Dear Fellow Animal Lover,
As 2021 comes to a close, we reflect once again on what a complicated two years it has been for us. We, like so many others, have faced staffing shortages that hampered transport, adoptions, intake from the public, and transfers from our municipal shelters. Veterinarian shortages have stalled critical spay/neuter procedures resulting in person after person requesting help for litter after unwanted litter making it impossible for us to help everyone who calls.
Because of staff shortages we were forced to re-evaluate and steam-line our protocols which has not been an entirely bad thing. We faced many challenges during this period, all senior staff stepping up and pitching in to do everything needed to keep the organization moving forward. We have all learned a lot and evolved during this difficult time. We continue to search for new and creative ways to face a plethora of post-pandemic challenges!
We want to thank everyone who continued to support us these last two years. Volunteers are slowly returning, and the animals are thrilled to see all the new faces. The staff has missed the help and are grateful to see it return.
Because of staff shortages the number of intakes has dropped but we hope that with your support we can increase intakes back to pre-pandemic numbers. Only with your help, will we be able to get these homeless and abandoned pets out of harm’s way and into our care where they will be treated with kindness and compassion until they are ready to be adopted or transported up north where they will be adopted within days of arrival.
Our audit shows more than 82% of the Mobile SPCA’s funding comes from the generosity of heroes like you from your donations and bequests. We keep administrative costs to a minimum which allows us to spend 82 cents of every dollar on the animals in our care!
While transporting animals is a wonderful band-aid, we work tirelessly to stop the overpopulation at its source: unaltered, breeding pets! We continue to offer a $10 off coupon on spay/neuter surgeries and work with our veterinarian partners to offer deserving families lower cost surgeries. We were extremely fortunate to have been awarded two spay/neuter grants; one from PetSmart Charities and one from Dogs Trust allowing us to spearhead a desperately needed county-wide low-cost spay/neuter program, which allowed us to alter 484 cats and 586 dogs in low-income households in Mobile County this year. Veterinarians have been overwhelmed these past two years, they have experienced staff shortages and in turn the available number of spay/neuter surgery slots has also plummeted. We will not be deterred and take a van load of cats and dogs to the spay/neuter clinic in Mississippi at least twice a month. These surgeries have prevented the birth of thousands of unwanted cats and dogs in Mobile County. We were awarded this generous grant from PetSmart Charities for three years in a row and, since they are drastically changing their grant model, it is highly doubtful that we will be awarded it again. Having said this, we know the demand for our Mobile SPCA-funded $10 off coupons will be staggering once again this year.
We cannot accomplish our life-saving work or continue our mission — to provide shelter, food, and medical care to the animals entrusted to us, promote adoptions and transport, assist with spay and neuter and educate people on responsible pet ownership — without your help. And this year we need you more than ever! We have been able to hold our semi-annual rummage sales but our two dinners – Spay-ghetti and Fish Fry – have been off the table. Hopefully we will be able to come together in March 2022 for a big plate of spaghetti and a lot of fun and music!
We receive no government funding, operating solely on donations, grants and fundraising. We are not a branch of the ASPCA, HSUS or any other national organization and receive no financial assistance from them for day-to-day expenses. If you can donate financially, please do; if you can donate your time, our staff would be very appreciative. And if you can find a place in your heart and home to adopt or foster a pet, their love and devotion will be worth more than words can describe.
Please donate today at gofundme.com/f/year-end so we can continue to save even more lives next year. Your gift is tax deductible and will help us give our community’s homeless animals a start on a new life in a loving home. Thank you! Please know we sincerely appreciate your donation.
The Mobile SPCA is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization whose mission is to provide compassionate care, shelter, food, and medical attention to the animals entrusted to us while promoting adoptions, spay and neuter initiatives, responsible pet ownership and community education.
ADOPTION LOCATION
Leave a Reply