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Table of Contents
Introduction:
Happy 2nd Anniversary SCAA and congratulations to all of you that have made SCAA the growing success that it is! Ruff! Meow!
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| Leo peeking |
Our biggest news to share this month is potentially finding a new project (aka hoarder). You can read about the details in our project update section below, but it was at least refreshing (rather than the usual dread and horror) to see that this man has managed to keep 180 or so cats in relatively good condition despite the confined area in which they are forced to live. This will be a slow project to bring to fruition as first we must ensure the health and overall safety of the project before we consider bringing out volunteers... if any of you are game to go out with Dr. James or myself in the coming months (and willing to sign a waiver), contact me at director@scaashanghai.org. If all works out well, we might be able to start taking volunteers to visit by August or September. Stay tuned.
Another big issue this month is reminding all pet adopters/owners that you MUST get your dog licensed. It's the law and you are acting irresponsibly and putting your pet at risk if you do not. I had a phone call about 6pm on a Friday night recently, from a young American male who explained his dog got out of his apt (broken into somehow he said) and the dog was outside barking to protect his home.(The man never explained why he was not there to rescue the dog.) Neighbors called the police and the dog was picked up. He says he speaks some Chinese but he could not tell me what the police told him, just waiving forms in his face and an ultimatum to bring back RMB 1,000 by 5pm that day or lose the dog. He came back with the money but did not give it to the police and they told him he would not get the dog back. None of this makes sense to me as a dog license is RMB 2,000 and a fine would have been more than RMB 1,000. He said the dog had been licensed when he lived in another city but he lost it on the way to Shanghai (where he has lived for 7 months since) but the police did not care (from my point of view of course they did not care... it's the same as saying my dog had a license in France so it should be the same license in Switzerland, but regardless, I lost it anyway... ). I told him to go back the next morning (if it was my pet, nothing would have separated me from that building I might add... ) with a Chinese speaker and to call me so that our director Sonny Gao (who has been part of SCAA since day one and has worked through many difficult local situations... ) could speak to the police to find out what really happened and what we could do to get the dog back. He did not do this but took along a Chinese speaker who ended up in tears and he was not given the dog and was told to leave, without being able to say good-bye to his dog. I asked again for the police number but he never gave it to me. If he had followed our directives, we would at least have known what really happened and maybe we could have saved the dog. After four phone calls and four different stories, I asked him to write his story down so we could learn for the future. He did send me what turned out to be a beautiful eulogy to his dog, but it was yet another version of his story and it ultimately was about police brutality (I imagine from the sound of this man's voice that he too might have become aggressive with the police, which simply doesn't work here. On the other hand, I too would have to be dragged away screaming if my pet was taken away from me... ). We at SCAA feel absolutely horrible about this story's outcome and the loss of a beloved pet, but, and I will say it again and again, the ultimate person responsible was the owner as he did not get his dog licensed soon after his arrival to Shanghai, knowing that it is the law. He put his dog at risk, no one else. He ended his written story about how much he will always love his dog, but it seems to me he didn't love him enough to get him a license and make every effort possible to keep his dog safe in a difficult pet city such as Shanghai. And it makes me state yet once again, if you believe you cannot afford the license cost of RMB 1,000-2,000, or enough to give your pet (cat or dog) proper western-standard medical care if it gets sick, do NOT get a pet. Foster with SCAA or come to our adoption day to get a tactile "pet fix" but do not put a precious animal's life at risk for your own indulgence. This is not so much a story for the Hall of Shame, but one of absolute tragedy.
One more issue we directors have had to deal with more frequently recently is people who have adopted, or people with their own pets, who now plan to leave Shanghai within a month or two and contact us to re-home their pets, as if we are a shelter or humane society, or a "rent-a-pet" company. People who have adopted kittens months ago, suddenly have to leave Shanghai and decide they don't get along all that well with their now fully grown cats and call us to take them back. Or, people who simply choose not to take their own pets back with them call us to find new homes for their pets. This is not our mandate. Our mission is to save stray and abandoned companion animals, heal them and find them permanent, loving adoptive homes. We are not a dumping ground (or easy solution) for people not really trying to find homes for their pets. We get angry because we wonder why these people got a pet at all if they didn't plan to commit to care for their animals for their entire lifetime. Certainly, emergencies happen and mistakes happen, but we are now increasingly receiving callous calls and emails about people choosing flimsy excuses for leaving their pets behind and expecting us to take on their full grown animals enthusiastically.
