The VSPCA shelter needs our help!

(photos by Eileen Weintraub)

The Visakha Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (VSPCA) could use your help! The VSPCA's shelter in Andhra Pradesh, India, was severely damaged in the recent typhoon, Cyclone Laila, and assistance is needed for both repairs and disaster relief to help animals in the surrounding area.

Here is a portion of an e-mail we received from Eileen Weintraub, the founder of Help Animals India, an umbrella organization whose primary beneficiary is the VSPCA:

"Cyclone Laila has struck the coast of Andhra Pradesh, and has continued up the Indian coast through Orissa. The VSPCA shelter which is home to around 1,100 animals has sustained a lot of damage.

Pradeep Nath, founder and president of VSPCA, writes: 'Trees have fallen on the roof of the ABC/TNR [Animal Birth Control/Trap Neuter Release] center; this needs immediate repair so we can continue our ABC (spay/neuter) program. The bigger generator and even the small generator are not working and are clogged with water. Three of the pigeon shelters have been damaged. All the bird areas need to be fixed to better withstand storms. The goshala shed where the buffaloes live, needs the sheets on top replaced, the goshala shed on the other side, for the cows, has been swept away by the winds, and another one needs to be put up for them. The drainage system needs to be improved to prevent flooding.

Our first obligation is to the 1,100 rescued animals we have here; they all need to have shelter and be in out of the rain - and to the continuation of our ABC (spay/neuter) program. We conduct more than 40 surgeries a day to help the street animals, and we need to continue this program.

Animals in the areas around us also need urgent help because of the severe storm and the flooding, and we hope that we will have the funding to do disaster relief, as we have always done in the past, since these animals too are dependent on us. We are thankful that there have been no deaths, and all the animals here at the shelter have survived. Our heart-felt thanks to all of you who can provide any help for the animals.' "

If you'd like to help, here are three ways:

1. Consider nominating Help Animals India as Romeo the Cat's FURPOWER recipient for June (If you have not heard about Romeo yet, you can read more about FURPOWER here. He and his amazing staffperson, Caroline Golon, have raised so much money for animal charity.)

You can nominate at http://www.romeothecat.com/contact/ - it is easy! All you need is a valid e-mail address! Please note that you must nominate Help Animals India (website address: http://helpanimalsindia.org/) instead of the VSPCA since Romeo's rules require that the charity be a U.S. 501(c)3 organization. Caroline will be choosing a recipient later this week so please nominate ASAP.

2. If you are eligible, please consider nominating either the VSPCA or Help Animals India for the EFA Charity of the Month for July.

3. And if you can, please consider making a small donation, since our money goes a long way in India! As Eileen says:
"Donations go directly to benefit India’s animals. In India, these funds continue to go a long way. Typical monthly salaries are the equivalent of $500 USD for a veterinarian and $100 USD for shelter or office help. Dog and cat spay/neuter operations average just $12 USD."

You can find out more about how to donate at http://vspca.org/donate.php. If you donate via PayPal, the donation goes through Help Animals India and is 100% US tax deductible. You can also donate by mail or wire transfer.

Many thanks!