Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month
According to the ASPCA, April is Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month, and each year, the ASPCA urges supporters across the country to “Go Orange for Animals” to raise awareness.
We have a feline rescue and adoption center right here in Venice. St. Francis Animal Rescue (SFAR) is an organization that cares for lifetime resident cats, adoptable cats and kittens and foster cats. SFAR was founded in 1992 when a group of women banded together to feed & spay/neuter a colony of feral cats living at the North Jetty in Nokomis, Florida. The women recognized there was a need to help stray, homeless & abandoned cats in the community and has teamed with local volunteer trappers to spay or neuter the ferals in the community.
In 1993, SFAR became a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. Three years later, property was purchased to accommodate a cageless shelter/adoption center & a thrift store. The thrift store is located in the new building next to the shelter.
Contact Information:
St. Francis Animal Rescue
1925 South Tamiami Trail
Venice, Florida 34293.
Phone: 941-492-6200
Email: stfrancisarfl@comcast.net.
Website: www.stfrancisarfl.org/
Another nearby animal shelter is the Suncoast Humane Society, one of Florida’s few “open admissions” animal shelters that accepts all animals brought from within their service area. They are committed to a policy of never turning an animal away, regardless of health, temperament, size or breed.
The organization was founded in 1971 as the Animal Aid Society of Englewood by a group of compassionate people. It started as a small shelter with a few cages allowing it to care for homeless animals. The Englewood area, along with the entire nation, experienced a pet over-population crisis that challenged their non-profit organization to grow to meet the needs.
Expansions to the shelter occurred, with the latest completed in 1997. Over time. their service area also expanded and now covers more than 400 square miles, including Charlotte County, most of Sarasota County, and a portion of Lee County (Boca Grande). To more accurately reflect the areas served, the name was changed to Suncoast Humane Society.
Contact Information:
The Suncoast Humane Society
6781 San Casa Drive
Englewood, Florida 34224
Phone: 941-474-7884
Fax: 941-475-3877
Website: http://www.humane.org/