They don't understand what our mission actually is, that we have very limited resources in our foster care parents, that it can take months if not years to re-home an adult cat, and that when we take in their pet, it is one less opportunity for our own beloved fostered animals to be placed in an adoptive home. These are the same people who get angry at us when we explain our rules and that we require a sizeable donation for taking on a burden that does not fit into our own mandate and SCAA goals. One owner got very upset and said we should pay HER for giving us such a beautiful cat to find a home for. With the above in mind, please, please, please spread the word that only people committed to taking care of an animal for its full life-time (10-18 years) should get a pet. Or if they are planning on returning home and cannot take their pet, to plan months ahead to find their OWN solutions for re-homing. If we run out of foster homes or become overburdened with re-homing pets, instead of rescuing animals truly in need, we may just have to start saying no to all wanting to leave their pets with SCAA.
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| Benji chewing his toy |
Furthermore, someone told me recently that they think it doesn't take much money to care for an animal, and that asking third parties (not foster parents) who rescue strays for a donation is asking too much, and with this in mind she might consider not using SCAA as a method to save strays. My reply (remember I do have a temper) was that it is fine by us if she can take in, heal, pay all required funds (eg. Check-up, meds, vaccination, spay/neuter, operations, etc) herself and re-home the animals alone. Suddenly, it clicked that before SCAA, she was a borderline hoarder with several strays in her home, not enough money to pay for their care and no outlet to find them permanent homes.
The fact is that each animal we rescue requires between RMB 800-2,000 (or more if there is a serious health issue), including vaccinations and spay/neuter. And this includes a generous discount by PAW vet clinic. When someone asks us to rescue an animal that is not one of our over 50 foster animals, that is an additional financial burden to take on and we must insist that the rescuer donate at least a minimum contribution. Easy to say "just pay for it SCAA," but the more animals we rescue the more funds we need, and to raise these funds means more fundraising events, usually organized by the same people over and over. Whoever believes that SCAA is a simple organization to manage, requiring minimal effort and that funds are infinite, should try getting more involved and see how dedicated and exhausted our fundraising and rescue teams are on a daily basis.
It might actually be a sign how successful SCAA is for people to think we are their immediate solution for finding homes for their pets or for every stray they pick up off the street without thinking how limited our manpower and financial resources are. Two years ago, before SCAA existed, people would have had to find their own solutions to re-homing a pet and often had to walk by stray animals if their own resources did not allow them to save the never-ending stream of newborns and abandoned animals (let alone pay for proper medical care or serious operations) and then finding permanent loving homes. Now almost 400 successful rescues later, one animal at a time, I am extremely proud of SCAA's accomplishments in such a short period of time, and I refuse to listen to those who do not appreciate the dedication, time and truly extreme efforts by all our amazing, and often utterly exhausted volunteers, foster parents and directors. Okay. Founder vent over.
Well Almost. Sadly, we have Hall of Shame Number Ten to add. We hope it's the last for some time.
On a much more pleasant note, we have so many exciting events coming up, it's hard to keep track. Greg at Moon River Diner is offering the ultimately generous happy hour (after our frustrating experience at Naked Cow) on 12 April by donating 100% of the entrance fee of RMB 100 (which includes two drinks, refillable soft drinks/coffee, and heavy right-to-the-hip snacks!), so that means if we bring in 60 people, Greg will donate RMB 6,000. Please bring as many people as you can as this is a fantastic opportunity for SCAA!! Greg is a loving SCAA dog adopter as well and we all want to thank you for your amazing support of SCAA! See poster here
26 April is our Talent Quest at the JZ Club See poster here and this should be a fantastic night! We still need about two more acts so get over your shyness and sign up (otherwise, you'll be forced to listen to the SCAA directors sing... not a pretty thought... !). If you are interested, contact events@scaashanghai.org .
