Press release
Contribution a Result of Onsite Event Held in February
BATAVIA – Western Region Off Track Betting (WROTB) / Batavia Downs Gaming President and CEO Henry Wojtaszek presented representatives from the Genesee County Volunteers for Animals and the Genesee County Animal Shelter with checks totaling $2,471 to help support their efforts to take care of animals in the Genesee County area.
The Puppy Paws Indoor Craft and Vendor Market, held at Batavia Downs on February 6th, was organized by Mary Bucceri, Group Sales Manager at Batavia Downs. 100% of collected vendor fees and accepted donations by attendees were given to these 2 local organizations.
Volunteers for Animals will use the money raised for pet supplies and medical expenses for the animals. The Genesee County Animal Shelter will use the money to repair and replace various equipment at the Animal Shelter and in the Animal Control van, in addition to purchasing safety equipment for the officers when interacting with feral cats.
“We host several vendor events throughout the year, and we are happy to use these events to help raise money for local worthy organizations,” said Wojtaszek. “We will continue to do what we can to be a good partner to local charities and organizations.”
“The Volunteers for Animals would like to give a special thanks to Batavia Downs and their continued support,” said VFA Board President Deb Stocking. “We work hard every year to raise enough money to continue to help the animals. The Downs has been a huge part of this goal. Thank you all for your hard work and – the dogs and cats say, ‘thank you’ as well!”
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Shanna Shaw, Vice President of Volunteers For Animals says the money and donations of pet food and cleaning supplies collected will help the shelter with their mission to support animal care.
“95% of the money is used towards medical care, vaccines and just general direct care to the animals. It really helps us take care of the incoming animals and it also will assist the spay and neuter program,” says Shaw. The spay and neuter program helps low-income pet owners get their pet spayed and neutered.
More information about the Volunteer For Animals is in the link below.
Volunteers For Animals (vol4animals.org)
-Abby and Lewis are available for adoption right now-
Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) belongs to the same family of viruses as HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and immunodeficiency viruses in other species. This family of viruses (Lentiviruses) is known for being species-specific, for life-long infection, and for slowly progressive diseases. FIV is not transmissible from cats to people, and HIV is not transmissible from people to cats.
FIV is known to be present in the blood, saliva and cerebrospinal fluid of infected cats. However, the virus is extremely fragile and does not survive outside the cat’s body. Therefore, the main method of transmission of FIV from one cat to another is through a bite wound during a cat fight. The virus is only rarely spread through casual cat-to-cat contact.
Male cats are twice as likely as female cats to be infected with FIV. This reflects the greater tendency of male cats (especially those not neutered) to roam and fight with other cats. Outdoor, free-roaming cats are more likely to contract FIV than indoor cats.
FIV-positive cats may live for many months or years. With good health care aimed at recognizing and treating FIV-associated problems early, these patients can enjoy good quality of life. All efforts should be taken to preserve their health by protecting them against other diseases and injury. This is best accomplished by requiring FIV-positive cats to live indoors; this also helps to prevent spread of the disease.
(Photo provided by Volunteer For Animals-Information provided by Susan Little, DVM – Diplomate ABVP (Feline Practice))