Dear friends and supporters of ORA,
It is with a heavy heart that I have to tell you that Claudia Vecchio chair and co-founder of ORA-Organization for the Rescue of Animals passed away on Dec 23, 2020. For the past 7 years Claudia has been bravely battling breast cancer, and unfortunately for us, Claudia lost the fight. Claudia has been instrumental in helping countless, stray, abused and abandoned dogs and cats find loving forever homes. In 2002 she co-founded ORA-Organization for the Rescue of Animals, a grass roots, volunteer based, no-kill animal rescue. Through Claudia’s direction, ORA has been instrumental in promoting animal welfare, being among the first to make the public aware of the danger of commercial pet foods to their animal’s health. She spoke out against the senseless killing of innocent animals in city pounds, organizing seminars with Nathan Winograd, the director of No kill Advocacy Center in California and Bruce Gray the director of the Calgary city pound, a city pound with a no kill agenda. Her work facilitated Georgina City Pound to become a no kill animal city shelter. She published an awarding winning magazine, campaigned for spay and neutering and created Dogs without Borders, a program that rescued dogs from kill shelters. She dedicated her time, her wisdom, her money and even her well-being to helping animals in need. For those of us that knew her well Claudia was a strong, passionate woman you could trust to do the right thing. She never compromised the welfare of a person or an animal for personal gain.
As per Claudia’s wishes ORA will continue to rescue stray, abandoned and abused animals and we will continue to advocate for the welfare of all animal species. With your support and our dedicated volunteers we will make ORA go forward and grow as a legacy to Claudia’s spirit. She will be sadly missed but always remembered.
Corinne Thaw
Co-founder ORA-Organization for the Rescue of Animals
www.ora-animalsrescue.org
Tel: 416-726-8895 / email: clthaw@aol.com
Due to the current Covid lockdown situation there will be no service at this time. Memorial donations may be made to ORA-Organization for the Rescue of Animals through Canadahelps.org or you can mail a cheque to: ORA –Organization for the Rescue of Animals, 300 Coxwell Ave. P.O., Box 22608, Toronto, Ontario M4L 3W7.
