It’s time for the ladies to have some fun! Witches Night Out is an all-inclusive Halloween fundraiser event featuring a costume contest and silent auction for The Farley Foundation.
The Farley Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 2014 that is devoted to rescuing and caring for homeless animals from kill shelters.
John Ficarro is a retired corporate lawyer who has spent years providing legal and financial aid to rescue groups. His wife, Betsy, has also been volunteering with rescue groups over the years. Now, they run their own rescue group, providing aid to animals.
“We decided there was a need, and we wanted to do it,” John explained. “We didn’t like seeing adoptable animals being killed unnecessarily. We try to make people aware of that.”
John and Betsy decided to name it The Farley Foundation “in memory of their first shelter dog, Farley – a certified therapy dog that was rescued as a puppy minutes before being euthanized from a North Carolina Shelter.” Many innocent animals, like Farley, are euthanized due to lack of space.
“There’s upwards of 70,000-80,000 dogs killed due to overpopulation in the state,” John Ficarro explained. “We want to eliminate the kill rate. It’s a community problem. As long as an animal – through no fault of its own – is killed, we’ve all failed.”
John and Betsy are working to educate others about the seriousness of the situation and the importance of spaying/neutering pets. Even just having a pet micro-chipped or wearing a collar with a phone number will prevent strays from getting into kill shelters.
“A lot of strays would be eliminated,” John said.
According to John, about sixty percent of animals at the shelter are owner-surrendered. Because a family is unable or unwilling to care for an animal, that animal is at risk of euthanasia.
“In a perfect world, we would have no dogs or cats killed that are adoptable,” he said.
The Farley Foundation goes to kill shelters and rescues dogs that have a date to be euthanized. These animals are brought to the Farley Foundation space at Seven Lakes Kennels to be cared for while waiting for a family.
They do more than just care for animals, they have volunteers who come to ensure the animals are being properly socialized and familiar with people. Volunteers also have the opportunity to take the dogs for walks, enabling them to become comfortable with new public environments.
“We firmly believe that the more the dog is socialized, the better it will be, and the easier it will be to get adopted,” John said.
The Farley Foundation also rescues special needs dogs from kill shelters. Out of the four dogs they are currently caring for, three are special needs comprising of visual impairment, kidney disease, and a leg amputation from an infected gunshot wound. The Foundation plans to care for these dogs and keep them safe from kill shelters until adoption.
So far, The Farley Foundation has adopted out over 300 animals. They work with local adoption groups and a rescue group in Connecticut. Due to strict spay/neuter laws in Connecticut, there is a greater demand than supply for pets. The Farley Foundation finds a new home for pets before ensuring their health and sending them to their new homes.
The Farley Foundation even works with the Pinecrest High School Pre-Veterinary Program, allowing students to come out and get hands-on training with the animals.
John and Betsy try not to have more than eight or nine dogs in their care at a time, due to limited funds and volunteers.
“We have to have the right ratio of volunteers to dogs. We don’t want dogs in a kennel all day,” John said. “It’s about quality – not volume.”
The Farley Foundation is always looking for volunteers. To fill out a volunteer form, go to farleyfoundationnc.com/volunteer/. Volunteers must be sixteen years old or older.
The cost for one dog to be brought to the Farley Foundation, rehabilitated, socialized, examined, treated, and adopted out is about $500.
“Our biggest problem is resources and money…,” John explained. “We spend a lot more than we receive, but we make up the difference in donations.”
Because the Farley Foundation is a non-profit 501c3 organization, all donations are deductable.
The Witches Night Out event proceeds will go straight to The Farley Foundation. The event will be held at Forrest Creek Golf Club on October 28th at 7:00PM. The cost is $60 per ticket. There will be Christmas holiday merchandise as well as feminine items such as jewelry available for sale at the silent auction. This event is open to ladies over the age of twenty-one. Costumes are required.
For questions or to RSVP to Witches Night Out, please contact John Ficarro at (910) 315-3052 or email him at jrficarro@aol.com. Check donations may be made to “TFF” at PO Box 606, West End, NC 27376.
Be sure to check out The Farley Foundation’s other upcoming events such as Autumnfest on October 7th from 9:00AM to 4:00PM at Downtown Park 145 SE Broad Street in Southern Pines. They will also be at the Shaw House for their Vintage Collectibles & Antiques Fair on October 14th at 110 Morganton Road and SW Broad Street in Southern Pines from 9:00AM to 4:00PM.
