects. For a small donation (think $10 or less) you can make a huge difference. Here’s how you can help:

1. Visit: http://www.loveanimals.org/pets/portable-event-kennels.html and read about our project. We are trying to raise $925 to buy portable kenels so we showcase adoptable dogs at community events year-round.
2. Click the donate button and give as much as you feel comfortable providing
3. Tell your friends. Each project has links to social media like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+
4. Sit back and watch our project get funded and know that you made it happen. Super cool!

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2013 CAWS PET CENSUS and SURVEY

Delta County Citizens for Animal Welfare and Shelter (CAWS) launched its first Pet Census/Survey this past winter. A questionnaire about Delta County’s dog and cat population was included in the organization’s winter fund raising mailing and the response was good. More than three percent of county residents responded to the county-wide mailing — this is considered very high in the direct mail response business. Delta city residents were among the highest responders at almost 34%, closely followed by Paonia at 20%.

There were several interesting statistics reported by the analysis, and one or two surprises. Among the stats reported were: of households that own pet, almost 40% own two dogs and two cats or more; 26% are outdoor dogs and 33% are outdoor cats; 42% of both companion dogs and cats are spayed; and almost 39% of feral cat are reported to live in Delta. One of the surprising statistic reported was that most pets in Delta County are not rescue animals., ie, they did not come from a shelter or rescue organization. This may indicate that many are purchased from breeders and pet shops, acquired from friends and neighbors, or simply found stray and are kept by the family.

Click here to see the summary report in PDF format. (NOTE: Due to the voluntarily, mail-in nature of the survey, this statistical report may be skewed by 30-40%.)

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CAWS compiles countywide pet rescue stats

Each year, PACFA (Pet Animal Care Facilities Act) licensed animal rescue organizations in Colorado must report to the State Department of Agriculture and include statistics about their dog and cat intake, return to owner and adoptions. The numbers are in for 2012 and the results varied little from 2011. The countywide totals have been calculated from reports by CAWS, Friends of Cedaredge, Delta Humane Society, and Black Canyon Animal Sanctuary.

Between the four organizations, 882 dogs and cats were served in 2012. This compares to 917 totals in 2011. While there was a slight decrease in both dog and cat intake; dog returns and adoptions showed a slight increase but cat returns and adoptions showed a decrease. Ninety-three dogs and 14 cats came in as sprays and were returned to their owners. Three hundred and eighty-two dogs and 293 cats came in as strayed or were relinquished by their owners and later adopted to new families. All four organizations are “adoption guarantee” groups or facilities. What was once called “no-kill,” these groups only euthanize dangerous and/or extremely ill animals.