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Awareness Fatigue

If you were worried that maybe you weren't aware of enough things, Carol and Alexandra Ernst and the 4Paws Rescue Team think you should be "aware" of the need to spay or neuter your pets (press release below the fold) and are now selling awareness bracelets to that effect. (Ribbons are sooo yesterday.)

11-year-old Alexandra says that she hopes to "give cats a voice," but I would imagine that if cats could speak, they'd say Let me keep my balls! Once word gets out on the cat grapevine, cats are going to recognize these bracelets and run from people wearing them like they were Jehova's Witnesses.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, D.C. AREA ANIMAL RESCUE TEAM WORKS TO PROMOTE AWARENESS FOR SPAYING AND NEUTERING

Centreville Mother-Daughter Duo Distribute Awareness Bracelets to 'Give Pets A Voice'

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 21, 2005 - A local mother and daughter team are working together this spring to give cats and dogs in the nation's capital a stronger voice and to raise awareness about the pet overpopulation crisis.

4Paws Rescue Team volunteers Carol Ernst and her 11-year-old daughter, Alexandra, of Centreville, Va., came up with the idea of distributing the "awareness" bracelets to promote pet adoption as well as spaying and neutering. The bracelets cost $3.00 with proceeds benefiting 4Paws Rescue Team, a Washington, D.C. area nonprofit organization dedicated to saving neglected, abandoned, abused and unwanted cats and kittens.

The Ernsts, along with the help of the nonprofit's nearly 100 volunteers, will be armed this spring with the bracelets at adoption fairs and other events. Bracelets also are expected to be available at area veterinary clinics and local animal shelters. More information about the bracelets is available on 4Paws' Web site at www.fourpaws.org.

"Every year as spring brings warmer weather, animal shelters and rescue organizations are inundated with homeless animals," said Barbara Lipson, President of 4Paws. "We hope that these 'awareness' bracelets will greatly increase people's understanding of the near-epidemic number of cats and kittens that will be euthanized in the D.C. metropolitan area because of rampant pet overpopulation and shortage of available homes."

"4Paws' goal is to distribute 2,000 'awareness' bracelets and, more importantly, to educate people, especially youngsters, about responsible pet care," said Carol Ernst, a substitute elementary school teacher. She has been a 4Paws volunteer since 2001 and participates in the organization's education program geared at teaching local elementary school children about appropriate handling and treatment of domestic animals.

"These 'awareness' bracelets will help families better understand that bringing
home a pet is a responsibility that carries with it both a time and financial commitment," she added.  "People need to understand that their responsibility to their new cat or kitten extends beyond providing food and shelter. Equally important is providing these new pets with appropriate veterinary care including spay or neuter surgery to ensure that their pets do not contribute to the overpopulation crisis."

Three felines  including two adopted through 4Paws  permanently share a home with the Ernsts. Since becoming volunteers four years ago, the family
has provided temporary homes for 66 foster cats and kittens. The experience of caring for these previously homeless cats and then helping to find them permanent homes has prompted Alexandra Ernst to go one step further. Twice a year - on her birthday and at Christmas - she donates her monetary gifts to 4Paws.

"I think the 'awareness' bracelets will give the cats a voice," Alexandra Ernst said.  "I am an animal lover and a lot of kids don't understand what you need to do to be a pet owner. These bracelets will get people talking about cats and dogs and having a pet."

4Paws volunteers help save the lives of hundreds of cats and kittens each year. They work at monthly adoption fairs, serve as foster families to needy cats and provide assistance to adoptive families through in-home visits and phone support. Since its inception in 1995, 4Paws volunteers have found permanent homes for nearly 5,000 cats and kittens. Last year alone, 4Paws adopted out nearly 400 cats and kittens.