Animal Welfare Founder Cass Clark Passes Away at 85

CREST HAVEN — Catherine “Cass” Clark, 85, founder of Animal Welfare Society passed away Thursday Aug. 13 in Crest Haven Nursing Home where she had resided since 2007.
Clark told the Herald four years ago, she believed she was responsible for having over 35,000 cats spayed. She did not believe in euthanizing animals and ran the shelter as no- kill facility.
Clark set up a board of directors to operate Animal Welfare Society when she fell ill several years ago. In 2005, she told the Herald that she liked to be known as the “Queen of Spays.”
When the society received a $4,000 donation that year from the Cape May County Animal Shelter Alliance, she was asked what she would do with it.
“Spay more cats,” she told the Herald.
The society spayed 30 to 40 cats each Thursday.
Irresponsible pet owners dumped animals at the society even when it was closed. Clark had three pigs left after hours on the property and dogs and cats no one else would keep alive.
Clark told the Herald she has been rescuing animals since she was a child in Philadelphia. She said her sister has a photo of her in a schoolyard surrounded by dogs.
Thirty eight years ago, Cass and her sister Tina Weimar purchased the property at 40 Route 47 South in Dias Creek with their life savings and built the no- kill Animal Welfare Society. On October 13, 2007, the sisters were honored at an open house for all their years of selfless service, which included a visit from Sen. Jeff Van Drew.
“Long before it was the most popular or easiest thing to do, Cass was there in a political and a real sense, fighting for the cause. She was a pioneer in Cape May County, a county woefully behind in animal advocacy,” he said at the time.
Weirmar passed away in October 2008.
The mission of the shelter is to let cats and dogs live out their lives without fear of being put to sleep.
Kathy Fabio, finance of Clark’s nephew, Harry told the Herald, Clark was from the Kensington section of Philadelphia. She volunteered with the USO at Valley Forge Military Hospital where she met her husband, Marne and married him in 1953.
Clark taught piano to children and adults and played piano and sang in nursing homes throughout her life. She owned ceramics studio on Alleghany Avenue in Kensington.
Clark worked as a real estate agent in both Philadelphia and New Jersey.
She started the “Spay a Stray” program to neuter and return feral cats to their colonies.Fabio said she helped thousands of county residents neuter their pets.
“If they didn’t have any money, they didn’t pay,” she said. “If they had a little bit of money they gave it to her but it never covered the full cost.”
Clark served on the board of Lower Township Municipal Utilities Authority and ran for freeholder.
In 1993, she sat as a Board member on the NJ Board of Veterinary Medicine and traveled to Newark for close to two years to make the meetings.
She once reported a driver of a truck full of chickens for not treating his cargo humanely, said Fabio.
Animal Welfare Society President Rosemary Lafferty recalled Clark saying: “You have to speak out for the animals because they have no voice to speak up for themselves.”
Lafferty said if Clark believed that even just one animal was being treated unfairly or was being harmed in any way, she would repeatedly state her case to anyone and everyone that would listen.
“In short, Cass Clark had a deep concern for the plight of unwanted/abandoned animals and was totally committed to improving their quality of life be it on the streets of Cape May County or in people’s homes,” said Lafferty. “She believed that every living creature deserved a safe haven and she did whatever it took to provide that haven; even if it meant using her own money to ensure it.”
The shelter continues operation with a loyal, volunteer staff.
Clark put the following message on the society’s answering machine: “Don’t forget to hug your pet, it’s the best friend you have!”
A memorial service will be held Tuesday Aug. 18 at the County Veteran’s Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations would be appreciated to Animal Welfare Society, 40 State Highway 47 South, Dias Creek, NJ 08210.