2017 April PASO Magazine

ROUND TOWN
Woods Humane Society opens its North County location
Wine 4 Paws Weekend, April 8 and 9
By Chuck Desmond
This marks the 9 th consecutive
year that Wine 4 Paws (W4P)
weekend is earmarked to support
one of the County’s most
cherished agencies – WOODS
HUMANE SOCIETY located at
Kansas St. and the 101 interchange
in SLO. It’s right next to the SLO
Humane Society.
W4P was started by Roblans
Sarah and Steve Tomasetti, as
a way to help our pets while
enjoying our favorite local wines.
This event makes a giant difference
in how WOODS can
operate at such a high level.
The premise is that as the best
weather approaches, we start
spending more and more time
around the pools and on the patios.
People are enjoying that
which is El Paso de Robles!
We’re all gonna buy wine anyway
so using this weekend is a
phenomenal time to do some tasting
and buying while, at the same
time, doing something painless
and positive for the dogs and cats
we Roblans cherish.
Here’s how it works. Jump in
your vehicle and head out to
your favorite wineries. 86 wineries
(mostly in North County) plus
Olivo de Oro olive oil are signed
up to help. Sponsors also include
Uncorked Wine Tours and Spinnaker
Financial Services. Participating
wineries donate a portion
of their profits from these
two days. Ad-hoc donations are
made by slipping a $10 or $20 into
the donation jars on the tasting
room counters.
When you arrive at your first winery,
pick up a “passport” and have
it stamped. Take it with you to all
the wineries you visit, have it
stamped at each one and leave it
at the last winery. They all get accumulated
and then, drawings for
prizes are held. This year’s prizes
include: hotel stays, VIP tastings,
winery tours, etc.
Here’s a run down of last year’s
results. Over $40,000 was raised
during last year’s Wine 4 Paws
weekend. That put a big helping-hand
on providing 1721 adoptions
plus 3,725 spay and neuter
procedures, bedding, pet food,
supplies and vet services. A dozen
volunteers help out each year.
There is a load of information
on line at www.Wine4Paws.com.
Contact Sarah at Info@Wine4
Paws.com to ask questions or help
in any way.
Meanwhile, up here in North
County, WOODS has raised its
commitment to our local area.
After a few months of negotiations
and planning, the deal was cemented
on January 1st of this year,
whereby WOODS merged with
North County Humane Society
(NCHS) on its 3-acre Atascadero
location at 2300 Ramona. That’s
the frontage road at the Del Rio
exit.
NCHS began in the 70s and in
‘97, the Romana address was determined
to be the permanent
location. This facility has always
been, is now and, for the see-able
future, is just for cats. It is a place for
people to surrender cats they can
no longer take care of. Adoptions
of new feline friends balances the
scale. Last year, the ratio was almost
dead equal between the 400 in-take
cats and those adopted. No boarding
nor surgeries are done at this
location – yet. Permits have been
applied to add a new building for
a spay/neuter facility for both cats
and dogs. As more of this unfolds
in upcoming months, we’ll keep you
abreast of the progress. For now,
there are about 65 cats waiting for
new owners at this very clean and
inviting facility. With a staff of six and
about 50 volunteers, the WOODS
North County facility is open Tuesday
to Saturday from 10 a.m. to
4:30 p.m.; Wednesdays until 6 p.m.
Their phone is 466-5403. Of course,
they need all the donations you
might expect for cats.
The cats only facility at 2300 Ramona
in Atascadero is the joint effort of
Woods Humane Society and
North County Humane Society.
Sarah Tomasetti was the co-founder
of Wine 4 Paws 9 years ago.
April 2017, PASO Magazine 37