Sunset Animal Medical Center Creates Foundation to Honor Sturgis

For the past 33 years Jay Griffiths watched Carole Sturgis bring stray and feral cats in for spay and neuter operations at , paying with her own money. After learning of , Griffiths vowed he'd find a way to bring something positive to an otherwise tragic situation.

"We thought we would create the 'Carole Sturgis Feral Cat Spay and Neuter Memorial Fund' and we're going to start it with a contribution of $500," Griffiths said.

The fund will allow people to come into the animal hospital with area stray and feral cats and have the operation performed free of charge, Griffiths said. Griffiths believes what will make the fund work and detract those who may abuse the fund is simple tracking of stray and feral cats.

"We would do a laser removal of the tip cats' ears, which became a common practice," Griffiths said. "That way when people catch a stray cat they can see the ear and know not to bother catching it."

Griffiths believes the method would work and ensure that the available funds would go toward performing the operation on those stray cats that haven't already had it.

The funds donated by other staff members and people will all go into the same pot in the hopes the foundation will continue to serve the same purpose, Griffiths said. To spay a cat, Griffiths said it costs about $55; to neuter, about $35.

Griffiths, 52, knew Sturgis even before he started practicing animal healthcare. In 1979, at age 19, he watched Sturgis bring stray cats and dogs to the Sunset Ave. animal hospital to be neutured and spayed. He said he recalls watching Sturgis pay with her own money for the treatment of another family's sick dog. For Griffiths, he couldn't think of a better way to honor his friend's memory.

"She had a particular affection for the stray cats in her area," Griffiths said. "It was my understanding that on a daily basis she would feed and water the strays in the neighborhood and watched over them."

"Our relationship with Carole extended more than 30 years and the one thing that she always brought forward was that she was a very happy woman, very caring and every interaction I ever had with her she was always the shining light."

Griffiths said Sturgis never explained why she took up the cause of taking care of the cats.

"With Carole I never knew why she did it," he said. "I just got a sense it was just part of her routine, that she just cared for life and she did what she could."

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