Lauren Baron
BRANT NEWS

Margaret Von Lukawiecki’s dog, Hogan, changed her life.

“He’s filled the void,” Von Lukawiecki said. “I should have had a pet sooner after I lost the last one and lost my husband. For seven years I didn’t realize how much I missed having a companion…Now, I’m out doing more activities.”

Hogan is no young pup. Von Lukawiecki adopted the 11-year-old dog in July.

Hogan was born in Jamaica and was flown to Thunder Bay early in his life. He was adopted by a family who was unable to give Hogan the love and attention he deserved.

“He wasn’t cared for the way he should have been,” Von Lukawiecki said.

Seeing the poor conditions that some pets face and the difficulties associated with adopting out older dogs, Von Lukawiecki knew she needed to do something to help other animals in need. She decided to focus her attention on the Brant County SPCA.

That’s when she came up with the idea for Hogan’s Potluck Dinner, an event she hopes will inspire others to donate to the SPCA. Gathering together her Preceptor Alpha Zeta sorority sisters, she asked each of them to bring a donation to the SPCA rather than an item of food.

“The SPCA is important because what is going to happen to these pets if they are abandoned?” Von Lukawiecki said.

Event attendees ate their food out of kibble dishes that were also donated to the local shelter. In the end, bags of items were donated to the organization, enough to require eight people to unload it all.

It’s events like Von Lukawiecki’s that keep the SPCA going, said Robin Kuchma, executive director of the Brant County SPCA. Without donor dollars, Kuchma said the non-government funded organization would cease to operate.

“Donations are very important to how we operate,” Kuchma said. “That’s how we save lives in need. Without the support from the community we wouldn’t be able to do the work that we do. Every time we get a call that an animal is being neglected or abused, it’s our donor dollars that are used and a lot of people don’t realize that.”

To make up its $800,000 annual operating budget, the SPCA requires $450,000 in donations. The rest is paid by the City of Brantford to provide animal control services.

Last year alone, the SPCA spent more than $130,000 in vet care and medications for animals, Kuchma said. That doesn’t include the cost to rescue animals, feed and shelter them, or the cost to spay or neuter and vaccinate them.

Donations of food, blankets and other items are always appreciated, Kuchma said. The SPCA has a regularly updated “wish list” on its website, including items that are most needed. But Kuchma said financial donations go the farthest in helping care for the animals.

“Financial donations are always best because the needs always change with medical bills and things like that,” she said. “With regard to animals, we never know what those costs are going to be because sometimes we deal with sick animals or animals subject to neglect.”

Another way to help the SPCA is to adopt a pet through the organization, Kuchma said. The organization currently has a special that offers the chance to adopt an adult cat over six years of age for free. Cats under six years old cost $50. Adult dogs currently cost $125 to adopt and puppies cost $175. All animals are spay-neutered, vaccinated and microchipped.

“Our goal is to get the animals out to good homes, but we also want to make space for the next one who is homeless,” Kuchma said. “Someone who adopts, in may ways they saved the lives of two because they created the space for the next one who is homeless. There are always animals in need.”

Even though Hogan is not a puppy, Von Lukawiecki said he gives her as much pleasure as her previous dogs, which she raised from puppies.

“A dog will get you out and walking and interacting with them,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a pup. Older dogs can be left behind and put aside, but they have as much love as the younger ones. They have just as much fun sitting beside you.”

Visit www.brantfordspca.com for more information.