THE NEWEST WEAPON IN THE BATTLE TO REDUCE ANIMAL HOMELESSNESS

Delaware SPCA Announces New Efforts to Combat “Mt. Kitten” and Pit Bull Overpopulation with Special Discounts

STANTON, DE – February 23, 2010 – The Delaware Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Delaware SPCA), the oldest and most experienced animal welfare organization in the state, today unveiled its next weapon in the ongoing battle to reduce the homeless pet population across the state.

At an event scheduled in coordination with Spay Day USA (sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States to inspire people to save animals' lives by spaying or neutering pets,) Delaware First Lady Carla Markell and Delaware SPCA Board President Willard Crichton unveiled the Delaware SPCA’s new, custom-designed Spay/Neuter Transport Van.

During remarks made at a ceremony held at the Delaware SPCA’s Stanton facility, Mrs. Markell read a proclamation from Delaware Governor Jack Markell commending the Delaware SPCA for its efforts to combat animal homelessness through its commitment to spay/neuter.

Remarking that animal welfare is a cause close to her heart, she said, “Our family has grown so much from the love of the stray pets that have joined our home. There are still so many pets that need homes and help. This new transport van and the Delaware SPCA’s high volume clinic will help to control pet overpopulation in our state by eliminating unwanted litters and promoting spay/neuter as a positive contribution pet owners can make to both animal and human welfare.”

STANTON, DE – The Delaware Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DESPCA), the oldest and most experienced animal welfare organization in the state, today announced that it is celebrating two major achievements that will help the organization meet its goal of expanding its spay/neuter services for the state of Delaware: acceptance into a prestigious training program and receipt of an important grant.

DESPCA Executive Director Anne Cavanaugh today announced that the organization has been accepted into Humane Alliance’s National Spay/Neuter Response Team (NSNRT) Training Program, designed specifically by Humane Alliance to address the national “epidemic” of euthanasia.

“Animal welfare advocates are in nearly unanimous agreement that the epidemic of euthanasia can only be countered by an extremely aggressive campaign of spaying and neutering, and we are thrilled to have been accepted into the Humane Alliance program,” said Cavanaugh. “We believe this can be a nation without homeless pets, and we’re very excited to join the NSNRT and bring this nationally proven model to Delaware”

Humane Alliance’s team of veterinarians has trained and mentored 62 organizations nationwide in the opening and operation of high-volume, high-quality, low-cost spay/neuter clinics. Since NSNRT’s inception in 2005, more than 650,000 companion animals have been surgically sterilized at these new clinics.

In 2008, the DESPCA reduced its euthanasia rate by 53%, and adopted a policy under which only animals with untreatable physical or behavioral problems are euthanized.  Since spay/neuter is the long term solution to euthanasia, the DESPCA has set a goal of sterilizing a total of 7200 dogs and cats in the first year of the program; a 225% increase over the current number of surgeries completed by the Stanton shelter in 2008.

The DESPCA team will travel to Asheville, NC for a week to experience first-hand how to deliver high-quality, high-volume surgical sterilizations quickly and safely. The NSNRT 13,000 square foot training academy houses a spay/neuter clinic with the capacity to sterilize 250 cats and dogs daily – seven times the clinic average nationally. The training will then move to the Stanton clinic for two weeks, with a Humane Alliance veterinarian and veterinary technician providing the on-site guidance necessary to operate a self-sustaining, high-volume, high-quality, spay/neuter clinic. 

 “This training program dovetails nicely with the impending official opening of our new Spay/Neuter Clinic next month,” said Cavanaugh. “Participation in the Humane Alliance program validated our approach and facilitated the acquisition of a $58,000 equipment grant from PetSmart Charities, which will help us meet our aggressive goal to eradicate pet homelessness in the state.  It’s also great timing for low-income people who want to get their pets neutered, since we are participating in the State of Delaware program under which low income pet owners can obtain sterilization services for $20.”

PetSmart Charities Provides Funds for Equipment

The grant from PetSmart Charities is meant to support programs to increase pet spay/neuter programs in local communities, particularly those that are implementing a successful model like that of the Humane Alliance.

“DESPCA’s spay/neuter program is a great example of an organization taking the initiative to improve the local community,” said Susana Della Maddalena, director of PetSmart Charities. “Targeted programs like these are the key to successful, low-cost spay/neuter in local communities. Cumulatively, they are making a huge impact on pet overpopulation nationwide.”