1 April was the deadline for the children's art competition and the entries will be exhibited at the innovative clothing store Eno from 12-19 May. See poster here 20 May we will celebrate the top 20 entries and final winners in the four age categories at the Glamour Bar. Parents, children and general public welcome! 10am-noon. For more info, see details in the news update.
I am also very grateful to the Glamour Bar for hosting the launch of my new book on 20 May, 4pm. This will also be a SCAA fundraiser and ALL proceeds donated to SCAA medical care. Entrance fee is RMB 50 (including a free glass of wine). We are having an amazing raffle for the event: first prize is 2 nights in the Bund Suite at the incredible new Hyatt on the Bund (value RMB 15,500) and dinner at M on the Bund! Second prize is a case of champagne (how glamorous!). Raffle tickets will be RMB 50 each (or 25 for RMB 1,000) and will be sold ahead of time at SCAA events as well as at the morning event and launch on 20 May!
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| Lucky lounging |
Finally, spring/summer are just around the corner so if you are available for bottle feeding, be sure to let foster care director Lee-Anne Armstrong know so that we don't have to depend on the same devoted (and exhausted) foster care parents - kitten after kitten after kitten (and puppies too!). Contact at foster@scaashanghai.org.
As always, thank you for your patience (this introduction took longer to read than bottle-feeding a kitten I think!) and we look forward to seeing you at all our April & May events!
Purrfect regards,
Carol Wolfson
Founder/Executive Director
SCAA
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Adoption Figures
341 Total Adoptions To Date!!
52cats
191 kittens
60dogs
37puppies
1 rabbit
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SCAA's Adorable Adult Cats
Loyal, friendly, affectionate, playful, keeps feet warm in winter, fetches toys, purrs on eye contact... these are just some of the qualities you can find in SCAA's great adult foster cats.
SCAA is giving our adult cats an opportunity to shine in our Newsletter. We'll be regularly profiling an SCAA cat who would love to be someone's pet - sometimes for the second time after being abandoned to SCAA.
Meet Smartie. Smartie is a lovable "big boy". He's neutered and vaccinated. Don't let his imposing figure fool you... he's a real softie and enjoys sitting on your lap. Smartie loves chatting with people and likes to have the last word (or meow!). When Smartie's not talking to you, you can find him drinking from the tap or watching his favorite program on TV. - football. He's more a fan of the moving ball than of any particular team though!
Smartie is almost a year old. He has been in foster care since Summer 2006. He was rescued from a previous SCAA project and his soft white fur was covered in motor oil... which his foster parents eventually managed to wash off. Smartie has enjoyed getting his paws wet now and again ever since.
Dedicated foster parents Shannen and Matt would tell you that Smartie makes their house a home. He gets along well with other cats, welcoming new foster cats into his space without any problems. They would be thrilled to see him find the great permanent home that he deserves. For more information about adopting Smartie, please contact foster@scaashanghai.org for more details.
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| Smartie watching football |
Smartie drinking from tap |
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Individual Donations
- Derval Usher: RMB 1,000
- Kirsten: RMB 1,200
- Eric Sorensen via PayPal: US$ 135
- Amma Irma via PayPal: US$ 10
(Note: Monthly donations will be listed in our newsletter but as funds will only be collected quarterly from our PayPal account, they will only be included in SCAA accountings when the funds are physically received.)
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Finances
Incoming donations for medical care in January includes (not including individual donations/fundraisers):
- RMB from Adoption Day donations/meeting
- RMB 4,200 anonymous
- O'Malley's Pub Quiz 2 Week's Total Donation: RMB 2,080
- Vip-Pet Commission and donation: RMB 1,000
- Calendar Sale Kathy Waterman: RMB 250
Expenses include:
- RMB 12,728 (PAW check-ups/meds to 19 March)
- RMB 2,100 (150 bags cat litter to Mr. Wong project)
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SCAA Sponsors
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News Update
- Your cat may be worth 40RMB on a plate in Guangdong: SCAA enforces a strict indoor cat policy for foster cats and this requirement is now written into our Adoption and Sterilization Agreement. The reason is simple: Shanghai's streets are no place for cats and kittens. In addition to the traffic dangers, cat-meat sellers catching your cats to transport them to Guangdong for food are a real danger. SCAA recently heard about a local reporter who has found a warehouse containing over 400 cats. The warehouse is guarded by cat thieves who run a transport racket to Guangdong. This new higher price per cat means this is a lucrative business - a RMB16,000 stash of cats in one place alone. Where do these cats come from? If SCAA's experienced cat lovers can't catch wary feral cats to help them, you can be sure cat stealers are not wasting their time trying to trap them either. The cats sold for food are you and your neighbors' friendlier felines. PLEASE KEEP YOUR CATS INDOORS!
