The Friends are seeking volunteers and funds to support the regional shelter.
Michael A. Xavie, Gabriella Klinakis and Jocelyn Coira give Westfield Mayor Danial Kanpik a check last year for the Westfield Animal Shelter in honor of their grandfather, the late City Councilor Charles W. Medeiros. WESTFIELD – Friends of the Westfield Animal Shelter is considered a valuable volunteer group that provides services and funding necessary to care of stray dogs throughout the region.
That is how Kenneth E. Frazer, shelter operations director, characterizes the group that formed about one year after Westfield opened its first animal shelter in February, 2010.
“This group provides for things the city cannot,” said Frazer.
“They are valuable in the service they provide from walking dogs to raising money. They were started to supplement the shelter in manpower and funding,” he said.
The friends group, also know as HEROES, is launching an outreach program to educate the public on shelter services, seek out additional volunteers along with donations and fund raising events.
“We are the fund raising group and we are trying to get the word out about the shelter and the need for donations,” said president Carole J. Tracy.
“The main focus of our effort is the health and medical care needed by many of the dogs at the shelter,” she said.
There is no specific financial goal and Tracy and fellow member Jan F. Marchesi said all public donations are appreciated. The group has raised about $5,000 in the past year.
“Donations can range from food, blankets, cleaning supplies and money,” said Tracy.
Marchesi is launching an educational project for area elementary schools featuring Oscar, an abandoned dog in need for medication attention, that she adopted in April from the shelter.
HEROES provided the necessary finances for an amputation Oscar needed through Springfield’s Dankin Animal Shelter.
“That is what we do,” Marchesi said.
The group currently has a membership of 50 - 60 volunteers who provide cleaning, exercise and other services daily at Westfield Animal Shelter located at 178 Apremont Way.
The shelter has since expanded to include stray dogs from West Springfield and Agawam. Marchesi is currently canvassing those communities to inform residents there that a missing pet may be at the Westfield shelter.
Dogs are kept at the shelter for 10-days before they are eligible, depending on their health, for adoption.
Frazer said the shelter has an municipal operating budget of about $110,000 that finances staff salaries, rent and heat for the shelter. The city has a five-year lease for the facility with Lawry Realty at $2,200 per month.
The friends group has, in addition to raising funds for animal health issues, provided funding a roof over outside kennels at the shelter.
The shelter has capacity for 25 dogs and currently houses 18.
Upcoming fund raising events include a first annual Scramble for Animals golf tournament to benefit the Westfield Animal Shelter and the Friends of the Westfield Homeless Cat Project on Aug. 12 at Oak ridge Golf Club in Agawam.
HEROES is also hosting a tag sale at the Apremont Way shelter on Aug. 17 and 18 and is seeking donations for that sale. Donations can be dropped off at the shelter.
Additional information is available by calling 413-564-0589 for golf registration and 413-386-6379 or dogsheroes@gmail.com for tag sale donations.
The shelter is open Tuesdays through Fridays from noon to 5 p.m.; Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.