The DESPCA renovated approximately 2400 square feet of the existing Stanton facility and added a 2000 square foot addition.  The new space houses intake and prep areas, two surgery suites, separate recovery rooms for cats and dogs, a laundry/grooming area, an infirmary, and isolation rooms with dedicated HVAC systems for sick cats and dogs.  The Clinic is scheduled to officially open on September 10; an Open House and Naming Ceremony will be held that evening (6:00-8:00 p.m.)

“The PetSmart Charities grant, in combination with the opening of the new clinic, will dramatically boost the total number of spay/neuter surgeries in Delaware,” said DSPCA Chairman of the Board Willard G. Crichton. “The PetSmart Charities funds have helped put the clinic project over the top, as we purchased much needed equipment to create two state-of-the-art surgical suites which are meant to handle the high volume of surgeries we seek to provide.  We’re also very grateful to other supporters of this project, particularly the Longwood, Welfare, and Crystal Foundations, board members and staff, and many individuals in the community who recognized the critical role of spay/neuter in controlling pet overpopulation.”

For more information about the Delaware SPCA, please contact Anne Cavanaugh, Executive Director, at 302/998-2281.

It was 2:20 a.m. and pitch dark when Thelma Postacales of Millsboro, Delaware, heard her dog, Oscar, barking at the end of the bed.

“I kept saying, ‘Shush, Oscar, shush; there’s no one out there’ but he would not stop barking,” she said. “Next thing I know, he jumps off the bed and keeps on barking. I turned on the bathroom light so I could see where I was going, and there was George, on the floor. I was terrified.”

What Thelma did not know was that George, her husband of 30 years, had risen at about 2:00 a.m. to use the restroom. When Oscar was finally able to wake Thelma (who wears a hearing aid during the day,) George had been unconscious for at least 15 minutes.

After calling 911, Thelma and Oscar waited for the ambulance. The doctors later found that George had experienced a cardiac episode and require a stent. Today he is home and feeling much better – all to the credit of Oscar, an 18-month old Dachshund/Schnauzer mix they adopted from the Delaware SPCA.

“We’ve been married for 30 years and never had a dog – never even wanted one,” explained George. “Then we moved to Delaware from Florida. Our neighbor has a small dog that loves to come over when he hears me tinkering in the garage, and we really started to think about it.”

They went to the Delaware SPCA looking for a very small dog (like a Pekinese), but there were none in the shelter. The   attendant did mention they had a slightly larger dog – Oscar – a gentle pup who had been raised in a family with children that could no longer care for it.

The Postacales fell in love. So, after recovering from kennel cough (a non-life-threatening dog “cold” most dogs get in confinement) and a routine eye surgery, Oscar came home to the Postacales.

“He walked in, sniffed around, jumped up on the end of our bed and lay down as if he had always lived here,” said George. Thelma added. “Who knew he would save George’s life just weeks later? Can’t you just see the hand of God in this?”

Thelma and George know something about life’s serendipitous moments: they met on a blind date set up by Thelma’s sister on New Year’s Eve all those years ago.

Whether it was luck or fate, Oscar now has a happy home in a neighborhood where he can walk (“Or really, he struts, just like the dog in the old Kibbles & Bits commercial,” according to George,) play with his new friend the Pekinese and another Labrador down the block, and curl up at the end of a safe, warm bed. Thelma and George are just glad it is their bed. They are more than happy to share it with their pint-size hero, Oscar.

STANTON, DE – The Delaware Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Delaware SPCA), the oldest and most experienced animal welfare organization in the state, formally opened the doors of the new Jane R. Haggard Spay/Neuter Clinic in Stanton, Delaware during a recent grand opening celebration.

The clinic, located at Delaware SPCA’s headquarters in Stanton, is Delaware’s first high-quality, high-volume, low-cost spay/neuter clinic. It will serve animals and their owners through both Delaware SPCA shelters (in Stanton and Georgetown), and has set a goal of sterilizing a total of 7,200 dogs and cats in the first year of the program – more than twice what it achieved in 2008.

During the last two years, reducing the rate of euthanasia has been a major goal of Delaware SPCA.  In 2008, the Delaware SPCA reduced its euthanasia rate by 53%, and adopted a policy under which only animals with untreatable physical or behavioral problems are euthanized. 

