Autumn, March 2017
Celebrating 50 years of caring for animals THEN
NOW
Cats roaming in the backyard; kitty litter being recycled; volunteers working outside in all weather. We’ve come a long way in the 50 years since Hastings District Council gave permission to the newly formed SPCA Hastings & Districts Committee to keep rescued cats at their homes. From those simple beginnings we have grown to a comprehensive and modern service that can care for over 70 animals in a purpose built shelter, with isolation areas for all animals on arrival (to reduce the risk of disease), twice weekly vet visits (for non-emergency check ups), outside runs for dogs, a separate outdoor puppy play pen, a full time Inspector and computer systems to track the history, health and adoption records of all of the animals we’ve looked after. Countless people have given huge amounts of their time or money to make all this possible. Once land was found for the shelter in the 90’s the community
was asked to buy bricks at $10 each to fund the build, and buy bricks they did. Today we are still totally reliant on the local community for funding and help in everything we do, whether it be getting the shelter cleaned and animals fed each day, helping at our street appeals, cupcake week or our many other events and initiatives. Things may have changed drastically in 50 years but our vision and commitment remain the same; to give assistance to animals in need and wherever possible find them a loving, forever home. Literally thousands of animals in our community have been given a new chance at life. Certainly something to celebrate. As this newsletter goes to press we are working on plans to mark this huge milestone in our history. Keep a look out on our website and Facebook page for details, as we’d love to celebrate this milestone with you; our friends and supporters.
1967 The year it all began Just as the first animal carers begin looking after cats at their homes... ‘All You Need is Love’ (The Beatles), ‘Georgy Girl’ (The Seekers) & ‘I’m a Believer’ (Monkees) are some of the sounds being grooved to by the youth at the time • The population of New Zealand is 2,745,000 • Keith Holyoake is Prime Minister • Mini-skirts and tent dresses are all the rage • The infamous ‘6 o’clock Swill’ ends • Decimalisation is introduced • The ‘breathalyser’ is brought into regular use in the UK • Elvis Presley marries Priscilla • The musical ‘Hair’ premieres • Concorde makes its first public appearance • The pocket calculator is patented • John Lennon gets his psychedelic painted Rolls Royce delivered and Evel Knievel jumps his motorcycle over 16 cars lined up in a row •
Hastings & Districts SPCA is proud to partner with radio sponsor The Hits Hawke’s Bay 89.5fm