It’s a Pawty for the Colony Cats
COLUMBUS, Miss., (WCBI) — Sunday, Zachary’s and a portion of Fifth Street North were painted green as the restaurant held its annual St. Patrick’s Day Pawty fundraiser.
This year’s beneficiary is Operation Colony Cats.
Sunday, Zachary’s held a Pawty to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day for some special furry friends in the area. But this year’s honoree is slightly different.
In years past, the event benefited the Columbus Lowndes County Humane Society. But Manager Dow Ford said the Humane Society wanted to give someone else a chance. That led them to team up with Operation Colony Cats.
“The fundraiser for St. Patrick’s Day has been exclusively for the Columbus Lowndes Humane Society, and this year, Operation Colony Cats, which is actually a Golden Triangle-based organization. They do it all over the three-county area.”
Ford says it’s important to him and Zachary’s ownership to give back to the community that gives so much to them. And it helps teach a valuable lesson.
“And on a more personal note for us, it actually helps us to try to instill a servant’s heart in our staff,” he says.
Ford says they don’t make their staff work; they ask them to volunteer, and the staff does it on their own. He says it teaches them that when people are good to you, you give the same in return.
Terri Doumit with Operation Colony Cats says they learned that the Humane Society wasn’t participating this year. So, they reached out to Zachary’s. She says they foster hundreds of cats. They spay and neuter many times more.
“We probably take about 4-700 cats and kittens per year. And we transport them throughout the year. About once every three weeks, we send between maybe 20-30 cats. And as far as spaying and neutering, we probably do anywhere between 1700 and 2000 a year,”
Doumit says there’s not only an overpopulation problem in the Golden Triangle, its nationwide. But, for anyone whose feline situation may have gotten out of hand, she says they can call them and they’ll do their best to help.