“This state-of-the-art clinic will allow us to more than double our spay and neuter services annually, which will keep thousands, of unwanted cats and dogs from being born each year,” said Willard G. Crichton, president of the Society’s Board of Directors. “This clinic began as a dream to apply spay and neuter procedures as an alternative to euthanasia in order to help control the growing population of animals in our state, and our goal is to be the leading provider of these services throughout Delaware.”

At the event, the clinic was formally named with a plaque unveiling by Mr. Crichton.

“When it came time for the Delaware SPCA to name this new clinic, the person chosen to be honored was an easy choice,” said Mr. Crichton. “Jane Haggard has been affiliated with the Delaware SPCA for more than half a century. She has been a member of the board of directors, a staunch supporter of animal welfare, a fundraiser and an ambassador for  the SPCA throughout the state.  It is with great pleasure and pride that I announce tonight that this facility is named in Jane’s honor.”

The opening was then concluded with an “Unleashing” ceremony (replacing a traditional ribbon cutting) at the new Clinic’s front doors.

The establishment of the Delaware SPCA Jane R. Haggard Spay/Neuter Clinic was made possible through several grants, including support from PetSmart Charities and the Longwood, Welfare, and Crystal Foundations, as well as board members, staff and many individuals in the community who recognize the critical role of spay/neuter in controlling pet overpopulation.

Earlier this year, the Delaware SPCA was accepted into Humane Alliance’s National Spay/Neuter Response Team (NSNRT) Training Program, designed specifically by Humane Alliance to address the national “epidemic” of euthanasia. Training sessions are being held both at the NSNRT facility (a 13,000 square foot training academy which  houses a spay/neuter clinic with the capacity to sterilize 250 cats and dogs daily – seven times the clinic average nationally) and at the Haggard Clinic.

The Delaware SPCA team will travel to Asheville, NC next week to experience first-hand how to deliver high-quality, high-volume surgical sterilizations quickly and safely.  The training will then move to the Stanton clinic for two weeks, with a Humane Alliance veterinarian and veterinary technician providing the on-site guidance necessary to operate a self-sustaining, high-volume, high-quality, spay/neuter clinic.

For more information about the Delaware SPCA, please contact Anne Cavanaugh, Executive Director, at 302/998-2281.

STANTON, DE –  The Delaware Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DESPCA), the oldest and most experienced animal welfare organization in the state, today announced that Sheri Wood, DVM, has been named Staff Veterinarian at the organization.

Dr. Wood is responsible for overseeing all veterinary needs at the shelter, including the just-opened high-volume Spay/Neuter Clinic. She takes on this new position after having worked for DESPCA part-time for much of the last decade in the area of spay/neuter.

“Dr. Wood has provided invaluable support to DESPCA in the last ten years, and we are pleased that she has agreed to come work with us fulltime,” said Anne Cavanaugh, executive director, DESPCA. “Her insights and expertise with spay/neuter programs are particularly valuable with the launch of our new, high-volume spay/neuter clinic.”

In 2008, the DESPCA reduced its euthanasia rate by 53%, and adopted a policy under which only animals with untreatable physical or behavioral problems are euthanized.  Since spay/neuter is the long term solution to euthanasia, the DESPCA has set a goal of sterilizing a total of 7200 dogs and cats in the first year of the program; a 225% increase over the current number of surgeries completed by the Stanton shelter in 2008.

 “Over the course of my career I have come to believe that nothing can help prevent unwanted animal births more than spay/neuter, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with HumaneAlliance to implement this region’s only high-volume spay/neuter clinic,” said Wood. “This is an exciting time at DESPCA and I am glad to be playing a part.”

Humane Alliance provides low-cost spay/neuter services to 39 animal agencies in 23 counties in Western North Carolina, and operates the National Spay/Neuter Response Team (NSNRT), a national mentoring and training program to help other organizations learn how to open and operate spay/neuter clinics in their communities. During September, Dr. Wood and her staff will receive a week of on-site training from the NSNRT.

Before joining DESPAC, Dr. Wood practiced for 13 years at local animal hospitals including Kirkwood, Windcrest and Animal Haven.  She graduated from the University of Delaware with a degree in Biology and attended the Ohio State University School of Veterinary Medicine, from which she received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Degree in 1996. Dr. Wood grew up in the Newark, DE area.

Dr. Wood is married and has two children.  The family, which resides in Newark, Delaware, owns three pets adopted from shelters, including two domestic longhaired cats and an Australian cattle dog/ lab mix. 

For more information about the Delaware SPCA, please contact Anne Cavanaugh, Executive Director, at 302/998-2281.