HAMBURG, N.Y. (WKBW) — As our community faces a growing animal care crisis, Ten Lives Club is stepping up to help overwhelmed shelters and cat owners through its fundraising efforts and low-cost spay and neuter services.
The SPCA Serving Erie County has paused admissions of new animals as they work overtime to properly care for the ones currently in their shelter. This comes at a critical time when many local animal organizations are struggling with overcrowding.
In response to what Ten Lives Club calls an "ongoing kitten crisis," the organization hosted their annual "Eat a Dog, Save a Cat" fundraiser at George's Hot Dogs in Hamburg on Tuesday. This continued their more than 20-year collaboration to help cats and kittens find healthy homes.
"It's all about the hot dogs tonight and raising money for the kitties," Marie Edwards, Ten Lives Club founder and executive director, said.
The event brought together community members like Barbara Vennard, who came with her husband to adopt their sixth kitten from the organization. The couple has supported Ten Lives Club for years through donations, adoptions, etc.
"They need it. The kittens that come in are numbers, I mean, really high numbers, and they're constantly taking in cats and kittens," Vennard said.
Ten Lives Club currently has more than 300 moms and kittens in foster care. This year alone, the organization has accepted about 2,600 cats and kittens and has successfully found homes for more than 2,300.
"It's really bad this year. Every single day, we're getting phone calls about pregnant moms, kittens being left all around, kittens being left in barns, kittens being abandoned, kittens being found in boxes. So it's been out of control this year and we're trying our best to take them all in, get them into foster homes," Edwards said.
In May, I covered a story about three kittens that were found in a torn-up Amazon box.
The funds raised at events like Tuesday's go toward everyday expenses like vaccines, veterinary costs and testing for the animals in their care.
"We're on the run. We're on the go every single day doing what we can do best to help as much as we can, but we need the public's support to adopt. We need the public's support to help us foster these cats. We really, really need foster homes," Edwards said.
Nancy Martin, owner of George's Hot Dogs, has witnessed the dedication of Ten Lives Club volunteers firsthand.
"They like to put everything into it like that. Most of them are volunteers and they have grown, and they have saved so many animals, tirelessly. I've actually volunteered there and I know how hard they work," Martin said.
One hundred percent of the proceeds from hot dogs and footlongs sold at George's during the event went directly to Ten Lives Club.
For Vennard, who took home a kitten named Leah to their West Seneca home, the joy of adoption outweighs the eventual heartbreak of loss.
"You'd never regret taking home a pet that needs a home," Vennard said. "Losing them is the hardest thing you ever have to do, but you got to know they're still there with you in spirit."
Ten Lives Club will be offering a low-cost spay and neutering event this Sunday, Aug. 17, during their "Taylor Swift Cat Lover's Brunch" at Michael's Banquet Hall in Hamburg from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
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