To help fight this disturbing trade in domestic animals, SCAA encourages you to work with legally recognized animal-rights groups in China, such as IFAW or the RSPCA. We're not a registered organization here and cannot risk our ongoing rescue efforts by getting politically involved.
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"Don't leave your dog alone in public places!"
A special note from dog foster care director, Jaycee Chan: To all dog owners, please be careful especially when you send your dog to the groomer. Groomers at shops have a tendency to open windows and doors to ventilate the room where they groom their client dogs. Most grooming shops don't have proper ventilation systems.
A professional and licensed groomer will always close all doors and windows, and never forgets to leash the dog at all times. This includes when washing, blow drying and even when just going in for a little trim. Many owners leave their dog with the groomer, which is the first mistake as some some dogs like to be groomed and some simply do not. Therefore knowing your dog and leaving him in the hands of a good groomer is a very important consideration and we at SCAA urge you to stay with your dog at all times.
We have reports of two dogs running away from grooming shops in the last three months. One dog was found a few kilometers away four days later, and the second, our beloved Lulu, has never returned. Dogs too are stolen and sold for the fur and food trade, so better safe than sorry. Further, being with your dog while it's being groomed is another chance to bond. Enjoy the experience (and that doesn't mean having your ai yi be responsible for the dog either.)
As of today, 6 April, we have just heard of a second dog being lost from the same grooming/dog store. We are looking into this further but please read this family's story and yet another example of how important it is to stay with your dog at the groomers, or in any public area, with your dog leashed.
This lost dog Bowie is featured on the homepage and the full story of how it was lost is on the poster page. Click here for more details.
- O'Malley's Quiz Night is a huge success for SCAA: We want to extend our thanks to Theme Pub Company Manager Sean McIlroy, O'Malley's Manager Robb Pollard and the entire team at O'Malley's for making their new weekly Quiz Night a huge success and for donating a significant percentage of the RMB 500 entrance fee to SCAA! It's only been two weeks and we've received over RMB 2,000. The quiz is going on through May so if you enjoy a good quiz and a good pub, there is still time to join in the fun and help SCAA at the same time! See poster
- Kids' Art Competition Exhibit at Eno next and finals' presentation on 20 May, Glamour Bar, 10am-noon: We are thrilled to report that we have received over 200 art entries, which will be on display at our event partner clothing store Eno (139 ChangLe Lu) from 12-19 May (silent auction for the art works throughout this entire period) and photographs on the art will be up on both Eno's and SCAA’s website where you will have the chance to vote for your favorite entry! The top three positions in the four age categories will be voted on by our panel of judges and 4th & 5th place will be determined by public voters! The top 20 finalists will then be displayed and the top 5 winners in each category presented with certificates and a cool prize at the coffee morning final on 20 May at the Glamour Bar (children, parents and public welcome! Coffee, kids' drinks and lots of cake! Adults: RMB 80, Children under 18: RMB 40. All proceeds generously donated to SCAA), 10am-noon. The top four winners will have their art printed on Eno t-shirts and other great SCAA products! The silent auction for the art will continue throughout the day and will finish after Carol Wolfson's book launch, also at the Glamour Bar, 4-6pm. All of the children's art will be available for custom-made t-shirt (and other SCAA products) on the SCAA website (courtesy of mto123.com)! See poster
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Hall of Shame
- First (and hopefully last) Foster Parent Hall of Shame
With hundreds of dedicated and responsible foster parents in SCAA's history, it's sad to note that a (former) foster parent will be added to the Hall of Shame (No. 10). Fostering an SCAA animal is a responsibility to be taken seriously. SCAA policies and procedures are reasonable and based on the animals' best interest. Anybody who disregards policies about attending Adoption Day and keeping SCAA informed about an SCAA-sponsored animal, especially when leaving our ward in someone else's care, does not meet the program's expectations. Feeling offended when called on for lack of cooperation is everyone's prerogative. However, spreading misinformation about unfairness in SCAA fostering and adoption policies and procedures is irresponsible and unnacceptable to those in SCAA who dedicate a large percentage of their lives to rescuing and protecting the welfare of companion animals in Shanghai. Normally, we would just take back our fostered animal and end communication with the former foster parent, but in this case we believe it's important for SCAA to respond publicly to some serious allegations concerning SCAA adoptions and fostering. We believe if someone makes such serious accusations about SCAA, then it's important for SCAA management/directors to report the facts to our dedicated members and supporters.
