New Jersey Teen Raises Funds For Animals.  The Paws and Claws Society donated $5,000 to Beacon Animal Rescue at the "Dog Day Afternoon" fund raiser at Bonefish Grill in Egg Harbor Township in August.  See the pressofAtlanticCity story.  See the Shore News Today story.

The "About Us" page on the web site of Beacon Animal Rescue in Ocean View, NJ, explains that they are a no-kill "non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing domestic animals that are about to be euthanized in shelters, giving them the care they need, and finding homes for them".  Francesca Lanfranchi, 15, has volunteered for the organization since she was 8 years old.  To date, her fundraisers have raised over $40,000 for Beacon.

Lanfranchi's first fundraiser for Beacon, Strut For Mutts, was first held in 2005 and became an annual event where dogs and their people can spend an afternoon together having fun while supporting local homeless pets.  This year, Lanfranchi decided to try something different, hosting her "Dog Day Afternoon" event indoors.

"With the fundraiser inside," The Shore News Today quotes, "it's better to not have to worry about the weather.  Bonefish Grill is opening up just for me."

Francesca's efforts have been noticed!  In February of 2010, she was named one of New Jersey's top two Youth Volunteers by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards.  She is shown in the photo at right being congratulated by Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

In 2006, she was mentioned by Congressman Frank LoBiondo in a philly.com article on Candidates' Views.  LoBiondo is quoted as saying, "There are many aspects of our country that make me feel good, but there is one definitive characteristic that encourages me the most: the unwavering American spirit. That spirit was demonstrated in the nation's response to Sept. 11, and again after the deadly tsunami in Asia and Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast. Each time, Americans rallied to aid those in need. The American spirit is also present daily in communities across the United States and here in South Jersey. From spaghetti dinners hosted at our fire departments to residents like 10-year-old Francesca Lanfranchi of Egg Harbor Township - who organized a charity walk for her local animal shelter - I firmly believe that when each individual contributes to making our communities better, it makes our nation that much better."

Grant applications for funding now being accepted.  Paws and Claws Society is now accepting Circle of Compassion for Animals grant applications to fund no-kill programs and services.  For more information, please see our Circle of Compassion for Animals page.

The 2011 No Kill Conference in Washington, DC was a sold-out success!  From Nathan Winograd's blog: "No Kill Conference 2011 brought hundreds of animal lovers from 40 states and nine countries to the George Washington School of Law in Washington D.C. The most successful shelter directors, animal lawyers, and shelter reformers nationwide shared insights and strategies to end the systematic killing of animals in our nations pounds and shelters. The attendees heard from directors of open admission shelters with save rates of better than 97%. They heard from lawyers who have passed laws making it illegal for shelters to kill animals in a wide variety of contexts and who have successfully saved the lives of animals who shelters were determined to kill. And they heard from reformers who have succeeded in passing laws to end the needless killing of animals in their community."

See photos on our facebook page, or read about the conference:

The Toledo Blade article, 8/1/11

Nathan Winograd's blog

A Series of Blog Posts about the conference on PetConnection

KC Dog Blog

YesBiscuit! posts No Kill Conference Wrap-Up: #1, No Kill Conference Wrap-Up: #2, No Kill Conference Wrap-Up: #3

Lisa Marie Czop has shared her album of over 200 photos of the event!  Click on the photo of the goodie bags below to view the photos:

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    Paws and Claws Society is now on facebook and twitter!  Come and Like us or Follow us.

Paws and Claws donates to Cape May County in celebration of the 7th anniversary of the Cape May County Animal Shelter and Adoption Center's opening.  The center will use the funds for the microchipping of cats and dogs.  Celebrate the center's week-long birthday celebration, July 15, 2011 through July 21, 2011!  See the article in the Cape May Herald for more information.

The results are in!  The winners of this year's Circle Of Compassion For Animals Senior Scholarship Award have been announced.

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Paws and Claws sponsors the 2011 No-Kill Conference.  See list of supporters here.

The No Kill Advocacy Center is teaming up with the Animal Law program at George Washington University Law School and No Kill Nation to bring together the nation's most successful shelter directors and the nation's top animal lawyers. They will help you create a No Kill community and teach you how to use the legal system to save the lives of animals. Learn from animal control/shelter directors who are now saving over 90% of all animals using the building blocks to No Kill success - programs and services that have had results in both urban and rural communities - to increase adoptions, reduce length of stay, increase redemption rates, rehabilitate animals, and much, much more.

 

96 cats and dogs killed every day of the year in New Jersey!  Read eye-opening 2009 New Jersey animal statistics, both by state and by county.  We've made progress, but not enough.  We're still making progress, but not fast enough.  35,075 cats and dogs were reported killed in New Jersey animal shelters during 2009; an average of 96 per day.

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March 2011: Paws and Claws donates the following two books by Nathan J. Winograd to the libraries of every high school in New Jersey:
 

Update, April 2011: Our High School library book project has taken a bit longer than we anticipated.  If your school has received the letter below and you have not received your books yet, please rest assured that they will be arriving soon!  Most of these orders are now being fulfilled by Barnes & Noble and should be shipping within the month of May.  If you have not received your books by the end of May, please contact us at the telephone number in the letter or by email at email@pacsnj.org and we will research the shipment.  Thank you!

Update, May 28, 2011: The last of the books have finally shipped, and should be received by schools all over New Jersey by June 1st! 

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Paws and Claws will once again bring 4 billboards to Cape May County in 2011.  These billboards, featuring Georgie and the "Circle of Compassion for Animals", will continue to share the PACS Spay/neuter and adoption message at various locations throughout Cape May County.

03/07/2011: Kathleen Fitzgerald's letter (see below) has gone national!  Cesar Millan's organization has written an article about her letter and her grass roots puppy mill campaign, and published it on their website as well as in their newsletter.  Read the article and see the full letter here.

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See the Cape May County Herald article about the PACS Viral Video Challenge:

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ENTER THE PACS VIRAL VIDEO CHALLENGE: