Thursday, January 26, 2012

National Program to Save Lives of Most At-Risk Pets


PetSmart Charities, the country’s largest funder of spay/neuter efforts, has announced a new $1 million spay/neuter grant program aimed at saving the lives of pets that have the highest risk of being euthanized due to overcrowding in shelters.

The new grant program builds on PetSmart Charities’ efforts to improve spay/neuter rates, reduce shelter overcrowding and increase pet adoption. Since 2007, PetSmart Charities has provided $26.3 million in grants that have subsidized almost one million spay/neuter surgeries in the United States.

“In 2012, the new grant program will help 65 non-profit spay/neuter clinics around the nation provide high-quality, affordable spay/neuter surgeries for more than 23,000 cats and pit bull terriers during February and August,” said Susanna Della Maddalena, executive director of PetSmart Charities.

Four million adoptable pets are euthanized every year in the United States because they aren’t adopted – that’s half of the 8 million pets that land in shelters each year.

“Approximately 34 percent of dogs and cats in U.S. households are not spayed or neutered - yet the procedure is one of the most effective ways to reduce pet overpopulation,” said Della Maddalena. “With our new national grant program and our ongoing efforts to make affordable spay/neuter available to the public, PetSmart Charities is addressing the root cause of pet homelessness.”

PetSmart Charities’ new grant program will support two spay/neuter campaigns:
  •  “Beat the Heat” will be held in February 2012 to spay female cats before they go into heat, preventing unplanned litters that create “kitten season” during spring months.
  • “Primp Your Pit” will be held in August 2012, giving clinics resources to spay or neuter pit bull terriers.  This breed, in particular, ends up in shelters in large numbers due to the myths and negative perceptions that are associated with pit bulls.
Through these special campaigns, spay/neuter clinics receive: grant funds to help lower the cost of spay/neuter for the public; professionally-developed marketing materials to educate the public; and funding and support to advertise and promote the campaigns in local communities.

To find high-quality, low-cost spay/neuter services locally, the public can go online to access a free searchable database made possible through a partnership between PetSmart Charities and the ASPCA.

Members of the public can also go online to make a donation to PetSmart Charities and stay up to date on the lives that are being saved through PetSmart Charities’ Facebook page

4 comments:

  1. I had to read this a couple of times to figure out what they're saying ... they're funding spay/neuter programs to save the lives of cats and pit bulls by helping to make sure they're never born. I'm not saying that donating to spay/neuter programs isn't a good thing - I just thought it was an interesting way to spin the marketing. =)

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    1. Sorry Amy - I guess I've worked for nonprofits for so long that it just made sense to me.

      PetSmart Charities, Inc. is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that creates and supports programs that save the lives of homeless pets, raise awareness of companion animal welfare issues and promote healthy relationships between people and pets. It is an approved charity of the Better Business Bureau and has received a four-star (highest) rating from Charity Navigator.

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  2. I think this is a great idea! Working to lower the pet population will help stop more animals from being euthanized.

    I wanted to let you know that I've put you on my award list for "Kreativ Blogger." Come check it out!

    http://helenpavlac.blogspot.com/2012/01/apparently-kreatively-blogging.html

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    1. Thank you Helen - although I will have you know that I'm a slacker when it comes to blogger awards (see comments at http://bit.ly/x8fiMe and http://bit.ly/wm4nGw) ;-)

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