Real meat and potatoes fundraiser

By Nadine Armstrong The Hants Journal

There was not a finicky feline in sight, but everyone who bought a seat for the ‘Plates for Paws’ fundraiser at the Cocoa Pesto Bistro certainly had a generous palate. The one-night event, Wednesday, Feb 4, resulted in a gourmet helping hand for the West Hants SCPA.

The buffet of roast potatoes, chicken and meatloaf was enough to draw well over 100 animal lovers to the table on a winters night, all in the name of those furry friends, who are our most vulnerable residents this time of year. “We love eating here anyway, so for us giving back to the SPCA was just a bonus,” Hantsport Scotiabank branch manager Tia Andrews said. She attended the event along with several branch staff. “We all love animals and this was a great way to get together and enjoy an evening out while giving back at the same time.”

Good food, good company and great cause, she said, create a very attractive offer. And one that certainly caught on. All three sittings that evening were booked solid and some who couldn’t attend made in-kind donations instead. “This has been an absolute, unbelievable success,” said Hants County SPCA chair Tammy Acker. “I'm surprised on a night like this so many were able to come out.”

The event drew large revenues for the organization. She said they were flat out of funds and that evening netted more than $500 toward the catch and release program.

Need help now “This really is about awareness,” Acker said. “People don't think about strays this time of year but this is when they need help the most.”

Cocoa Pesto proprietor Scott Geddes houses seven cats, six of which had introduced themselves as strays.

To help such animals, for him cooking up a spread at his gourmet restaurant was an obvious solution. “It’s really a nice little package,” he said. “It’s a simple family-style buffet, but with the added bonus of helping something that is so important in our community.”

Since the catch and release program was instigated, Geddes said, there has been a huge decrease in feral cats. However, he added that, “just because it’s working, doesn’t mean it’s time to stop.”

The local SPCA does not have a shelter to maintain and relies on volunteers to house errant animals. For each animal adopted, Acker said, they are first neutered or spayed, immunized and treated for worms, fleas and any health problems.

That can add up to a lot of coin -- around a few hundred dollars per animal. And for canines that can’t be housed by volunteers, the SPCA also absorbs the cost of a kennel. “Ninety-five per cent of everything we spend goes directly on to the animals,” Acker said. She added that the community has always been very generous in terms of donating food and litter for those cats taken in by volunteers.

Provided ambiance

Furry’s magazine publisher Lynne MacKay travelled up from Halifax to get some photos to feature in the spring publication. “It was really quite a brilliant idea,” she said. “Tammy and Scott were right on board together and made it a great success. Scott creates such a wonderful ambiance, it was a great scenario for fundraising.”

The catch and release program is hugely important, she said, especially for the Hants Branch because they don't have a shelter and rely heavily on volunteers. “That is the one thing they do have going for them, a very strong base of volunteers and veterinarians willing to help. “I love the catch and release program,” she noted. “It’s been a complete success in Halifax and de-populated the feral cat population, very well.”

MacKay noted, however, that there will always be a cat population, but the program helps to keep those strays healthy and active. “There are cats that just don’t warm to people, but they do their job by taking care of the rat population and we can help maintain their health from a distance.”

Mayor Paul Beazley attended the first sitting that evening and thought it was a great idea, having recently adopted a cat. “It’s always good to support the SPCA in any way we can to make living conditions for animals better. “It was a great community event,” he said, “and I’m an animal lover myself. It was the right thing to do.”

And the great food didn’t hurt either, he said.

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