Most stray animals don’t find homes, and, unfortunately, San Antonio has an enormous stray problem.

For the past ten years, we’ve been working on that problem here in this neighborhood through our non-profit organization, The Cannoli Fund.

The Fund was named for a cat, one of the first kittens rescued from a colony on a street in King William that was home to several such colonies. Although neighbors fed these cats, few of them were ‘fixed,’ which led to an endless cycle of more and more kittens.

Several King William neighbors started trapping the adult cats in this colony and taking them to low-cost clinics to be spayed or neutered. We also pulled adoptable kittens and found them homes. But the more we worked, the more we realized how big the issue really was.

The Cannoli Fund grew out of that realization.

Two photos of small dog, one in grass, one in carrier.

When Charlie attached himself to a neighbor in Labor Street Park, he was in bad shape, emaciated, with infected eyes and skin. The Cannoli Fund helped get him healthy. A couple of months later, a rescue organization found him a new home.

WHAT WE DO

We see the mission of The Cannoli Fund as improving the lives of companion and community dogs and cats in the King William, Lavaca, and Nathan Historic District neighborhoods. The organization provides services and funds for population control, medical treatment, and community education.

Here are some of the services we offer:

Spay/neuter assistance

The Cannoli Fund can help with setting up appointments at low-cost clinics, reimbursing funds or paying for services directly, and helping with transportation.

Cannolicare

The Fund covers veterinary medical expenses for qualifying cats and dogs rescued from the street as well as helping with medical expenses for owned animals with a positive prognosis. During the pandemic, we have also increased the number of wellness services we will help cover.

TNR (trap, neuter, return)

This service contributes significantly to reducing the number of stray cats in our community. The Cannoli Fund provides easy-to-use humane traps for catching feral cats so they can receive spay/neuter services, along with vaccinations and an ear tip, and be returned back to the community. Through its Community Cat Carpool, the Fund also provides transportation for these cats to and from low-cost veterinary clinics.

Cannoli’s Kitchen

The Kitchen provides monthly delivery of pet food to King William and Lavaca residents who need help with expenses to feed their pets or feral cat colonies, once those colony members have received spay/neuter services.

Cannoli’s Canteen

The Canteen provides any household or business in the neighborhood with a large colorful plastic water bowl to leave out on the sidewalk with fresh clean drinking water for passing pets and strays.

Microchip scanner

If you find a cat or dog in the neighborhood, contact the Cannoli Fund and arrange to get it scanned for a microchip. We can be reached via messages on Facebook and Instagram pages, or email info@thecannolifund.org.

In 2001, three King William neighbors co-founded the organization. Two of us are still actively involved, Marley Diehl and I, and we serve on the board of directors, along with current members from both King William and Lavaca: Avery Crenshaw, Syeira Budd, and Suzanne Ohlmann. We work alongside many other dedicated neighborhood volunteers who care for cat colonies, deliver pet food, and keep an eye out for animals in need of services.

Together — and with the generous financial support of neighbors — we’ve grown the organization so that today it offers multiple, valuable programs and has achieved financial stability.

A map showing the area served by the Cannoli Fund

HOW YOU CAN HELP

We’re a small, all-volunteer organization, a 501( c ) (3) non-profit, and we rely on generous donors, including neighbors, businesses, and grant-giving organizations.

Historically, we’ve successfully raised the funds we need to maintain the level of services we’re shooting for. If you can help out, we’d appreciate it.

You can donate online, here: https://thecannolifund.org/tcf/donate/

You can send checks to PO Box 831444, San Antonio, TX 78283

Nancy Diehl serves on the board and is a co-founder of the Cannoli Fund, a local non-profit that cares for dogs and cats in need of help in the King William and Lavaca neighborhoods.