News December 2010

Learn How More Animals Can Leave Your Shelter Alive
Ways to Keep Your Ferals Happy This Winter
Grants Success Stories: Vermont TNR Catalyst Project
Attitude is Everything in the Quest to Save Lives
Want to Win $10,000? Act fast!

Learn How More Animals Can Leave Your Shelter Alive

Do you ever feel like you're all alone trying to stem the flood of incoming animals with nothing more than a slip lead and a water bowl? You are not alone and you don't have to stand alone. Since 2007, the ASPCA Partnership (AP) program has worked with communities around the US on collaborative programs to increase the Live Release Rate for shelter animals. And we're looking for a new community. Take a look at a few AP successes:

• Austin, TX increased its live release rate by 11% in one year
• Buncombe County, NC decreased animal intake 14%
• Spokane, WA increased cat adoptions 18%

What Your Community Needs In Order to Qualify for the Partnership:

• 2-5 organizations (including animal control and the major nonprofit shelter) sheltering 80% of the community's animals
• All organizations agree to participate as partners

What Your Community Could Accomplish:

• Reduced euthanasia of shelter animals
• Increased adoptions
• Strengthened relationships between partners and within the community at large
• Grants based on a work plan developed with all community partners
• Expertise and training from ASPCA's team of sheltering professionals:
  • Development and fundraising guidance
  • Marketing and media support

By joining the ASPCA Partnership, more animals will leave your community's shelters alive. Applications for the new community will be accepted January 4 – February 15, 2011. Learn more!

Ways to Keep Your Ferals Happy This Winter

Feral cat experts offer colony caretakers 10 simple, inexpensive ways to make the long, cold winter a little cozier for feral colonies. Download all 10 tips today. Here's a taste (drum roll please…):

10. "Wet" Their Appetite
Per Alley Cat Allies, wet food in insulated containers is ideal for cold-weather feeding because it takes less energy to digest – that's more energy for keeping warm.

9. Not Worth Their Salt
Alley Cat Allies cautions against using salts and chemicals designed to melt snow near your colonies. They can be toxic when licked off paws or ingested from melting puddles, and can hurt a cat's paw pads.

8. Fill 'Er Up
Note that extreme cold weather can increase a cat's energy and nutritional needs. Don't forget extra water to prevent dehydration.

Grant Success Stories – from the desk of the ASPCA Grants Administrator

We asked the ASPCA Senior Director of Grants Management Michael Barrett for examples of excellent grant applications and grant implementations for a new quarterly series called Grant Success Stories.

When Vermont Companion Animal Neutering Inc. (VT-CAN) embarked on a collaborative TNR initiative, they applied for an ASPCA grant. They requested help to establish the infrastructure for a statewide program aimed at reducing the number of free roaming cats in Vermont. Before applying for the grant, they thoroughly researched the counties' various needs and did the math to determine a realistic yet impactful grant request. VT-CAN's application made a compelling appeal: "In order to have an effective TNR program, enough traps for entire colonies are needed."

A $5,000 ASPCA grant funded the Vermont TNR Catalyst Project and made the following achievements possible:

• 35 traps were purchased with ASPCA grant funds, plus another 34 traps were bought with matching funds. The traps have been distributed to TNR groups across the state. Central Vermont now has enough traps to enable them to sterilize an average colony in one full day of surgeries.
• Grant funds are being used to underwrite the cost of sterilization surgeries and rabies vaccinations – 65 cats have been altered to date and another 2,000 surgeries are anticipated over the next two years.
• The ASPCA grant award paved the way for VT-CAN to receive a PetSmart Charities grant which will be used to further the TNR project's goals.

The Vermont initiative is truly a collaborative effort – its participants include the Vermont Humane Federation, shelters, individuals, a stationary spay/neuter clinic, and a mobile spay/neuter clinic. According to Pamela Krausz, VT-CAN Executive Director, having all of these different partners "provide high-quality, low cost spay/neuter services makes a comprehensive TNR program possible and viable in Vermont."

Learn more about the ASPCA grants program.

 Photo courtesy Vermont Companion Animal Neutering Inc. (VT-CAN) 

Attitude is Everything in the Quest to Save Lives

The 2010 $100K Challenge is a wrap. Challenge contestants saved an amazing 48,779 lives in 3 months – a total of 7,362 MORE lives than last year during the same period!

The contestant blogs showcase the many, many successes achieved over the past few months and could fuel some awesome and achievable 2011 goals for your agency. We've been mining the blogs for ideas and innovations that every shelter can try at home – in the coming months, we'll be rolling out lessons learned by the contestants.

One overarching theme – one that will appeal to everyone in animal welfare – did emerge from the blogs: an optimistic attitude pays off. Many contestants observed that no matter where their agency "placed" in the Challenge, they had already won in terms of motivation, renewed dedication, and lives saved. This quote from an LA SPCA blog sums it up nicely:

"The Challenge was embraced because it inspired hope. Hope for the big black dogs that are glanced over in their kennels. Hope for the litters of kittens born into an over populated world. Hope for the animals that beg each and every person that pass by their kennels to be thought of as the amazing and unique individuals that they are. And finally hope for us. Hope for shelters that fight the good fight for those in our communities that can't speak for themselves. We used that hope to motivate us to go above and beyond, and there are many animals out there now that owe their very lives to the fact that we were inspired enough to hope for them. Only one shelter will win the title in this challenge but every single animal that left a shelter's doors has won a much loftier prize: life."

Watch these short videos to find out who the two big Challenge winners are. And stay tuned for details about the 2011 Challenge…

Want to Win 10,000? Act Fast!

Subaru's Share the Love Campaign helps shelters save lives and maybe even earn some big bucks. Conduct a year-end event in collaboration with your local Subaru dealer and you'll be eligible to win up to $10,000. Have an event by January 3 and submit your entry by January 17.