News release from Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control:
City of Fort Wayne – Receives Grant from Best Friends Animal Society for Community Cats
(June 15, 2015) – Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control is pleased to have received a grant from Best Friends Animal Society in the amount of 10-thousand dollars to Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control’s Community Cat Program to humanely manage the area’s free roaming, community cats. The grant awarded was met with an additional 11-thousand dollars in local matching funds from private contributions earmarked for programs that save lives & prevent euthanasia.
“These funds will provide 600 cats the opportunity to be spayed or neutered, rabies vaccinated, microchipped, ear tipped, and returned to their community location(s) said Belinda Lewis, Director of Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control. “The monies will save thousands of unwanted kittens from ever being born through spay and neuter initiatives put into place by the use of these grant dollars.” Cats that were previously at risk of being euthanized because they were not friendly and adoptable are now being placed back into our community sterilized, ear-tipped, & vaccinated.
Fort Wayne’s coalition based Community Cat Program has been nationally recognized as worthy of high dollar grant investments toward saving lives. Amending our city ordinance allowed citizens the opportunity to trap free roaming cats and request they be processed as Community Cats. The program is designed to reduce illness, over population, and euthanasia of cats in the community.
Liz Finch, senior manager of Best Friends National Programs said “Best Friends is partnering with communities to help save lives and working with animal advocates such as Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control to prevent the deaths of roughly 9,000 animals each day at shelters around the country.”
Since the programs start in August of 2014, 571 Community Cats have been processed through Animal Care and Control and placed back into the community as a result of the city’s coalition work with the Allen County SPCA and HOPE for Animals.
Click here for more information about Best Friends Animal Society.
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