Guardian Angels raises help-funds for pets - Galesburg Register-Mail
The Guardian Angels Humane Society kicked off its annual Bark in the Park fundraiser with an appropriate anthem: "Who Let the Dogs Out?"
Animal lovers and rescued dog owners alike entered about 50 dogs for the event Saturday morning at Lincoln Park. Many who attended are regular supporters of the Guardian Angels, whose mission, according to President Cathy White, is mainly to provide medical help for needy and homeless pets.
Amidst a struggling economy, White said, many pet owners cannot afford medical care or good food for their pets, and Guardian Angels tries to fill that gap.
"We like to think that we have a special niche in providing support services," White said.
Last year, the Guardian Angels spent $70,000 on over 1,000 spaying and neutering procedures, a pet food pantry, auxiliary services like providing flea medication and extraordinary help for accidents or major injuries, according to White.
"The primary goal here is to keep pets in good homes even if the owners may not be able to afford it," White said.
For example, White said the Guardian Angels recently paid for a dog with a severe spinal injury to see a specialist in Chicago, a trip which the owner would not have been able to afford otherwise.
The Bark in the Park usually raises $2,500 to $3,000 toward providing that kind of care. That is a small fraction of the organization's operating cost, but White said it certainly helps.
Mike Olin of Galesburg and his dog Cocoa came to support the Guardian Angels on Saturday. Olin said they need the monetary support.
"A lot of people's dogs and cats just get lost," Olin said, "and (the Guardian Angels) really help out."
Ann Moody, also a Guardian Angels supporter, brought her dog Eddie, whom she adopted through Petfinder.com from the Henry County Humane Society Kiwanis Shelter.
"I'm almost sure he was abused before I got him," Moody said. "When I went to see him at the shelter, he cowered in a corner.
Moody said Eddie has come a long way in the month she has had him, but there is still a long way to go to get him "acclimated to social life."
Obi Oki also came to the event with her traveling pet care unit, a large purple trailer that serves as a pet taxi, pet care and pet-sitting apparatus. Oki was providing $12 nail clipping (for dogs) and donating all of the proceeds to the Guardian Angels.
"This is a good cause," Oki said, "and their funds must be limited."
According to White, the Guardian Angels began as a rescue fund when she was president of the Knox County Humane Society. After she began to voice her opinions that the organization was not doing enough for the animals, she stepped down as president and was later voted off the board. But she took Guardian Angels with her.
"When Kathy Kniss died, she left a lot of money to the fund, and that was our start-up money," White said. "We don't have all of that left, but without it, we couldn't do the volume of services that we do."
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