On Aug . 16 , the Queenie Foundation sponsored a gathering on the East Hartford town green , as part of the International Homeless Animals’ Day vigil organized through the International Society for Animal Rights .

“ This is the second yearwe’ve had a Connecticut vigil , ” said Queenie founder and Executive Director Enid Breakstone . “ This is the only vigil in Connecticut . We need someone to organize one for next yearin the southern part of the state . ”

The Queenie Foundation is a Manchester-based organization involved in humane education . Foremost on their agenda is the promotion of spaying and neutering . “ Alleviating homeless cats and dogs is so simple , ” said Breakstone . “ There are so many problems out there that are complicated . We can rescue and adopt forever , but until we can increase spaying and neutering , we’re shooting ourselves in the foot . ”

All over the country , and internationally in countries such as Canada , France and Switzerland , animal advocacy groups gathered on Aug . 16 to support homeless animals , promote spaying and neutering programs and hold a candlelight vigil for animals that have died as a result of overpopulation .

The East Hartford event drew about a dozen animal groups and featured music , food , information , prizes and a chance for animal lovers to get together and socialize .

There was a blessing of the animals in the late afternoon , when a local clergy member did a group blessing for all animals present and left behind at home .

Karen Batko had a booth set up on the green promoting her organization , Yesterday’s Kittens , Inc . She had brought along her Springer Spaniel , Maggie . “ Maggie and her son , Reubin , help take care of the kitties , ” said Batko . “ They’ll lick the kittens and help stimulate them and watch over them . ” Yesterday’s Kittens is involved in the efforts to trap , neuter and return feral cats to the wild and works out of Deep River . “ But we get kitties from all over , ” said Batko . The organization deals with many kittens , often the offspring of feral cats . “ We’re one of the few organizations that will bottle-feed , ” said Batko . “ It takes a lot of time , and many organizations won’t get involved with it . ”

Batko opened a cardboard box beneath her table to reveal a litter of tiny , two-week old kittens . “ Some guy dropped these babies off a little while ago , ” said Batko . “ He was actually a breeder . He breeds his cats and sells the kittens to pet stores . The mama cat got out , and he didn’t want to deal with having to bottle-feed the kittens . ” So Batko agreed to care for them and eventually adopt them out . But raising such tiny kittens is labor-intensive , and they are delicate . “ Our vet bills are unbelievable , ” said Batko . “ Especially when they’re really tiny , they don’t have any immunity from their mom . They’re very susceptible to all kinds of things . ”

Across the green at the Bikers Against Animal Cruelty booth , Erika Fuery talked to visitors about the focus of her group . “ We promote responsible pet ownership . We also raise money to help defray animal abuse vet bills all down the eastern seaboard . ”

A recent BAAC event was a motorcycle rodeo in Glastonbury , which featured bikes , beer , food and games , and which raised money in addition to collecting supplies to donate to local groups .

A recent project funded by BACC was the donation of a video surveillance system to the New Haven Animal Shelter . “ They had a dog stolen , ” said Fuery . “ We believe he might have been stolen for fighting . ” With the new security system , the shelter hasn’t experienced further incidents .

As afternoon faded into evening , Breakstone took to the microphone to begin the formal portion of the event . She introduced brief speeches by other animal advocates and read off a long list of recent positive legislation involving animal welfare . One striking item from the list was the banning of internet hunting . The practice , originating in Texas , involved the lining up of captive animals via computer screen for shooting . The carcass would then be shipped to the hunter at his home location . As animal lovers lit up their candles for the candlelight vigil , Breakstone read off a list of 10 animals euthanized recently at area shelters , along with the reasons given for their surrender . “ Sasha , 10-year-old Boston terrier – surrendered because her owners were getting a divorce . They decided to have her put down rather than fighting over her , ” read Breakstone , as listeners wiped tears from their eyes . “ Died May 10 , 2008 . ”

For more information regarding Yesterday’s Kittens , visit the Web site www . YesterdaysKittens . org . BAAC has a Web site at www . BikersAgainstAnimalCruelty . org . The Queenie Foundation’s Web site is www . queeniefoundation . org .

For more information regarding the International Society for Animal Rights , including information on vigils , go to the Web site www . isaronline . org .