Feral cat program needs help
Let me start off by saying I support all the feral cat programs within the scope of this column. The reason you do not see me at many of these, is because I am allergic to cats. I love cats, I just can't hold them or cuddle them without breaking out in hives and sneezing my head off. That being said, one of the most well-know programs is going to have to stop the program they are running because of lack of funds. This is a travesty in what is one of the richest counties in Florida. I am printing the release I received below and am asking if anyone has any spare change in these challenging economic times, please help support SDA's feral cat program.
We at Sarasota in Defense of Animals (SDA) regret that our Feral & Free-Roaming Cat Clinic that we have sponsored & operated for 3 years, sterilizing over 1300 un-owned cats that roamed in neighborhoods in Sarasota, Manatee, DeSoto, Charlotte & Hillsborough Counties in Florida is being STOPPED FOR LACK OF FUNDS.
SDA set up the clinic in 2006 at a cost of $1000 per clinic utilizing money from private donations and a grant from the Florida Friend License Plate Trust Fund. The spay/neuter services plus rabies vaccines, repair of injuries, & de-flea treatments were FREE to the Public, preventing thousands of unwanted kittens from being born, possibly preventing a rabies outbreak consequently having made a measurable impact in Southwest Florida.
Our 24 trained SDA cat clinic team staffed the clinic, performing all of the pre-op and post-op duties, with the actual surgeries being performed by a professional veterinarian assisted by a licensed vet-technician.
With high hopes of receiving grant funding so we would not have to stop the clinic, SDA applied for a BOOST Grant from the Community Foundation of Sarasota and for a grant from PetSmart Charities where we have been a partner since 1995. You can imagine our disappointment to get notices that the grants had been denied. The special fund SDA set up in 2006 to pay for this monthly clinic is now depleted and to the detriment of Southwest Florida residents and the stray un-owned cats in this area, we can no longer provide this valuable service to the communities.
If you or anyone you know can help SDA re-start this clinic with private tax-deductible contributions or any resource that could be available, we will be willing to do so. SDA has proven that we have the experience and capabilities to efficiently manage a high-volume spay/neuter clinic. The challenge now is securing the monetary resources to sponsor the clinic at $1,000 per clinic, an amount that is not affordable from our sanctuary operational budget without increased revenue.
We can be contacted and donations can be made through our SDA website, http://www.sdasarasota.com/, and our mailing address is SDA, PO Box 15653, Sarasota, FL 34277-1653. If you have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to contact me at smatthes@aol.com or at 941-924-2505.
If this is something you could get behind and support, please contact Elise at the above information and let everyone know they need help.
We at Sarasota in Defense of Animals (SDA) regret that our Feral & Free-Roaming Cat Clinic that we have sponsored & operated for 3 years, sterilizing over 1300 un-owned cats that roamed in neighborhoods in Sarasota, Manatee, DeSoto, Charlotte & Hillsborough Counties in Florida is being STOPPED FOR LACK OF FUNDS.
SDA set up the clinic in 2006 at a cost of $1000 per clinic utilizing money from private donations and a grant from the Florida Friend License Plate Trust Fund. The spay/neuter services plus rabies vaccines, repair of injuries, & de-flea treatments were FREE to the Public, preventing thousands of unwanted kittens from being born, possibly preventing a rabies outbreak consequently having made a measurable impact in Southwest Florida.
Our 24 trained SDA cat clinic team staffed the clinic, performing all of the pre-op and post-op duties, with the actual surgeries being performed by a professional veterinarian assisted by a licensed vet-technician.
With high hopes of receiving grant funding so we would not have to stop the clinic, SDA applied for a BOOST Grant from the Community Foundation of Sarasota and for a grant from PetSmart Charities where we have been a partner since 1995. You can imagine our disappointment to get notices that the grants had been denied. The special fund SDA set up in 2006 to pay for this monthly clinic is now depleted and to the detriment of Southwest Florida residents and the stray un-owned cats in this area, we can no longer provide this valuable service to the communities.
If you or anyone you know can help SDA re-start this clinic with private tax-deductible contributions or any resource that could be available, we will be willing to do so. SDA has proven that we have the experience and capabilities to efficiently manage a high-volume spay/neuter clinic. The challenge now is securing the monetary resources to sponsor the clinic at $1,000 per clinic, an amount that is not affordable from our sanctuary operational budget without increased revenue.
We can be contacted and donations can be made through our SDA website, http://www.sdasarasota.com/, and our mailing address is SDA, PO Box 15653, Sarasota, FL 34277-1653. If you have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to contact me at smatthes@aol.com or at 941-924-2505.
If this is something you could get behind and support, please contact Elise at the above information and let everyone know they need help.
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