Becky and Caroline Tompkins and their friend Taylor Teixeira love animals. All kinds of them, especially pets.
The enterprising trio of 13-year-old eighth-graders at Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School decided to put their energies to a good cause last summer by collecting pet food, toys, and blankets and beds for cats and dogs in need.
The girls collected more than 500 pounds of dog food and other pet items this summer. They gave it to Pet Connections, Inc., the Old Lyme-based all-volunteer organization that has been looking out for abandoned cats and dogs since 1990.
“We love animals, all of us, and we were looking for a project to help out the community over the summer,” said Becky.
The twins are daughters of Melissa and Bob Tompkins of Old Lyme, who also have a 15-year-old son, Christian, and 8-year-old daughter, Juliet.
“We’re best friends and we thought it would be a good idea. We had no idea it was going to be as successful as it was,” added Caroline.
The girls put up flyers and called on family and friends, seeking help for pets. Then they had to find a place to store the pet food.
“We put it in the living room,” said Taylor, daughter of Crystal and Steven Galbo of Old Lyme.
All three come from pet-loving families. The Tompkinses have a 4-year-old cat, a 7-year-old dog, two snakes, and a 6-year-old leopard gecko. Taylor admits she isn’t that keen on snakes, but she has a pet tortoise, named Duncan K. Tibblesworth. It fits in her hand now but is expected to grow quite large. Her family also has five cats and three dogs.
“The girls did a super job. It was a wonderful idea and greatly appreciated,” said Glynn McAraw, president of Pet Connections.
Since 1990, the all-volunteer organization has been rescuing and placing abandoned and abused pets in responsible, loving homes. Funded only by private contributions, it provides fostering, rehabilitation, veterinary care, adoption referrals, and lost-and-found assistance. McAraw estimates that several hundred pets have been helped over the years, in Lyme, Old Lyme, East Lyme, and neighboring communities.
“All of the money that anyone sends to us goes directly to help the animals,” said McAraw, who is preparing for the annual fall solicitation letter to supporters.
“We’re always looking for new ideas for fund-raising and volunteers to help out,” she said. “If anyone wants to help us with these projects, getting this shelter off of the ground or they just want to help those little creatures who can’t help themselves, we welcome them.”
Pet Connections’ long-term goal is to establish a permanent shelter to facilitate more efficient, comprehensive care for animals. For the past two years, East Lyme resident Tara Munn has been serving as “foster mom” to abandoned cats, caring for them and preparing them for adoptive homes. However, that temporary home closed at the end of October as she and her husband moved to South Carolina to retire.
While members offer their own homes to foster animals until they can be placed, McAraw said the organization is working on two potential opportunities to build a facility that can accommodate both dogs and cats.
McAraw and others decided to start up Pet Connections after she discovered a colony of abandoned cats living behind the Marketplace shops in Old Lyme. She was cutting greens for the Duck River Garden Club’s annual winter wreath-making project for town buildings and spotted some kittens. As the A&P was torn down and rebuilt, she realized there was an entire community of cats, which she started to feed, take to the vet, and find homes for.
“We found out that in Old Lyme, especially along the shoreline, a lot of people would adopt a cat in May and abandon them in September, when the beach season was over. We had a lot of problems with that,” she said.
The group started out with abandoned cats, she said, but volunteers soon found themselves taking care of rabbits and other domestic pets.
Pet Connections’ policy is to spay and neuter every animal it adopts out, and the animals are up-to-date on shots and vaccinations. Cats have been checked for leukemia and FIV.
McAraw said the organization is seeing an increase in numbers of animals being abandoned, brought to shelters or to animal control centers, or simply abandoned.
“Animals are not a commodity, they are a commitment,” she said. “Sometimes people will decide to give up a cat after 10 years because they are moving, so they are done with the animal. When you adopt an animal, you have to be responsible for it, and love it. We worry about the times now—people can’t afford to care for a pet.”
Becky, Caroline, and Taylor are winding down the collection to focus on school work but still welcome donations of food and other items for animals. They are looking for another project for next year, possibly the Connecticut Diaper Drive, which donates diapers to babies in need.
The girls also have been trying to help Pet Connections find a home for Sunny, a 9-month-old domestic black and white hair female cat. To see Sunny and for more information about Pet Connections, go to www.petconnectionsoldlyme.org.
Contributions can be sent to Pet Connections at P.O. Box 1033, Old Lyme, CT 06371 or contact the group by e-mail to petconnections@comcast.net or call 860-434-4640.