SPCA Guest Speaker: Jacqueline

Jacqueline has been Community Fundraising Coordinator with the SPCA for the last year or so. In her role, she gets to meet many lovely, generous people who are willing to help. Jacqueline brought her 7-month-old guinea pigs, Tricksy and Leia. She recently fostered five guinea pigs who were born at the SPCA. Her family has decided to keep them!



Check out our blog posts about Jacqueline's visit. We really appreciated her time with us.

The Canterbury SPCA rescued around 2,500 animals last year. Different animals they've rescued include llamas, lizards, and cows. Cats are the most common. One cat can have six kittens at a time, sometimes more. Every six months, they can have more kittens! Most animals are unwanted or abandoned. Sometimes people move house and leave their animals, such as rabbits, behind. Sometimes bags of animals are dropped at the gate. Skip the dog was rescued from a clothing bin!

Each year, the SPCA puts out a list of ten worst cases to raise awareness of animal cruelty. Many of these cases to court. Last year, a man beat his dog so badly that it died. The man went to jail. Thankfully, most people love animals and treat them well.

Guinea pigs cost $40 each to adopt. The cost varies per animal to cover vaccinations, micro-chipping, and care. There are 100+ kittens that will be ready for adoption soon. If you are interested in adopting a pet, the best place to go is the SPCA adoption website.

Another option is to foster animals. This is free, as you are offering your service to the SPCA. After animals have been fostered for a while, they are ready to be adopted out. For example, if you foster a kitten, you are given all the food and scales to weight the kitten to track its progress. You receive everything you need to care for the kitten for two-three weeks. The hard part is giving the kitten back when it's ready to adopt! Puppies and rabbits also need to be fostered.

Jacqueline's advice for getting people to help is to make an emotional connection. For every $1 spent on fundraising, the SPCA makes $6 back. Time and energy promoting something and raising awareness really pays off!

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