goldsmith - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-19T11:22:20Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/goldsmithPaws Up for Pets: Local shelters step up after Dorian displaces dogs, cats in Bahamashttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/paws-up-for-pets-local-shelters-step-up-after-dorian-displaces-do2019-10-01T20:30:00.000Z2019-10-01T20:30:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960896652,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960896652,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960896652?profile=original" /></a><em>Columnist Arden Moore is surrounded by Bahamian potcakes, mutts named for the leftover rice in the bottom of cooking pots that islanders occasional feed them. Early this year Moore visited a shelter in the Bahamas that Hurricane Dorian destroyed last month. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
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<p><strong>By Arden Moore<br /></strong></p>
<p>I kicked off this year with a magical vacation to Grand Bahama island, less than an hour’s flight from Palm Beach International Airport. Although I was there to relax, I was also on a mission to tour — and do my radio show from — the Humane Society of Grand Bahama in Freeport, home of friendly dogs and cats affectionately nicknamed potcakes and potcats.</p>
<p><br /> There, I met Tip Burrows, the can-do shelter director originally from Frostproof. She proudly gave me a tour of the facilities that have been weathering economic and Mother Nature storms for 51 years.</p>
<p><br /> Cats and kittens purred and circled me in the new cattery, and happy dogs plopped into a row of “sits” in the open courtyard for me to dole out treats. I marveled at the new exam rooms with X-rays machines, anesthesia machines, updated computers and surgical area.</p>
<p><br /> Then Hurricane Dorian hit on Sept. 1 — the strongest hurricane on record to strike the Bahamas, with sustained winds of 185 miles per hour. This Category 5 hurricane took the lives of people and pets and wiped away the airport in Freeport while pounding the islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco for more than 30 hours.</p>
<p><br /> The once fully furnished shelter is now a battered shell of a building. Same goes for the Bahamas Humane Society in Abaco.</p>
<p><br /> “We were not expecting a 25-foot storm surge to reach our shelter, which was not in an evacuation zone,” says Burrows. “Several days before the storm, I was contacted by GreaterGood.org and IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare), who often work together in these situations. But none of us really had any idea that the damage to our shelter would be so extensive and that we would need to evacuate all our surviving animals for health and safety reasons.”</p>
<p><br /> Staff at two local shelters — Tri-County Animal Rescue, based in Boca Raton, and Big Dog Ranch Rescue, based in Loxahatchee — counted their blessings that Dorian just brushed the Eastern coastline. And then they got to work to help.</p>
<p><br /> Suzi Goldsmith, co-founder and executive director of Tri-County, and Lauree Simmons, founder of Big Dog Ranch Rescue, coordinated efforts to arrange for planes and boats to bring about 40 displaced dogs from the affected Bahama islands to their centers.</p>
<p><br /> “But for the grace of God, it could have been us hit by Dorian,” says Goldsmith. “These potcakes knew they had been rescued and their temperaments are marvelous. We lined them up and gave them baths, cleaned their ears, treated them for fleas and ticks and gave them food. Once we get the healthy green light from our veterinary staff, we will put them up for adoption. It was the right thing to do.”</p>
<p><br /> Island dogs, it turns out, can have parasites different from those found in dogs in South Florida, so Goldsmith had to contact veterinarians in the Bahamas to get the right medications to treat Giardia, diarrhea and a parasitic infection known as coccidiosis.<br /> “These potcakes are all doing great inside our isolation building,” says Goldsmith. “They all need to gain weight and are being fed three times a day. They are being spayed and neutered and updated on their vaccinations. And they are happy dogs.”</p>
<p><br /> Goldsmith has endured far too many hurricanes, directly and indirectly. Two years ago, Hurricane Irma teamed up with a tornado to wallop Palm Beach County. The storm destroyed Tri-County’s 2,400-square-foot isolation building. Seven staffers stayed to protect the 200-plus shelter animals during the storm and all escaped without injury. The shelter was without power for a week.</p>
<p><br /> Still, she knew that Houston from Hurricane Harvey and Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria fared worse than Palm Beach County that year. She quickly reached out to pilots of private planes to transport dogs from Puerto Rico to the Tri-County shelter and dispatched trucks loaded with pet food, medicine and bedding to Houston shelters.</p>
<p><br /> This is why I respect and admire shelters for stepping up and helping other animal organizations harmed by hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters.</p>
<p><br /> “We are here for the animals. Always have been and always will be,” says Goldsmith.</p>
