FLEETON—“It’s raining cats and dogs” was the theme for a recent tea party at St. Mary’s, Fleeton to benefit the Northern Neck Partners for Pets (NNPP).
The tea, organized and hosted by volunteers, featured finger sandwiches, scones, desserts and tea, reported NNPP board member Martha M. Hall. Tables of six, decorated appropriately with umbrella centerpieces and adorned with tablecloths and place settings provided by table hostesses, were filled with guests, many of whom wore special hats and outfits in honor of the occasion.
The tea is one of several events being held to inform the community of NNPP’s plan for a new animal shelter designed to provide a home, training and adoption services for homeless cats and dogs through a privately funded no-kill shelter, said Hall.
Although Lancaster, Northumberland, Westmoreland and Richmond counties have shelters for stray or surrendered dogs and cats, the county shelters are not designed to meet the need for a secure, long-term placement for animals which emphasizes efforts to address health needs, ensure regular and positive human contact and find homes for adoptable pets, she said.
Organized in 2014, NNPP is working to give unwanted pets a secure refuge until they find permanent homes by providing an alternative to euthanasia for healthy, adoptable, or treatable animals, continued Hall. NNPP’s goal is to ensure that every homeless pet in the Northern Neck receives a chance at a permanent home.
President Terrie Dort gave a summary of the efforts being made by the organization to address the needs of the region’s stray and surrendered population and announced the imminent groundbreaking of the new shelter and adoption center. She stressed the need for volunteer participation and continued donations and fund-raising efforts.
The next tea will be held in Westmoreland County, and plans are underway to hold a fund-raising tea in each of the four Northern Neck counties.
