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Although the DunRoamin' name was not established until we became a registered charity in 2006, the work of DunRoamin' was begun in 1999 by Dr Mildred Allison when she opened the Florenceville Veterinary Clinic in Riverbank, New Brunswick. Always an animal lover, she could not say "no" to people who came to her clinic with unowned injured and sick strays they had found. Some people left a few dollars to help with the treatment required by the animals, but for the most part, the strays were alone, unwanted and uncared for. They were picked up from roadsides, woods, streams, plastic bags, boxes and other locations too numerous to mention, and were fortunate to be brought to this specific clinic, because no injured or sick animal was turned away because he or she had no family or finances to pay the medical bills.
Dr Allison was the first to shell out her own dollars to ensure the strays received the medical care they required. She then found loving homes for them, usually with her friends and family. Prior to the founding of DunRoamin' Stray and Rescue, she accepted, treated and found homes for 111 cats and 58 dogs using her own resources of friends, family, veterinary skills, compassion and love for animals.
One day, a local lady brought in an injured stray cat which was immediately accepted by Dr Allison. The lady was so impressed by Dr Allison's commitment to help all these strays that she decided that she wanted to help. She immediately went to work to help bring attention to what Dr Allison was doing, and fundraising efforts began in earnest. They included the raising of awareness of strays in our communities, cash donations, sales of raffle tickets, fundraisers, open houses where the cost of entry was a donation to the strays, newspaper articles to spread the word and many other fundraising events.
In May, 2006, she founded the original DunRoamin' website. Her daughter has Cerebral Palsy and therefore can't speak. However, her daughter wanted to be a voice for the many animals who have no voice of their own, and as a result, this website was born. This lady and her daughter strongly believe in helping stray animals in our communities. They have and continue to be exceptionally strong advocates for awareness, education and action in making sure that animals are treated humanely and with compassion. The DunRoamin' website was created by them to help raise awareness and educate people on the plight of stray, injured, sick, abandoned, neglected and/or abused animals in our local communities.
This website reports on the activities and rescue efforts of DunRoamin's board members, staff, volunteers, friends and the medical staff of the Florenceville Veterinary Clinic and showcases each patient - their health issues, treatment, recovery, personality and subsequent adoption into a loving home. This site and the care of the animals have all been made possible by the work of volunteers - rescuers, fundraisers, donors, animal care workers, cat cuddlers, litter box scoopers, animal pick-up and delivery drivers, food donors, litter donors and many, many others.
DunRoamin' has a Board of Directors which is currently comprised of five members. Our mandate is to help those animals who may otherwise slip through the cracks of our current shelter system. In order to raise the funds required to do this, many people build/make/knit/sew/donate items for us to sell, and we participate in such things as 50/50 raffles, on-line Facebook auctions, bake sales, yard sales, Sponsor A Kitty program and a thrift store, to mention only a few. Kind supporters also help our strays in many other ways such as selling raffle tickets and holding their own fundraisers in their communities. We are fortunate to have many schools, businesses and youth groups who raise money to support our strays. We also are grateful to the many local businesses who continue to support us in so many ways.
Rescue - helping those strays in need who are injured, neglected, sick, etc and have no one to care for them. We also assist those too sick, too injured, too young or with illnesses which may not be able to be cared for in a normal shelter setting;
Treatment - providing food, medication, surgery, spays, neuters, vaccinations, socialization, etc, to all rescued animals as required. This includes finding them loving foster homes and permanent homes, as well as ensuring that they have the kind of life that they deserve: safe, secure and free of fear; and
Education - endeavouring to set an inspiring example for people, to show that animals are deserving of our care and respect and that through our responsible guardianship of the pet, by ensuring that they are spayed and neutered, we can decrease the homelessness and suffering of unwanted animals in an over-populated world. Also, we attempt to educate by providing briefings, handouts, flyers, newspaper articles, etc, which focus on encouraging people to spay and neuter their pets, to treat all animals with compassion and respect, as well as how to care for their pet in the best possible manner. Our main target group is the younger generation, so that their generation will do better by animals, as hopefully we have improved upon their treatment with advancements since our parents' and grandparents' generation.
As a result of this initiative, DunRoamin' Stray And Rescue has helped rescue, treat, feed, spay/neuter and find homes for thousands of sick, injured, abused and/or neglected cats and dogs. DunRoamin' has grown into a large group of like-minded individuals whose goal it is to educate people in the many ways they can help decrease the number of potential strays and help the ones who are already out there who are starving, in pain, freezing to death, or suffering from disease. This animal overpopulation is a problem of society and will take the attention and work of society in general to make this world a better place for our pet animals.
There are already more cats and dogs than there are homes for them. Rescues and shelters are full everywhere and more and more animals are brought to them daily. Hundreds and thousands of healthy, loving and intelligent animals are put down every day across North America. By spaying and neutering our pets, we are preventing the suffering of animals not yet born.