Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley to get 1 cent per gallon of fuel oil sold from 2 Glassmere Fuel Service trucks

Glassmere Fuel Service on Saturday unveiled two trucks bearing the Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley logo and pledged to donate one cent from every gallon sold from those trucks to the no-kill shelter.

Kellen Cromie, Glassmere’s marketing director, said the company is proud of the work Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley does to help local cats and dogs.

He said fuel company will donate one cent per every gallon sold from the two Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley trucks indefinitely. The trucks can deliver up to 90,000 gallons per month, he said.

“They’re major supporters of our shelter,” Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley Board Chair Phyllis Framel said, adding that the company also donated the LED sign outside of the shelter and sponsored their dog kennels.

Cromie said the company likes to support the nonprofit animal rescue because of their efforts to save animals, as well as their community ties.

“We’re part of the same community,” he said before presenting shelter staff and volunteers with an initial $10,000 donation.

Framel said the shelter is grateful for Glassmere’s support. It also consistently launches its own fundraisers and events to fund the costly efforts of saving the dozens of animals in their care.

Their biggest expense, she said, is medical care for animals.

“We are a no-kill shelter,” she said. “We don’t euthanize for space. When (a pet) comes in, if they have a serious illness, we keep them and get them over that illness. Then we find an appropriate home for them.”

Some animals, she said, are brought to the shelter “in relatively good shape” and can be cared for in-house. Others need to get additional medical care.

The shelter also offers discounted rabies and microchip clinics, a pet food pantry and classes for pets and pet owners, Framel said. They have indoor and outdoor training spaces for the animals, 30 dog kennels and room for at least 50 cats.

In addition to nine employees, Framel said, the shelter is run largely by volunteers like herself.

“A lot of our volunteers have been involved for 20, 25 years,” she said. “It’s kind of a lifestyle.”

Betsy Kennon, a retired veterinarian, has been offering her services to the shelter for six years.

She said she had recently retired from private practice when she first stopped by the shelter with a donation of towels and blankets. She quickly was pulled in to provide medical care for the animals there.

“Every animal that comes into the shelter gets an examination,” she said, adding they also get vaccinations and flea and tick treatments.

Some animals, she said, need much more care than others. She said she’s seen animals with dislocated hips, diabetes and heart disease. One dog at the shelter now has bone cancer, she said.

“We don’t have the resources we had in private practice. We have to make do with what we’ve got,” she said. “If the animals need care, they get it.”

Kennon said they sometimes find creative ways to come up with the money.

Kennon penned a book about her experiences with her pet therapy cat, Scooter, who was paralyzed from the waist down and spent more than a decade visiting patients in nursing homes and hospice. The book is for sale online and at the shelter, and all of the proceeds help pay for medical care for animals there.

“He’s still doing good, even from Heaven,” she said of Scooter, who died two years ago.

Kennon said she enjoys doing good, too, even in retirement.

“I get such a sense of satisfaction,” she said. “These animals really need me. It’s really good to give back to people, or animals.”