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Project Updates
- Mr. Wong 150+ cat visit successful: a new project begins?! Dr. James Holder and Carol Wolfson recently visited a cat hoarder named Mr. Wong, who since 1995 has accumulated close to 180 cats (we will get around to counting them... ). We alerted about this man by a Shanghainese woman who lives in the U.S. but has been supporting him. He lived four hours from Shanghai so we were unable to offer any help until he moved closer to Shanghai, which he did in late 2006 to the Baoshan District (like the former hoarder we helped until he passed our threshold of patience by refusing to follow our guidelines and continually dumping in more cats). This woman pays rent for the house and also a monthly stipend of RMB 1,500 for cat food. He has promised to follow our guidelines exactly and since he moved to his new home five months ago, he has not taken in any more cats, which is a positive sign.
Dr. James and Carol were pleasantly surprised that none of the cats were in need of immediate medical care and the entire population seemed to be relatively passive and well cared for. The house is large and airy with three huge inside rooms and a sufficiently large outside, wired-in area for the cats to spend time outside. The first two rooms indoors are sleeping areas for the cats and the third room the kitty litter area which only had 6 litter boxes (the worst thing we saw and have since already increased the number to 20 litter trays and have bought 150 bags of litter to make this immediate improvement). The second floor also has a few rooms in which he has isolated a mother and three new-born cats, and he also had a sick cat (with a cold) isolated, all of which are very important SCAA rules (which the former project in Baoshan refused to follow: isolation of all new/sick animals and of newborn kittens, etc.).
All in all, it was very positive visit. Dr. James is now doing an assessment of the project as we will need to determine the overall health of the population. (That is, does the overall population have FIV such that they cannot be readily re-homed and we just try to make their quality of life better, or are they generally healthy and overtime we can take out volunteers to hold and give the cats more "tactile" time and help adopt out the cats one by one?).
One of the biggest problems is boredom, so we ask all SCAA supporters to start saving old cat toys that can be donated and hung all over the house. We hope to soon be building cat walls/beds and climbing areas, and to create projects among schools to build 150+ cat beds for next winter. We will slowly assess the project and when/if it's appropriate to take SCAA volunteers to visit. If anyone wishes to go sooner than later (and is willing to sign a waiver... we need to vaccinate the entire population- as well as neuter a good many males) you can contact Executive Director Carol Wolfson (director@scaashanghai.org) and she/Dr. James will consider this on a case-by-case basis to visit when they too visit the project. As with the previous Baoshan project, under NO circumstances will anyone be allowed to visit Mr. Wong's project on their own or independent of SCAA involvement, nor exchange contact information with him, nor have direct contact with him without SCAA's directors' approval. No one will be allowed to take animals out or put cats in without SCAA approval.
We should also mention Mr. Wong has a few dogs, all but one very sweet and re-homable. We have already taken out two puppies (obviously a few need to be neutered ASAP!) which are currently in foster care.
