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St. Pet's Day events aimed at raising funds, food for local shelters. Fire stations taking donations
By Kathy Antoniotti
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009
Homeless animals hope to share in a wee bit of the luck of the Irish this month as the Celtic Club of Ohio puts a twist on traditional St. Patrick's Day celebrations by renaming it St. Pet's Day.
Money and pet food donations collected by club members this week and March 16 and 17 will be donated to rescue groups and animal shelters in Portage, Stark and Summit counties.
''There is a real need out there,'' said Jim Collver, who is organizing the fundraising events for the Akron-based Celtic Club.
Collection sites include several fire stations in the region.
The club plans to sponsor Irish-themed programs at several events where admission will be free with a donation of pet food, he said.
Relief can't come soon enough for animals at the Summit County animal shelter, said Christine Fatheree, animal control manager.
''We are full up,'' Fatheree said Monday.
The shelter has as many as 90 dogs and 50 cats, she said, and with the combination of a poor economy and warmer weather, people will begin turning loose animals they can no longer afford.
''We are packed and we expect it to get much worse,'' she said.
The club hopes to collect at least 10,000 pounds of food that will be divvied between rescue agencies in the three counties.
''Each year, we've had a single event and each year, it has gotten bigger,'' Collver said.
Last year, the club took in 1,000 pounds of food for area shelters.
On Monday, dancers from the O'Hare School of Irish Dance and the popular Akron Celtic-rock band the Mickeys performed for children and teachers at Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts. Kent poet Merle Molenkopf emceed the program. Admission was free with a can or bag of pet food.
Earlier in the day, Green Fire Chief Bob Calderone welcomed Molly, a black Labrador retriever/border collie mix, and 80-pound Brutus, both rescued by families in the O'Hare dance troop. Representatives from area shelters were also on hand for the event.
The main station in Green is one of 11 area fire departments that are collection points for pet food donations.
''We have boxes in the lobby where people can drop off food day or night,'' Calderone said Monday.
Karen Conklin, executive director of the Humane Society of Greater Akron, said she appreciates donations from the children who attend the events.
''Teaching kids to help those that can't help themselves is always a good lesson. This is a tough economy and we appreciate all the donations we get,'' Conklin said.
Anyone interested in donating pet food or money to St. Pet's Day can contact one of the participating fire stations today through Friday and March 16 and 17.
Participating fire stations are:
• Barberton, 580 Wooster Road W., 330-848-6732.
• Clinton, 7717 S. Cleveland-Massillon Road, 330-882-4828.
• Coventry, 68 Portage Lakes Drive, 330-644-3228.
• Green, 4200 Massillon Road, 330-896-6610.
• Hartville, 411 E. Maple St., 330-877-2478.
• Kent, 320 S. Depeyster St., 330-673-8814.
• Lakemore, 1400 Main St., 330-733-6125.
• New Franklin, 5605 Manchester Road, 330-882-3111.
• Norton, 3230 Greenwich Road, 330-825-3086.
• Springfield, 2459 Canfield Road (Town Hall), 330-784-7210.
• Uniontown, 13055 Oakwood Ave. NW, 330-699-3239.
Kathy Antoniotti can be reached at 330-996-3565 or kantoniotti@thebeaconjournal.com.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Akron, OH
Posted 09:18 AM, 03/10/2009
Just why is a county run government facility receiving donated items/food that should be going to non-profits? And just which non-profits are benefiting from this? Please list.
akron, oh
Posted 09:29 AM, 03/10/2009
Anything involving nepotism hire Christine Congrove Fatheree will get not one bit of support from me. And I am a HUGE animal welfare supporter. I support any shelter that deserves support. Akron's "kill first and ask questions later" animal facility should be shut down.
Akron, oh
Posted 01:55 PM, 03/10/2009
Kudos to the Celtic Club, what a wonderful idea.
Akron, oh
Posted 02:01 PM, 03/10/2009
Chrissie sure kills them off fast. I was at the pound on Monday - there were less than 30 dogs, where were the other 60?
Maybe over-paid, unqualified Chrissie could buy a few bags from her next pay.
Akron, OH
Posted 02:55 PM, 03/10/2009
Also, please take notice of Chrissy's quote "We are full up". Just another fine example of our tax dollars funding an uneducated hire in the county.
Akron, OH
Posted 02:56 PM, 03/10/2009
If you would like to support the many wonderful non-profits in this community, why not donate directly to them? I am sure they would appreciate the support rather than it going to a government owned and operated entity that has an operating budget and staff.
Akron, oh
Posted 03:47 PM, 03/10/2009
akronwatch - at least half of the cages were empty on Monday afternoon. The cages with dogs were filthy with dog waste. The floors were wet so a claim they hadn't had time to clean yet wouldn't be true. Chrissie has no clue as to what she's doing nor what is going on.
Direct donations are the best but this wonderful group is trying to help as many as possible. Too bad they don't mark Chrissie off of their donation list.
Akron, OH
Posted 10:36 AM, 03/11/2009
I agree with my2centsworth and akronwatch. No donations should go to government facilities. DO NOT DONATE FOOD UNLESS YOU KNOW THAT FOOD IS GOING TO NON-PROFITS.
Christine and Russ Pry should be ASHAMED of themselves for wanting donated food which should go to area non-profits.
Posted 02:21 AM, 06/13/2009
I take some of this with a grain of salt. I went to the animal control with my neighbor to look for her cat and the cattery was full. We went every day for 3 days and they even took us to the back to look at the cats. my neighbors cat wasn't there. We found her a day later 2 streets down from her house.
