Sweet Onion Animal Protection Society

Finding Homes, Saving Lives

Newsletter

February 2014 Newsletter

February 13, 2014 | Posted by Stephanie Reese

DATES TO PUT ON YOUR CALENDAR

S.O.A.P.S MEETINGS: Third Monday of each month: February 17, March 17, April 21, May 19, June 16, July 21, August 18, September 15, October 20, November 17.

SPAY-GHETTI DINNER

All Hands on Deck for this FUNDRAISER ADVENTURE! 

Mark your Calendars for the 5th Annual “Spay”ghetti Dinner, February 25, 2014, Vidalia Community Center, 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm.  Tickets $10.00 a plate, Dine In or Take Out.

TICKETS

We have 500 tickets to sell. Please contact a SOAPS member or go by Altamaha Animal Clinic, Vidalia Veterinary Clinic or Four Rivers Veterinary Center to purchase tickets. Also, tickets will be sold at the door. Everyone that has tickets, please bring them by Marcia’s house NO LATER THAN FEBRUARY 21, 2014. Terry and Marcia will need to get a count on how many tickets we can sell at the door.

FOOD

Lorenzo of Downtown Bistro has agreed to cook our food. Our plates will have spaghetti with meat sauce, salad with dressing, roll, desert and sweeten ice tea or unsweetened ice tea.

The desert, rolls, and paper goods are being donated. All left over food and bake sale items will be donated to the Paul Anderson Youth Home. We will need volunteers to take this over to them at 9:00 PM

BAKE SALE

Anything that is homemade will be appreciated. Please bring them to the Community Center, February 25, 2014. Everything has to be labeled and sorted. Marcia Cherry will be at the Community Center ALL DAY collecting items. The price range on these items are $1.00 for a bag of cookies to at least $25.00 or more for a homemade cake. It can be anything – cookies, cakes, cupcakes, candy, bread, brownies. So check your recipe box and pull out your favorite recipe; ask your neighbor, your mother or mother-in-law to help. But, if you are asking a business to donate something please let Marcia know so she can list them in the program.

BUILDING and DECORATIONS

The Community Center has been taken care of so far as clean-up and setting-up tables.  The decorations will be handled by Marcia Cherry with the help of “The Party Store”.

ENTERTAINMENT

TV JAZZ BAND – These are students from Toombs County and Vidalia High School, about 25 students will be there.

CORPORATE DONATIONS

If you have a business that wants to DONATE MONEY, please do so but these donations need to be turned into Marcia Cherry by February 18, 2014 so she can get the Corporate Banner printed up. We need Corporate Donations.

CELEBRITY SERVERS

These letters will go out February 1st

VOLUNTEERS

Every table needs at least 2 volunteers. Bake Sale – The Dollar Table, The Cake Table, The T-Shirt Table, Tickets Sales,

The kitchen assistances will be Denise Parsons, Jill Murphy and a few of the students from Vidalia High School.

Marcia and Jim Cherry will pick-up the key to the building around 9:30 AM and will start moving everything from their house to start setting up.

PR

The flyer is ready to be posted anywhere and everywhere. All business will have their tickets January 31, 2014. Radio, Newspaper and TV Ads will be done by Terry Yates.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THIS IS A VERY BIG EVENT for SOAPS every year. WE NEED YOUR HELP as Volunteers and Corporate Sponsors.

If you need to get in touch with Terry Yates please call 538-1903, e-mail tred56@bellsouth.net, or Marcia Cherry, call 537-3311, cell #478-494-2687, e-mail jamesccherry@bellsouth.net,. Thanks Everyone and Let’s Have a GREAT Time, Marcia Cherry & Terry Yates

GIRL SCOUT COOKIES

Girl Scout Troop 30685 will share part of their profits from the sale of cookies with SOAPS.  Please encourage everyone to visit their booth and buy cookies. If you would like to place an order, call their leader Priscilla Metts at 245-0807.

Enjoy some of those great cookies and support SOAPS–it is a win/win situation.

The cookie booth dates and locations are as follows:

  1. February 15th (Sat.): Lowes from 10am until 2pm
  2. February 22nd (Sat.): Belk from 10am until 12pm
  3. March 1st (Sat.):  Tractor Supply from 10am until 2pm
  4. March 8th (Sat.):  Lowes from 10am until 2pm

Tried and True Tips for Pet Owners

Kristen Fortune, Yahoo Contributor Network

Tips for pet owners are many, but staying in touch with your gut instinct when it concerns your pet, might perhaps be the most important aspect of pet ownership. Following your gut instinct isn’t always easy. Sometimes it’s very painful, but in the end, it’s usually best for you, your pet and your family. I have learned the incredible value of listening to my instinct, and that might just be the number one best tip for pet owners, and it’s one of the easiest to follow.

Behavior:

Any separation from you will be painful for your pet, so please, don’t give it away just because it’s too difficult to train, or won’t stop chewing your slippers, or barking at the neighbors. These are all manageable behavior issues that we are faced with when we make a commitment to own a pet, so stay the course! Some time ago, our son brought home a stray cat. At first, I didn’t want her, though I instinctively knew I was done for because she was so fluffy and sweet. We named her Amie which is French (L’amie) for “friend”. Well, it has been a year now, and Amie still goes “number two” right next to her litter box rather than in it. She does however, use the potty in the litter box, thank goodness. Because I made the decision to keep Amie, and because God has somehow placed her in the care of our family, it is our responsibility to love her and care for her. (Bonne amie!) As we continue to work on Amie’s little problem, patience and understanding come in handy. These are instincts most of us animal lovers are born with anyway, so let’s use them! One very important point on ANIMAL CRUELTY. Please keep your pets inside when you are not home. The statistics of animals abused, tortured, and killed are frightening. Make sure your pets are always accounted for so that you will have peace of mind that they are safe, (regardless of their sometimes naughty behavior!)

Feeding:

The size of your pet will determine the feeding schedule he should be on. Never skip meals. You know how it feels to be hungry, so always remember that it feels the same for your beloved pet. We are all guilty of giving our pets table scraps, so I don’t think it’s realistic to forbid it. I do think that too much of a good thing is bad. Giving your pet regular table scraps can cause gastrointestinal issues, weight gain, and excessive begging. On a side note, your pet should at all times have easy access to a bowl of fresh water. In the summer, avoid the use of metal or aluminum bowls as they absorb the heat form the sun, and make the water warm, not to mention turning it into a playground for teeming bacteria.

Bath time:

Bath time for pets is a major event for most pet owners that want to do it themselves. The purchase of pet shampoo should not break the bank either. Cheap is fine, as long as it’s specified for the pet you are bathing. Always remember, what’s good for the dog, is not good for the cat, especially when it comes to products made to keep fleas off of your pets. Many years ago, my boyfriend took it upon himself to bathe some of the kittens at his grandparent’s farm house. He’d started with my favorite; a little brown kitten with the sweetest face I’d ever seen. In his effort to keep the kitten free of fleas, my boyfriend sprayed the kitten with the dog’s flea preventative. He meant to read the guidelines, but he was so intent on saving the kitten from further fleas, that he didn’t remember to read the label. Just an hour later the kitten lay trembling in the driveway from the poison it had ingested by licking itself after being sprayed. It was a very sad day for us, but I learned a very important lesson. No matter how much you think you know, or how many times you have used a specific product on your pet, always, I repeat always, READ THE LABEL.