The Rozzie May Animal Alliance is a 501(c)3 designated tax exempt organization.

All donations are tax deductible.

P.O. Box 38
Tamworth, NH 03886

Home

About Rozzie May

About the Alliance

News

Memorials

How You Can Help

Email

US Shelters euthanize four to six million homeless animals a year. How do we stop the killing?

The Board of Directors and Roz Manwaring, founder and former executive director of the Conway Area Humane Society, are thrilled to announce the Rozzie May Animal Alliance in memory of Roz’s mother Rozzie May Manwaring*.

A concerned group of citizens, Carol Bryans, Maxine Cheek, Terri Conlon, Beth Lincoln, and Lindsey Maihos, incorporated this Tamworth, New Hampshire non-profit corporation in July 2007. The Rozzie May Animal Alliance (RMAA), a tribute to the human/animal bond, will be a multi-phase project focusing on the pet overpopulation and helping homeless animals find their human companions. The president of the Board of Directors, Carol Bryans says, “I am truly, truly excited to be involved with this project. It will do so much good.” Executive Director, Roz Manwaring, looks forward to offering the community a new proactive, protective animal care facility for New Hampshire, which, with an aggressive spay/neuter program, will work to minimize the need for sheltering and euthanasia, “birth versus death control.”

The beginning goal is $400,000 to purchase a suitable property; be it a residence or vacant land for the three phases of this much-needed project. The RMAA welcomed 2008 having secured financial commitments for over half of the goal. The RMAA is a New Hampshire non-profit organization with a 501(c)3 IRS tax exempt designation.

The RMAA Board of Directors created an advisory board at its October 2007 meeting to help with strategic planning capital campaign, and pursuit of public support. The following folks were named to the advisory board Dave Caputo - Madison, Margarete Stevens - Eaton, Robin Gordon - Tamworth, Joanne Rainville - Tamworth, Karen Dufault- Effingham, and Heidi Shellmer - Jackson.

Phase One: The goal of the RMAA is to focus on the pet over population problem in New Hampshire, and reducing it by low-cost spay/neuter. The New Hampshire Federation of Humane Organizations has been holding strategic planning meetings on the cat situation for several years. Late spring and summer are referred to as “kitten season.”

This barrage of cats pushes shelters to their limits, carriers and cages lining the hallways, foster care homes full to overflowing, and increases the need for euthanasia. After many years of running animal shelters and being overwhelmed with the constant influx, of animals Roz realized that the answer is making spay/neuter accessible to as many as possible. The summer and fall of ‘07, shelters were running well over capacity.

Mondanock Humane Society was housing 200 cats. Lakes Region Humane Society, with only 40 cat cages, was accommodating 100, and, like many other shelters, had to close the doors to incoming animals. What happens to those animals that are turned away?

A stationary clinic offering low-cost spay/neuter to the entire community both cats and dogs, is the logical solution. The RMAA asks you to join the capital campaign with a tax deductible donation to raise funds to purchase property where the community the first order of business will be to build a surgical suite.

Dr. Sara White of Spay ASAP, offers her mobile services to any organization needing her help within 80 miles of her Vermont home. She was kind to extend her normal service area to include Tamworth for a day or two so that the RMAA could show the community the possibilities and what they mean for the community.

Thanks to Dr. White, the RMAA has offered two low-cost, high volume, high quality spay/neuter clinics; one in the Tamworth Fire Station and one in Runnells Hall of the Chocorua Public Library. The response was amazing with calls from Berlin to Manchester, too many to accommodate. In those three days of surgery Dr. White, with the assistance of the RMAA team of volunteers, altered 98 animals, including cats, dogs and a rabbit named Clover!

 

These two clinics with Dr. White helped the RMAA determine what the need and community response is for such a service. Now the RMAA is focusing on bringing together local veterinarians to create a coalition of doctors that will allow the RMAA to offer regular clinics, with a goal of altering 3,000 animals a year. This collaboration will impact the pet overpopulation problem in New Hampshire.

Future plans include a Spay Shuttle van, which will pick up animals for surgery, bring them to the clinic, and return them at the end of the day to their homes. The RMAA will be working with both human service organizations and animals welfare agencies to identify those individuals who will benefit from Spay Shuttle services. A pet can be the light of one’s life; the RMAA will do whatever it can to help people maintain their relationship with their companion animals.

Phase Two: The cat overpopulation problem will be ongoing, as it will slowly respond to the impact of greatly increased spay/neuter throughout the state. So, the RMAA will be housing homeless felines as soon as possible. The “home away from home” phases will progress as funds allow. The shelter/sanctuary will offer its feline residents comfortable housing, all necessary medical care, and lots of TLC as they await their forever homes. This animal welfare center will offer “feline dormitories” for general housing, there will also be adoption rooms and all necessary support facilities.

Phase Three: The dog refuge will be able to accommodate canines in animal and people friendly housing. An isolation area and medical room will complete the facility. The RMAA will welcome local dogs, and when able, will transport dogs from other areas to give as many as possible a second chance. The canine shelter population in New England has been stable for several years. Because of this, New England shelters have been transporting dogs from high-kill areas in the south.

Friday, February 8, 2008 Maxine Cheek and Roz Manwaring headed south to rendezvous with a dog transport van from the Menifee Animal Shelter, Frenchburg, Kentucky. In late summer 2004, a caring group of people turned the high-kill Town Pound into a life saving shelter by transporting dogs to save lives. They have been very successful saving an average of 850 dogs a year.

Maxine and Roz met the van in Westford, MA, picked up 5 adorable nine-week old puppies, turned around and headed north. By 7:00 PM. the puppies were all safely tucked in at the Lakes Region Humane Society in Ossipee. The RMAA is committed to reduce the need for euthanasia by all means possible.



The RMAA will continue to grow and expand services as calls for help dictate. The housing of animals will go well beyond “sheltering.” The goal is to be able to offer all animals a safe haven for the rest of their lives, with a focus on maintaining a good quality of life, and finding forever home.

The RMAA is committed to lessening the burden on individuals as well as shelters by offering low-cost spay/neuter and alternative housing. This is the humane and necessary means to our ultimate goal. . .

 

no more homeless animals.