Fundraiser To Save Animals Still On But The Challenge Has Never Been Greater

PHOTO: Funds4paws, a 501(c)3 non-profit paid to save Buddy (above), who is a happy 3-legged doggie, that was going to be euthanized. The money raised by Funds4Paws come from crucial fundraisers like their Indoor Triathlon (left) which will now be held on September 19th at Funspot. Covid-19 restrictions have limited the Triathlon and the hope is that folks will still step up and donate.
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2019 was a great year for Funds4Paws, a non-profit organization that raised $85,000 to help other organizations that in turn help animals in need.
Take Buddy. A dog rescued from a bad home situation, a tumor on his leg and targeted to be euthanized. Buddy was rescued, had his leg amputated and then placed in a loving and safe home where he thrives today. Without Funds4Paws it might not have been possible.
Live and Let Live Farm in Chichester, NH has also received help from Funds4Paws with their important work in rescuing abused horses and other animals.
This 501(c)3 organization has also been there when animal shelters have become overloaded or an at risk animal needs help. Unfortunately, the unexpected arrival of the Coronavirus has changed all that and now many animals are not getting the help they so desperately need.

“Covid-19 has had the unexpected side effect of putting so many forgotten animals in danger,” said Funds4Paws Board Member Karen LaFlamme who is also one of the founders of Friends of Feral Cats.
This year, due to Covid-19, the fundraising capabilities of Funds4Paws has taken a huge hit as their largest fundraiser, the Indoor Triathlon at Funspot, originally scheduled for this past March, was postponed until September 19th, and even then at limited capacity stripping away other fundraising aspects of the event.
“Last year the Triathlon raised $60,000,” said Starr Lawton, board member of Funds4Paws and organizer of the Triathlon. “Live and Let Live Farm received $13,000 as did Franklin Animal Shelter and we gave $10,000 to Friends of Feral Cats and $7,000 to Rozzie Mae Alliance. Other monies were given to various other animal organizations as well as some individual needs relating to animals.”
This year, $20,000 was collected by participating teams before the cancelled Triathlon and has been distributed since, according to Lawton, “the need for assistance was so great.”
Funds4Paws pays no salaries and is strictly volunteer run with all monies raised going directly towards their mission, but with COVID-19 lockdowns that mission is harder to accomplish as the money becomes scarcer and the cost of veterinary care increases.
Friends of Feral Cats works at keeping the Feral cat population down by capturing, spaying or neutering and releasing. This organization is also strictly volunteer with all funds going towards their mission.

“Spay and neuter costs have more than doubled since Covid-19,” said LaFlamme. “Vets offices are working on a limited basis due to Covid-19 restrictions as well as staffing issues. Without the money we get from Funds4Paws and others we won’t be able to do our work.”
Last year, money raised by Funds4Paws helped in the purchase of a 35-foot RV that has been specially modified with an onboard veterinary surgical facility. The RV was planned to hit the road this past March to travel throughout New Hampshire bringing spay and neutering and other veterinary services to those with limited access and funds.
Covid-19 changed those plans and the travelling veterinary clinic and staff, which was hoped would be performing 150 spays and neuters a week at this point, has sat idle till just recently and has performed about 20 up to this point.
As things hopefully start to rebound from Covid-19, the need for funding to help these organizations will be tremendous since the care that they need to provide to animals in dire situations will only have grown over time.
With the Indoor Triathlon fundraiser at Funspot being curtailed somewhat with half the 40 teams playing on the day of the event and the others pre-playing on days leading up to the Triathlon to follow Covid-19 protocols, the hope is that there will still be a significant amount of money raised through donations that can be made to the individual teams competing.
Even if registered teams choose not to participate in person, they can still take part in the additional fundraising aspect.
If you’d like to help support a team or just donate to the Triathlon, go to Funds4Paws.org/Triathlon and choose your favorite team to make a donation to or just make a general donation to the event.
These donations are urgently needed to help our fragile, four-legged friends.