Shirley’s Companion Animal Ministry

Reaching out to pets in need.

Shirley’s Companion Animal Ministry

By Michele King, Best Friends Network

During this busy holiday season, let's take time to remember those less fortunate. While you're out shopping, why not buy a little something extra for a needy pet? One local organization makes the spirit of giving last all year.

Shirley Phillips started her Companion Animal Ministry 6 years ago, to help low-income people in Wake County to better meet the needs of their pets. Shirley’s ministry concentrates on helping the very poor. She explains, “A lot of them don’t have cars, so they can’t get their animals to the vet.”



“My husband and I and my son started doing this 6 years ago. We delivered church meals and started taking dog and cat food with us,” Shirley says. They soon began to pay for spay and neuter surgeries out of their own pockets to help less fortunate families.

In 2004, the effort evolved into a non-profit organization to offset costs. Shirley used her retirement check as a starting point, and now spends about half of the budget on spaying and neutering.

With only a few volunteers, Shirley’s Companion Animal Ministry distributes bags of pet food to low-income and homeless people in Wake County each week. The group also provides free dog houses and wheat straw to protect outdoor pets from the cold. Shirley’s ministry has given spay and neuter assistance for hundreds of pets, as well as veterinary care, flea prevention, and rabies vaccinations.



Goals

• To educate more children and parents on the proper care and feeding of dogs, cats and other companion animals
• To spay/neuter at least 60 cats and dogs in Southern Wake County per year
• To host at least one annual free rabies clinic in Southern Wake County
• To provide free dog houses



What You Can Do:

• Shirley's ministry encourages pet guardians to spay and neuter their animals to help control pet overpopulation.

• Donate pet food items to Shirley’s Companion Animal Ministry.

• Make a tax deductible contribution of whatever you can afford. Paypal donations are accepted at this link:

http://www.animal-ministry.org/donate.html

For More Information Contact:

Shirley's Companion Animal Ministry
Post Office Box 1468
Fuquay-Varina, NC 27526-1468
Phone: (919) 210-3096
Email: mrwhisk@aol.com