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<p><em>Arden Moore, founder of fourleggedlife.com, is an animal behavior expert and host of the Oh Behave! show on petliferadio.com. Learn more at <a href="http://www.ardenmoore.com">www.ardenmoore.com</a>.</em></p></div>Paws up for Pets: Boca shelter set to open low-cost clinichttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/pets-boca-shelter-set-to-open-low-cost-clinic2019-07-02T19:00:00.000Z2019-07-02T19:00:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960884491,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960884491,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960884491?profile=original" /></a><em>Philanthropist Lois Pope has helped Tri-County Animal Rescue’s Suzi Goldsmith with the clinic and other needs. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
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<p>A shiny new car. A diamond ring. An original painting by a renowned artist. Pricey but cherished possessions, right? However, for many of us, the most priceless asset we have wags a tail or purrs steadily.<br /> Scientific studies reinforce what many of us already know: Pets are good for our health and outlook on life. But no matter how you got your pet — from a shelter, a breed rescue group, a responsible breeder or found wandering on the streets, keep this in mind: There is no such thing as a free pet. <br /> Even if you did not pay to adopt, you are paying for veterinary care, food, bedding, toys, treats and more. In fact, it costs more than $1,000 annually per pet to provide basic care, according to a study conducted by the ASPCA.<br /> That amount does not include the unexpected hits to your wallet: an expensive dental procedure or surgery to mend an injured leg or installing a fence in your backyard to keep your roaming dog at home.<br /> People who love their pets come from all socioeconomic levels. But tragically, people who become suddenly jobless or on tight household budgets sometimes have to surrender their beloved pets to a shelter. Or worse, some must make the gut-wrenching decision to have their pets “economically euthanized” at veterinary clinics simply because they lack the funds to pay for medical expenses.<br /> But now there is some added assistance for people in South Florida. Last month, Tri-County Animal Rescue celebrated the new Lois Pope Pet Clinic, set to open sometime in July, on its grounds in Boca Raton. This $5 million clinic contains much-needed staff (one veterinarian and four veterinary technicians per shift to provide veterinary and dental care) and equipment inside its 9,000 square feet. It features an ultrasound machine, surgical areas, a lab, isolation areas, outdoor runs and fenced-in play yards. Soon it will have an MRI machine donated by American Humane.<br /> This new clinic will enable Tri-County Animal Rescue to provide spay/neuter surgeries and other needed care on site for the dogs and cats housed at the shelter. There will be less of a need to transport these shelter animals to outside veterinary clinics in the area. Second, it will offer reduced veterinary rates exclusively to pet owners with low incomes. Individuals just need to bring proof of income. This is the first time that Tri-County has arranged to offer discounted rates to low-income people.<br /> “We are thrilled because the Lois Pope Pet Clinic can help us save thousands more dogs and cats and help those who cannot afford the care to keep their pets alive,” says Suzi Goldsmith, co-founder and executive director of Tri-County Animal Rescue. “Plus, the new building is 100 percent hurricane-proof. If a storm is approaching, we can move all of our animals in there.” <br /> The lead financial backer to build this clinic is renowned philanthropist Lois Pope. A resident of Manalapan, Pope is a lifelong animal advocate who has adopted many dogs and cats, including five dogs from Tri-County. <br /> “I’m fortunate that I can afford the best health care for my pets, but there are thousands of low-income families in the tri-county region who have pets, but who do not have the financial resources to provide them with medicine or shots, or even take them to a veterinarian,” says Pope. “In many cases, the families give up their dogs and cats to shelters, or worse, just abandon them. So, when Suzi Goldsmith approached me about helping to establish this new state-of-the-art veterinary clinic specifically focused on providing low-cost or free health care for pets in low-income families, I knew that it was the right thing, and the most humane thing to do.”<br /> Goldsmith and Pope met more than three decades ago at a theatrical production in Manalapan, and in the words of Pope have been “soul sisters” ever since. They even arrange play dates for their own pets.<br /> “We are soul sisters when it comes to the welfare and well-being of animals,” says Pope. “So, whenever she has come to me for help with a Tri-County need, I always say yes.”<br /> Adds Goldsmith, “Both of us share a passion for animals. My dogs ... get along well with all of Mrs. Pope’s dogs.” <br /> Tri-County is a no-kill, nonprofit animal shelter that serves Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Since 1996, Tri-County has adopted thousands of companion animals and saved more than 64,000 domestic animals from being euthanized by placing them in homes through its adoption center.</p>
<p><em>The Lois Pope Pet Clinic is at 21287 Boca Rio Road, Boca Raton, on the Tri-County Animal Rescue campus. Hours of operation are to be determined. Call Tri-County's main number at 482-8110.</em><br /> <em>Learn more at <a href="https://tricountyanimalrescue.com">https://tricountyanimalrescue.com</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>Learn more about animal behavior consultant Arden Moore at <a href="http://www.ardenmoore.com">www.ardenmoore.com</a>.</em></p></div>