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SCAA Upcoming Fundraising Events
- 12 April: Join SCAA's Fantastic Happy Hour at Moon River Diner: We are so grateful to Greg, owner of Moon River Diner, for his extremely generous donation of 100% of the entrance fee for our next happy hour!! RMB 100 covers two drinks (free refills of coffee/soft drinks, etc. and "heavy snack food"- we love the sound of that! And the entire RMB 100 will be donated to SCAA... PLEASE bring as many people as you can as this is a fantastic opportunity for SCAA to raise a substantial amount of funds with no effort but to eat, drink & socialize!!! Thanks Greg!
 26 April: April Talent Quest Fundraiser: We only need a couple more acts for our SCAA First Annual Talent Quest Fundraising Event! The JZ Club is generously sponsoring the venue and it should be a wild fantastic night so set this aside in your calendar now! See poster for details. Need something pretty and sexy for SCAA's Talent Quest? SCAA supporter Marvin Manalac of Boon boutique is generously offering a 20% discount when you mention your purchase is for an SCAA event. Check out Boon at The New Factories (Building 22, Store 102, No 14 YuYao Road in Jing'An district).
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Upcoming SCAA Community Events
- 6 April, Dulwich College Fair w/SCAA booth: Dulwich College is kindly donating a booth to SCAA for this all-day family event! Be sure to join in the fun!
- 21 April Earth Day Fair w/SCAA booth: Roots & Shoots has generously offered to share their own booth with SCAA at the 2nd Annual Earth Day Celebration inside the Shanghai Zoo and organized by the Rainbow Bridge International School.
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Media/Website News
- Mad About Shanghai Interview with Carol Wolfson: Many thanks to David Tan for a great interview with SCAA founder Carol Wolfson, on his website “madaboutshanghai.com” link to the article.
- Shanghai Daily Article about pets in Shanghai with Lee-Anne Armstrong and Dr. James Holder, plus article placed next to it! We'd like to thank journalist Jenny Hammond who interviewed Foster Care Director Lee-Anne Armstrong and Dr. James Holder for an article in the Shanghai Daily about pets in Shanghai for the 24/25 March issue. Link to the article . Jenny has made sure SCAA receives significant press coverage but unfortunately the article, which specifically mentions the perils in buying an animal locally, was placed right next to an article about an international cat show that was on in Shanghai last weekend. That article highlights how the owner of the winning cat for "best in show," which cost RMB 50,000 yuan and was shipped in from the U.S., was thrilled and the article explained, "Zhang's first cat died suddenly from a genetic defect, according to her veterinarian. From then on, she was determined to raise only healthy and pedigreed cats." We at SCAA would like to ask what does having a pedigreed cat relate to having a "healthy" cat? Pedigreed animals have their own specific health problems and are no more guaranteed good health than our precious stray animals. And how sad to have to import a cat for so much money when there are so many strays right here in need of a loving home (just think what we could do with that RMB 50,000!). It's just too bad the articles were not labeled as opposite viewpoints... or at least our website article "Do Not Buy Pets" referred to as well! This also reminds me of the article printed in the Shanghai Daily about "doggy-dating" and our letter to the editor that was not printed so Dan Washburn kindly printed it in the Shanghaiist... same concept and same reply as to this most recent cat show... link to the article/our reply.
- Monthly Video Awards: Our winner this month is Marvin Manalac and Julia Villnef for their entry "Dancing Dogs"... we laugh so hard every time we watch it! Enjoy (we’ve seen this before but it always makes us laugh, so here we go again!) Please click here to see the video
Be sure to send in your own clips for next month's meeting to director@scaashanghai.org
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Products
- Art competition art to be sold on custom-made order by mto23.com: Along with all the cool SCAA products available on mto123.com, the top 50 entries (if we get that many!) of the kids' art competition will be on the SCAA website and available to create individual SCAA products on mto.123 (including t-shirts, hoodies, bags, mugs, etc!). A significant percentage of every sale is donated to SCAA so shop early for your holiday gifts this year with your own children's art work!
- 2007 calendars need to be sold!
 We now have nearly 1,000 re-ordered 2007 SCAA calendars but we must find a way to sell them before June (when no one will want them anymore). If you would like to purchase any online, go to www.mto123.com or at any SCAA event. We are also happy to give calendars on consignment: sell what you can and return what you cannot! For more information, contact director@scaashanghai.org
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