West Seneca, N.Y. (WBEN) - The SPCA Serving Erie County Radiothon is a significant event every year for the organization in order to help raise money for the thousands of animals being served each year, and give them a chance at a healthy, happy life.
The money fundraised through the SPCA Radiothon helps secure funding for some essential services and programs the SPCA Serving Erie County offers the region, including the Animal Rescue and Cruelty Investigations department.
"This entire organization is run by the community. We wouldn't be able to do what we do without their donations and their generous everything that they do for us," said senior officer at the SPCA, Melina Restivo.
"We don't have any government or county funding. We do everything based on the donations, so all the medical care that goes to the animals, all the housing of the animals, it's all run through donations," added Lake Waris, rescue agent in the Animal Rescue and Cruelty Investigations department.
Especially for the Animal Rescue and Cruelty Investigations department, Restivo says the donations from the Radiothon go quite a long way to their efforts.
"Any of these big cruelty cases that we have, we wouldn't be able to do any of it without donor dollars," she said. "Especially these 200 goats that we just got, we wouldn't have been able to house them, we wouldn't have been able to work them up medically, or do any of the things that we did without donations."
And it's not just cruelty cases that Restivo, Waris and the others in the Animal Rescue and Cruelty Investigations department see on a regular basis.
"We also do a lot of outreach in the community, where we're trying to do this whole retention thing, where the animals are staying with their families. So we also do a lot of transports for clinics, we do a lot of spay neuter stuff. We also help with our pantry, where they deliver food and stuff, we sometimes go out and do that for them too," Restivo said. "So we're not always just doing cruelty stuff. We're trying to help with the community as well."
Recently, the SPCA Serving Erie County was called out to the Town of Irving to help in the seizure of hundreds of farm animals, including several goats, sheep, ducks, geese, chickens, cats and dogs.
"They were living in really horrible conditions. They were in a dark barn on improper substrate, with feet of manure not properly packed. And before this, they weren't getting all the love and attention that they're getting now," Waris said.
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Among the animals that were available for adoption at the SPCA Radiothon on Thursday included a pair of baby goats from that seizure: Peanut Butter and Fluffernutter.
"These guys are a real hit at the shelter. Everyone loves them," Restivo said. "Everyone goes to see the baby goats every day, we're feeding them. It's been a whole staff process, where we've all been going out there and helping take care of them. They came from a really bad situation, but it's great that we're able to give them what they need now and get so much love. So much love."
While Waris and Restivo understand times may be tough for many people in Erie County and across Western New York, they certainly appreciate any contribution made to help the animals served at the SPCA Serving Erie County on a regular basis.
"Every little bit counts. It doesn't have to be a very large sum donation to make a difference in an animal's life. The small difference for one animal is the difference for its whole life," Waris said. "It gets to live a comfortable life and a longer life, usually, and it's all just because of the community. And because of the generosity of donations that we receive."
"We use everything. This entire place is working because of donations, we wouldn't be able to do anything," Restivo added. "We get nothing from anywhere else, just donations. So any little bit really helps."
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