Who We Are
Concerned Citizens for Animal Welfare was founded in August 2000 by Diane Voigt & Cheryl Robel following the publication of a hard hitting article by Cal Massie in the Daytona News-Journal called “The Truth About Cats and Dogs”. In this article, Cal followed Halifax Humane Society staff as they went through the shelter deciding which animals would die that day & which would live at least a little while longer.
The purpose of the article was not to sensationalize the grim task the staff faced that day & every other day as well. Its purpose was to shake the consciousness of every reader to the tragedy of pet overpopulation & the consequences of having more pets than homes where they could be placed. Desperately eager to find some solution to this problem Diane & Cheryl founded Concerned Citizens & set out to invite area veterinarians to participate in Spay Day 2000. Five veterinarians agreed to offer low-cost spay/neuters & on that September day, more than 100 animals were altered.
While pleased with the success of Spay Day 2000 Diane & Cheryl realized that a long-term solution had to be found or the numbers of animals killed in our shelters was going to grow each year. They approached the Volusia County Animal Control Board to seek their support. As a result, a pet overpopulation workshop was held in January 2001 & more than 50 people, representing public officials, animal control officers, veterinarians, animal rescue groups, breeders, & individuals interested in animal welfare attended. While there was more than a little disagreement about the mechanics, there was consensus that any successful solution had to have an aggressive spay/neuter component.
After months of discussions & idea sharing, the Universal Tag County-Wide Spay Neuter Program was born. Under this plan, every resident of Volusia County who had a dog or cat altered would be eligible to receive a subsidy of up to $42 to offset the cost. The program would be funded through the sale of the universal license tags.
The core group of Concerned Citizens has expanded to include Judy Molinaro, Pat Mihalic, & Michele Pari. Working with us throughout the development process has been Becky Wilson, Volusia County Animal Control, Big John, Volusia County Councilman, Roy Schleicher of the Volusia Council of Governments, & Mel Stack, President of the Halifax Humane Society. Sally Moore, Volusia County Animal Control Board, local Veterinarians Dr. James Buck & Dr. Kathleen Bartos, and many others provided greatly appreciated assistance & support.
This team approach to resolving problems has worked well for us & is one we will continue as other animal welfare issues arise.
