Question: what do you get when four generous women with huge hearts decide to make a difference?
Answer: PAAWS; a Spay-Neuter Assistance Program for long- and short-haired domestic felines.
It all began in 2006 when Laurie Magelky decided she wanted to do something significant to save the lives of cats and kittens whose previous owners could no longer take care of them, or take their cats to wherever their new adventures took them. Instead of sitting idly by while tens of hundreds of felines were dumped on city streets or lonely country roads or simply left to die, Laurie opened the Minn-Kota PAAWS Adoption and Shelter facility located at 25 21st Street South (Fargo) with little money and less help. In time more help was found and with grants and donations, before long the shelter’s residents grew as did the volunteer list.
Today, PAAWS has four rooms for their 35 feline guests who roam and play within the community-style living quarters. They also have a spay/neuter clinic for strays who are captured and waiting for adoption. If you already have a cat you want spayed or neutered, PAAWS can offer this as well, and recommends their facility to anyone with a cat in need of this service. PAAWS also has a surgical recovery room with cages for cats who need to stay longer than a one-day surgical procedure.
Unfortunately, the volunteers have not joined up quite as readily as their feline guests, yet with only four who each have full-time lives and jobs, Laurie Magelky, Carol Stefone, Carol Swicki and Jill Fredrick make up the “staff” in charge of maintaining, cleaning, capturing, feeding, answering phones and keeping PAAWS alive within the region. Four generous and busy women have a mission to save the lives of hundreds — no easy task, to say the least.
Many of the cats saved are from the regional city pounds. Once placed with PAAWS, the cats are checked out by one of the veterinarians or vet techs for physical fitness and diseases. After that each cat is spayed or neutered and a microchip is placed in one of the cat’s ears. In the event a PAAWS feline is adopted and becomes lost or left behind, when found the cat is identifiable to the PAAWS group who will again resume care for the cat until a new home can be found. The veterinary services for spaying and neutering are not free, and that is where much of the money from donations and grants goes to, along with supplies and food.
Anyone wanting to adopt a cat, donate to PAAWS, or help by volunteering, is more than welcome and should call: PAAWS at 701-356-7877. Donations can be sent to: PAAWS Adoption & Shelter, 25 21st Street So., Fargo, North Dakota., 58103.
IS IT TRUTH OR INTERNET GARBAGE GOSSIP?
I am constantly getting emails from friends and readers of this column who find “information” on the internet that catches their eye or is sent to them by someone else —who for whatever reason has not completely read the information or believes anything some other nitwit sends as being “true and real.” More often than not it has something to do with President Obama’s HealthCare Reform bill. The latest one I’ve received about twenty-five times is promoting a bogus bunch of baloney about a “3.8 percent sales tax” that will be imposed on anyone who sells their home and makes a profit. DOUBTFUL! Why do I say ‘doubtful’ versus “wrong?” Because yes, it might happen IF you are the exception and actually make more than $250,000 in profits from the sale of your primary residence and you are single. It’s $500,000 if you are a married couple. No, this does not apply to vacation homes or rental properties.
I’m betting few people within yelling distance of Fargo/Moorhead will actually make over $250.000, never mind $500,000 PROFIT on the sale of their home. And if you do, invite me to dinner, woulf you? I’d really love to see how the “other half” lives.
As for all the other garbage floating around on the internet and whether it can be believed? Before sending out information you are not 100 percent sure is correct, go to SNOPES.com. It’s a great resource for checking out whether the information you have is bogus or real, or just a hoax some bored geek decided to start as a humor rumor for kicks and giggles.
WHAT DO YOU REALLY THINK?
Recently I found and took a PEW research survey about attitudes in the ever-changing American family and how well I’ve accepted these more modern changes. Even I was a little surprised by my answers, or at least where they compared with the “average” in this national survey. When completed I scored an acceptance score of 85 percent. The questions were asked with answers falling into the categories of whether you feel a) it is good for society b) bad for society c) doesn’t make much difference or d) don’t know. Questions such as these were asked: 1) Do you feel more women not ever having children is A, B, C or D? 2) More unmarried couples raising children is A, B, C or D? 3) More single women having children without a male partner to help raise them is A, B, C or D? 4) More gay and lesbian couples raising children is A, B, C, or D? 5) More people living together without getting married is A, B, C, or D? 6) More mothers of young children working outside the home is A, B, C or D? More people of different races marrying each other is A, B, C or D? Remember, this is a questionnaire about how you feel regarding all the changes that have taken place in today’s society. For a quick look at how “accepting” you are, go to: http://pew
socialtrends.org/. You may surprise yourself.
BINGO! BINGO! BINGO! Yessiree! Bingo has come to Moorhead and can be played every Sunday at
JERRY’S BAR, located at 1500 11th Street North. Starting at 2 p.m. on Sunday you can sit, play, and wait in anticipation for that llllaaassstttt letter to spell out the word you’ve been dying to scream out – BINGO! Charity host is the Moorhead Youth Wrestling. So stop your whining about wanting snow and flood season to end. Go on over to Jerry’s in North Moorhead and win something!
** What should the valley do about future wet cycles and the Red River floods? Got something else on your mind? Send your letters to the editor to: thefmextra@aol.com or you can also send them to me, Soo Asheim, at sooasheim@aol.com. Please remember ALL letters MUST be signed and include a phone number and city for identifying purposes.