Marion Daily Republican

Tue Feb 24, 2009, 03:04 PM CST

Tuesday is the Humane Society of the United States’ 15th annual Spay Day. It was started to help encourage pet owners to spay and neuter their pets to combat the 4 million cat and dogs euthanized in US shelters every year.
Candy DeZutti-Thomas, a Williamson County resident, is on the front lines of the pet overpopulation battle everyday.
 As Candy Thomas pulls into a neighborhood, cats come running. At one of three feral cat colonies that she feeds each day, Thomas is almost swarmed by cats that won’t let other people anywhere near them. She puts down dry kibble and opens up some cans of wet cat food also. The cats are in heaven and they know that this is their only meal for today.
 It is the neighborhood where Candy’s mom lived for years. Although she is no longer here, Candy continues the work she and her mother began. Together, they took on the responsibility and expense of trapping feral cats to spay and neuter them.
 “People are either in denial or they just don’t care. Spaying and Neutering is the only answer,” Thomas says about the pet over population, “They use animal control, humane societies, shelters and rescues as a solution. They are not the solution. It is the personal responsibility of pet owners to spay and neuter.”
 According to helpinganimals.com, just one unaltered female cat and her offspring can produce an estimated 420,000 cats in seven years. An unaltered female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 puppies in six years.
 Thomas also takes part in rescue work. She will often help place animals from owners who no longer want them and she works with local shelters to get animals fixed and placed in rescue programs.
“It (animal rescue) is not a choice. Once you open your eyes to the suffering, you cannot shut it off,” says Thomas when explaining what motivates her.
“I was raised in a family that practiced compassion, I was taught social responsibility,” adds Thomas, who was born and raised in Herrin. “If you adopt the attitude of compassion, caring and humanity for all creatures that you share this planet with, you don’t have to choose between them. I don’t choose between helping animals and humans. It’s apples and oranges.”
Thomas, a part-time caregiver for homebound people, also believes that “compassion means action.”
“If people are animal lovers and can’t be on the front lines, I strongly encourage them to donate or support those who are by donating to local shelters and licensed rescue groups,” said Thomas.
Reluctant to participate in a story about her, Thomas, agreed to have this article printed after realizing that sharing her story would help educate the public to the “tragedy of pet overpopulation in our area.” Many people work behind the scenes to support her and assist with rescue work, including her husband, Bill. Candy Thomas is just one of many people in Southern Illinois who participate in independent animal rescue.