May 2012 Newsletter

The ARC Advocate

May, 2012

Nate Benderson: Committed and Passionate about Helping Animals

Nate Benderson had a passion for helping animals

Just a week before he passed away at the age of 94, legendary real estate developer Nate Benderson attended his last meeting as a board member of the Animal Rescue Coalition.

"Even then, he got very emotional and teared up," recalls Ed Sarbey, ARC's co-founder and Chairman. Nobody could miss how committed and passionate he was about the mission of ARC and about helping animals."

Benderson served as an ARC Board member for the past four years. Among the many humanitarian causes he supported, the founder of Benderson Development had bestowed upon ARC a substantial endowment that generates a five figure income for the organization each year, Sarbey said.

Though Benderson's main focus had been developing Honor Animal Rescue he founded on Lorraine Road in east Manatee County, Benderson had long talked about greater collaboration between ARC and Honor, Sarbey said. "He strongly believed that the two organizations were very compatible. We had talked for years about developing more synergy, and we intend to move ahead and make it happen."

Al Wolfson, a top executive at Benderson, described Benderson's involvement with ARC as another indication of "how consistent he was with his feelings for animals. He felt ARC and Honor were both dedicated to the same basic mission: preventing animals from being abandoned."

Local Veternarians Show Their Compassion and Support for Feral Cats

An amazing roster of 27 local veterinarians joined with the Animal Rescue Coalition and Venice Cat Coalition April 27 to recognize National Free Feral Cat Spay Day along with scores of other veterinarians nationwide.

ARC's medical director, Dr. Nan Rosenberry of Bay Road Animal Hospital neuters a feral cat.

Participating veterinarians spayed or neutered at least two feral or free-roaming cats free of charge. This special day was founded two years ago by the national nonprofit group Alley Cat Rescue in the hopes to strengthen the relationships between feral spay/neuter groups and veterinarians, and humans with stray/feral cats.

"This effort did create a sense of community among veterinarians, uniting them in the feral cat effort, and I was amazed by the positive response we received," says Caroline Resnick, feral cat program director. "Many of the veterinarians pledged to continue to work with feral spay/neuter groups, sterilizing cats all year long, which makes this a win-win situation not only for cats but for the entire community," Resnick added.

Dr. Greg Fluharty of The Animal Clinic in Port Charlotte.

While some of the participating veterinarians are already involved in Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) , many are new, which is widely recognized as the most effective and humane way to control free-roaming and feral cat populations. TNR involves humanely trapping feral cats, ensuring they are sterilized and vaccinated for rabies and distemper, ear tipped and returned to their original location into the care of an informed colony caregiver. Trap-Neuter-Return immediately eliminates the birth of unwanted kittens that already overload the county's shelter system, and also reduces the systematic killing of feral cats in shelters which are unadoptable because of their fear of humans.

ARC would like to thank the following veterinarians who have participated in this year's campaign:

Dr. Andrea Bivens    Animal Medical Clinic of Punta Gorda
Dr. Emily Murphy    Animal Rescue Coalition Mobile Spay Neuter Clinic
Dr. Don Swerida    Animal Rescue Coalition Mobile Spay Neuter Clinic
Dr. Kate Cole    Animal Rescue Coalition Mobile Spay Neuter Clinic
Dr. Jill Jackson    Animal Rescue Coalition Mobile Spay Neuter Clinic
Dr. Laurie Walmsley    Ashton Animal Clinic
Dr. Nan Rosenberry    Bay Road Animal Hospital
Dr. Ronni Tudin    Bee Ridge Veterinary Clinic
Dr. Cliff Myburgh    Bright Cross Animal Clinic
Dr. Kevin Cronin    Charlotte Animal Hospital
Dr. Randy Hitesman    Choice Veterinary Services
Dr. Alexander Villarreal    Collingswood Animal Hospital
Dr. Debbie Marks    Florida Animal Care
Dr. Steven Groves    Groves Veterinary Clinic

Dr. Teresa Smith Heron Creek Animal Hospital

Dr. Michael Reinhart Jacaranda Animal Hospital

Dr. Jonathan Gurland    Lemon Bay Animal Hospital
Dr. Steinbrecher    Loving Care Animal Hospital
Dr. Dawn Spakowski    Myakka River Animal Clinic
Dr. Martin Neher    Palmer Ranch Animal Clinic
Dr. Mark Degrove    Peace River Animal Clinic
Dr. Shelley Kingsbury    Punta Gorda Animal Hospital
Dr. Dean Ebert     South Trail Animal Hospital
Dr. Greg Fluharty    The Animal Clinic
Dr. Kris Minnich    Toledo Blade Animal Clinic
Dr. Nicole Kushmaul    Venice Pines Veterinary Clinic
Dr. Gary Berkowitz    Veterinary Associates of Jacaranda

ARC'S Mobile Spay/Neuter Clinic Gets a New Wrap and New Image

Side view of mobile clinic

New images, softer shades and earth tones. ARC's Mobile Spay/Neuter Clinic for low income families received a fresh new look this week, thanks to a generous grant from The Selby Foundation.

"ARC rolled out a new brand about 18 months ago, and the new wrap, installed by "It's a Wrap!", is an extension of our new branding", said Brenda Terris, Executive Director. "The dog and cat images and tagline 'The Low Cost Animal Fix' is easily read from almost a block away," Terris added.

Rear view of mobile clinic

The side view of the mobile clinic shows a photo of a young cat and dog, and the side view shows a very cute dog looking out the back window of the mobile clinic.

Since 2002, ARC has spayed/neutered more than 30,000 cats and dogs from low-income families.

The Animal Rescue Coalition is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to end the killing of adoptable dogs and cats in Sarasota County and Manatee County by means of a proactive spay/neuter program, feral cat program, adoption efforts, and various other initiatives designed to recognize the profound benefits to people of animal companionship.