Visiting Rotarians:Frank Wargo, Past District Governor, New Milford (also President Heather's uncle); Rick Cyphers, Glastonbury (30= years of perfect attendance); Craig Buhrendorf, North Carolina (recently a member of Avon-Canton).
Guests: Loretta Fiona (Nautilus Accounting Service; prospective member); Jacqueline Kane (guest of Robin DiNicola , who claims her guest can help members with their golf game); Deb Korner (prospective member); Jim Walter (speaker).
Happy Dollars: $5
Raffle Winner: Rollie Sterrett & Phil Ferrari ($20)
Birthdays
Sue Budde
Her birthday was a couple of days before the meeting. Since she was on a staycation for the week, she hadn't thought much about talking about herself - except she had gotten the speaker and was sponsoring a member being inducted. So she had to show up. She has been a member of the club for seven years and works for the Canton Chamber. One of her major interests is Dog Star Rescue; hence asking Jim Walter to speak at Friday's meeting. She claims to dislike getting up and out early in the morning, but once she got the hang of coming to Rotary meetings, she realized she loves Friday mornings. The friends and camaraderie are really special and worth getting up for.
Happy Birthday, Sue!
Happy Dollars
Larry Haber was happy that his granddaughter was visiting to attend Harry Potter Camp.
Brian O'Donnell was happy to be seeing the Yankees play the Red Sox in NYC. No doubt he was also happy that the Yankees swept the Red Sox.
Robin DiNicola was happy to have an office "home." Her new office is at 1055 Farmington Avenue in Farmington.
Frank Wargo told about his niece, President Heather when she was a little girl. She was the first girl in her family for three generations and was, of course, spoiled. She would get up on Frank's lap or her grandfather's lap and chat away. No one knew what she was saying, but she was charming in her manner. Frank hopes we can understand her a bit better.
Calendar of Upcoming Events & Announcements
August 7th - Tonight! - Pub Night at Lisa's Crown & Hammer - Canton; 4;30 to 6:30. They are supporting our golf tournament. We can show our appreciation by showing up!
August 14th: Pencil box assembly at 5:00 p.m. at Nancy Nation's house. Phil and Beth Ferrari are organizing the event. Check with him about signing up to help and to bring something to complement the pizza. Or you can contribute to the pizza when you arrive.
September 9th: Annual Rotary Charity Golf Tournament, at the Golf Club of Avon. Don't forget to sell those ads and to recruit those golfers. The club wants to do so much in our community, and it depends on the efforts of all members.
Sara Leathers was in a car accident. She is all right but banged up.
Art Hayes, former member, is in the Intensive Care Unit at a hospital in Maine.
Induction of New Members
Jeff Borges
Jeff was introduced by sponsor Sue Budde who met him through the Canton Chamber of Commerce. Jeff works for The Bakker Agency. He moved to Avon four years ago from a far off land known as Unionville. He is the son of immigrant parents from Angola, formerly a Portuguese territory. He has a degree in graphic design from Becker College in Worcester, MA. He is involved in the community as a volunteer fireman and is looking forward to helping others near and far through Rotary. Welcome to Rotary, Jeff!
Community and International Service Grants
None this week.
Presentation
Dog Star Rescue
Jim Walter
Sue Budde (she was busy during the meeting), who was one of the founders of Dog Star Rescue, introduced Jim Walter. Jim, who retired from UCONN in 2012, got involved with Dog Star soon after its founding in 2014. He is now the leader of volunteers.
The main reason that rescue groups are needed is that there is an overpopulation of dogs and cats. In fact, where there are dogs and cats, there are bound to be too many of them. The problem in the South, which is where many rescued dogs come from, is that there is less spaying and a milder climate, which allows dogs to survive on the streets. Most shelters in the South are not "no kill" shelters. They are tmporary, which means they can keep them anywhere from two days to two months. The shelter in Akin, SC, where many of Dog Star's dogs come from, gets about 6,000 dogs per year. There are approximately 13, 600 shelters in the U.S., and they receive 6,000,000 to 8,000,000 animals every year of which 55% are dogs. Most are euthanized. Fewer than half are adopted, and only 5-10% are returned to owners.
Dog St and other rescue groups want to rehome dogs rather than keep them in shelters. Their goal is to pull, protect, promote, place.
Pull - They have agents who pull animals likely to be adopted out of the shelter to send to Dog Star. Dogs cannot have a history of biting.
Protect - Once Dog Star has custody of a dog, they provide food, shelter, and veterinary services as needed. Sometimes the vet bills are large, but they do what is needed regardless of cost.
Promote - Dog Star runs ads for dogs on their website, on their Facebook page, and through groups like Pet Finder. They also hold adoption events, often at pet stores, because the stores like the followup sales.
Place - Potential adopters must fill out a form and usually go through an interview. The Dog Star volunteers want to determine if they are realistic about the cost of having a dog ($1,000 - $2,000 per year) and whether they will provide a good, safe home.
The first year of Dog' Star's operation they were about to place fewer than 200 dogs. In 2018 they placed 570 dogs, and though June 2019 they are on track to place about 700 dogs. Unlike some other rescue groups, Dog Star wants to grow and help as many dogs as possible. It was noted that at least three Rotary members have adopted dogs from Dog Star, and others, including your humble scribe, and gotten rescue dogs from other sources. It's a philosophy many in the club support.
A few dogs are owner surrender for lack of funds or disability. Some dogs come through animal control officers and are usually good dogs, because they have been cared for at least 3-4 weeks. However, 90-95% of dogs come from the South - North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana. There really isn't much oversupply in Connecticut, because there is an emphasis on spaying and getting rescue dogs is well accepted. The hardes dogs to place at pit bulls and pit mixes. Rescue dogs spend an average of 16 days with Dog Star before being adopted.
Mail Bag
We received thanks from the Golf Club of Avon for holding our President's Dinner there. They did a good job, and we will in all likelihood return.
Photo Credits
Photographs courtesy of Phil Worley unless otherwise noted.
Editor's Notes
Submission Deadline: Members are kindly encouraged to submit all materials for each week's Early Riser as early as possible. Please note that some editions may be published and distributed as early as the Saturday following our meetings, and during those weeks further contributions to the Early Riser will be included in the subsequent week's edition.
“The FOUR-WAY TEST of the things we think, say or do”:
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all Concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
