Join Memphis Pets Alive! for a special screening of The Paw Project, a documentary whose organizational mission is to educate the public about the painful and crippling effects of cat declawing, to promote animal welfare by ending the practice of declaw surgery, and to rehabilitate declawed big cats. Doors will open at 6:30 and the film will begin at 7:00 (and last approximately one hour). Light snacks will be available as well as beverages [donations are accepted and encouraged!].
Presale tickets will be available for $5.00 and we will sell tickets at the door as well, but keep in mind seating is limited! Thank you to the Paw Project for allowing us to share this film with the Memphis community and your support in doing so!
ABOUT THE FILM
In the United States today, six out of ten pet owners consider their pets to be family members. Today, 36,117,000 households have a pet cat in the home. (” U.S. Pet Ownership Statistics.” U.S. Pet Ownership Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 July 2011.) Currently, approximately 25% of these cats are declawed. While cat owners are unaware of the true nature of this surgery. They are never told that it is an amputation of the last toe bones in a cat’s paw; and it actually does more harm than good.
THE PAW PROJECT is a documentary that takes us inside the issue. Sharing testimony from industry professionals and pet-owners alike, THE PAW PROJECT examines the emotional and physical cost that a cat pays when declawed; and reveals the profit that the procedure generates for veterinary doctors across the nation. Despite the physical and behavioral harm inflicted on cats that are declawed, many veterinarians continue to recommend the procedure, which costs upwards of $900.00 per hour – even for very young kittens.
Veterinarian Dr. Jennifer Conrad wants it stop. While it often puts her at odds with many in her professional field, she continues to lead the struggle. Step by step, the film follows Conrad as she refutes arguments from representatives of the California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA), and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), all in her effort to protect the well being of these felines. THE PAW PROJECT chronicles her journey from her work as an exotic animal veterinarian in Hollywood to legislative hearings, where she urges elected officials to ban declawing.
For more information, please visit www.pawproject.org.
