Animals Can’t Talk Rescue And Adoption Inc.
Have you ever seen a cat prowling around late at night, and wondered to yourself, does that cat have a home, or is it a stray? This is something that the good people of Animals Can’t Talk Rescue And Adoption Inc. (ACT) have thought about extensively, and take very seriously.
“There are lots of stray cats around here,” says Jennifer Lewis, a volunteer at ACT. “It is a big problem.” She is right. According to feralcat.com, “The number of feral cats in the U.S. has been estimated at 60 million.” Using that number, it can be estimated that the total stray cats in Monroe County number more than 2,000. This is a conservative estimate.
Founded by Naomi Gauntlett, Animals Can’t Talk began as a New York-based no kill shelter over five years ago. Now, ACT has come to East Stroudsburg. ACT has started up in the East Stroudsburg area just over a year ago.
“These are some of the cats,” she says, pointing to a series of cages in the middle of PetSmart. I walk over to the cages. Three furry faces stare back at me, confused, frightened, and innocent.
“Are they scared?” I ask.
“Yes, they’re very afraid,” Lewis replies. “We just got them from a shelter in New York. They were about to be euthanized.”
Every year, more cats and dogs are born than can be taken into homes as pets. As a result, thousands of innocent animals die pointless and sad deaths in overcrowded shelters. Thousands more are strays, living on the streets, fighting to survive. According to the Humane Society, “Four million cats and dogs—about one every eight seconds—are put down in U.S. shelters each year.” This is a very real and very serious problem, one which ACT seeks to solve.
According to its website, “Animals Can’t Talk Rescue And Adoption Inc. is a 501(c)3 corporation, and is an all volunteer organization.” This means that ACT is an American tax exempt organization. Since ACT has basically just started up, there is limited shelter space. Because of this, they are focusing mainly on cats at this point in time.
ACT has several main goals. Jennifer Lewis states that the purpose of the organization is “to educate the community, spay and neuter both strays and pets, and rescue and adopt cats.”
On Sunday, April 11, Animals Can’t Talk Rescue And Adoption held a vaccination clinic for dogs and cats, in conjunction with Penn Estates Wildlife And Forestry Committee and Vets From Creature Comforts Veterinary Service. There is another major event that is coming up soon. On Saturday, June 26 at 7 p.m., Animals Can’t Talk will be hosting a game of Basket Bingo at Penn Estates Community Center. There will be a $2 donation entrance fee. In addition, every Saturday afternoon, Animals Can’t Talk Rescue And Adoption Inc. houses its cats and kittens at the Stroudsburg PetSmart. Volunteers from ACT are there from 2 – 6 p.m.
ACT gets part of its funding in the form of government grants. It also receives some funding from Purina, one of their sponsors. However, Animals Can’t Talk relies on charitable donations for a significant majority of its funding. While donations are one way to help this wonderful organization, one does not have to give money to help. Instead, one can give their time and effort. According to Lewis, ACT has “about 30 volunteers.” Since Animals Can’t Talk is comprised entirely of volunteers, they can also use more.“Volunteers are always welcome,” she says.
Since opening in 2009, ACT has done a lot of great work. According to their April Newsletter, from January to mid-November, they have rescued approximately 327 animals, and have resulted in another 245 being adopted. They have also dealt with quite a few horror stories this year alone. Their April newsletter also states that they had found “A six-month old beautiful orange boy with a fish hook stuck in his eye. Thankfully it did not penetrate and his eye was saved--now adopted…” Another story talks about how one cat “crawled out of a dumpster on Route 447 when one of our volunteers was disposing her trash--now adopted.”
If you wish to contact Animals Can’t Talk Rescue And Adoption Inc. there are several ways to do so. You can call them at (570) 242-2846, or email them at strictlycats@verizon.net. You may also send donations to 3325 Penn Estates East Stroudsburg, PA 18301. In addition, you can use a service known as iGive. If you make iGive your homepage or add it to your favorites, then every time you search on the internet, ACT will receive 1 cent. If you buy anything using iGive, then ACT will receive up to 26% of each purchase at over 680 participating online stores. To use iGive, go to igive.com and type in Animals Can’t Talk Rescue And Adoption, Inc. You can also read their blog, or visit them on their Facebook page.
Daniel Wolkoff, English major, is a senior at East Stroudsburg University. Wolkoff has a love for creative writing, especially short stories and poetry. He hopes to have a book of poetry and a book of short stories published one day. Since fall 2008, Wolkoff has worked as an editor for Calliope, ESU’s literary magazine. He also has a love for animals, particularly, his dog Molly, which he has had since 2002.
