2010.02.25 00:08:40

SNKC Admin

News from City Hall
City Communications Office

KCMO

2010.01.12 23:37:04

SNKC Admin

Join us for a Spay-Ghetti and No Balls Dinner Event

Friday, February 26th, 2010
1116 E 59th
Kansas City, MO 64110

Event starts at 5:00pm
Dinner at 6:30pm
Raffle and Silent Auction Items
Guest Speaker: Charles Gusewelle

Tickets only $10.00  LImited Tickets Available!
All proceeds benefit Spay & Neuter Kansas City and will help spay and neuter more needy pets in the community.

Event Sponsored by:
Roger Crouch
Rick Ralls Law Firm
Gamble Realty
Brad and Linda Nicholson
Brookside Barkery & Bath
Paw Prints Magazine

 

2009.11.06 04:41:41

Administrator

Hello all you dog and cat lovers! I am Dr. Gabrielle Bassin and I am very excited to be working with SNKC in helping to decrease dog and cat overpopulation and homelessness in the Kansas City area. Originally from California, I received my undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley (Go Bears!) and my DVM degree from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, where I worked closely with the renowned UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program. Since very early in my involvement in the veterinary field, I have found enormous personal and professional satisfaction in working with spay/neuter efforts and in shelter medicine.


In doing this work, I am constantly motivated by the fact that there is no other single veterinary medical condition- no infectious or metabolic disease, or trauma, or cancer, or anything else- that is responsible for the deaths of nearly as many dogs and cats annually as simple, /fully preventable/ homelessness. This is a problem of epidemic proportions (3-4 million euthanized every year in the United States simply because there are not enough homes for them all) and is absolutely preventable if we promote spay/neuter and responsible pet ownership.


In addition to the positive effects that spay/neuter has on dogs’ and cats’ population health, I also promote spay/neuter for all of its individual health benefits. One of the best benefits is a drastic reduction or elimination of the risk of malignant mammary (breast) tumors when female dogs are spayed before their first or second heat cycle. Did you know that an intact female dog has about a 27% chance (greater than 1 in 4) of developing a malignant type of mammary tumor, whereas a female dog spayed before her second heat cycle has lower than an 8% chance, and a dog spayed before her first heat cycle has essentially a 0% chance of developing these tumors?! Other great health benefits include eliminating the risk of life-threatening uterine infections (called pyometra) and uterine and ovarian cancers in females, and testicular cancers and some prostatic diseases in males. For all of these reasons, spayed and neutered animals tend to live longer, healthier lives. So when we say that spay/neuter saves lives, we mean it on many different levels!


When I am not trying to make sure that companion animals are spayed, neutered, healthy and happy, I enjoy traveling, hiking, running, tennis, and food and music from all over the world. I currently live in Lawrence with my husband Charles (a herpetologist and evolutionary biologist at KU) and our two crazy and adorable shelter mutts named Toby and Rudy—neither of whom will ever father a litter of puppies or get testicular tumors. Good for them!
 

2009.11.02 04:34:41

Administrator

 News from City Hall
City Communications Office
City of Kansas City, Mo.
http://www.kcmo.org
CONTACT: Mary Charles, city communications officer, (816) 513-1356
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 24, 2010

2009.11.02 04:33:03

Administrator

 Read about the importance of Targeted Spay & Neuter!   This approach is the only method SNKC has followed and has proven successful right here in Kansas City.

I. UPDATING STERILIZATION - 
"THE ENORMOUS POTENTIAL OF TARGETED NEUTERING ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS

Sterilization dominated the original LES strategy. While times now require a more comprehensive approach, as described above, sterilization programs still deserve to play a primary role. As with legislation and education, the best way to maximize the impact of future sterilization programs is to build on earlier successes. In the same way and for the same reasons, we also need to update our approach to neutering programs.

The original LES program promoted the establishment of discount neutering clinics open to all pet owners, often subsidized with public funds. When pet sterilization rates were much lower, open access programs were necessary to popularize neutering. With the current high sterilization rates, however, more than 75 cents of every dollar spent on untargeted subsidies is wasted to help pay for sterilizations that would have been done without them.

To be effective, neutering programs must reach pets in the breeding population and result in sterilizations that wouldn't have been occurred otherwise. Because they are not cost effective, untargeted programs are prohibitively expensive.

Not only are untargeted programs expensive and ineffective, they understandably alienate veterinarians, who deserve to be our main partners in this struggle. Experience across the country has shown that the veterinary community will actively support neutering assistance programs if subsidies are provided only to those who truly need them.

Two unavoidable facts placed a ceiling on the effectiveness of the combined education-and-discount-neutering strategy of the original LES program: sterilization procedures necessarily involve significant expense and low income pet guardians usually cannot afford them without subsidies of 80% or more. As a result, fewer dogs and cats kept by low-income caretakers are now sterilized. This is especially true for cats. A 1994 study found that cats living in low income households were more than twice as likely to be sexually intact as those living in a middle and upper-income households.

It has become increasingly clear that our failure to develop affordable neutering programs for low-income programs has put a brake on the effectiveness of first generation LES programs. The victims of pet overpopulation are increasingly from poor communities. In California, for instance, the shelter euthanasia rate in the 11 poorest countries in 1995 was almost three times higher than that of the 12 richest counties. In New Jersey, the disparity between rich and poor counties was even greater in 1998. Ending pet overpopulation will require making neutering procedures as affordable for low income pet guardians as they now are for all other people.

The importance of establishing affordable and accessible neutering subsidy programs can be seen in the dramatic impact they have once they are established. In New Hampshire, the shelter euthanasia rate dropped 75% in the first six years after an affordable neutering assistance program was established for low-income families. As a result of this program, New Hampshire has now achieved the lowest statewide shelter euthanasia rate in the country, less than 2.4 dogs and cats killed per thousand people.

Targeted neutering subsidy programs are so cost effective that they are presently affordable in every part of the country. The total yearly cost of the New Hampshire low-income program has been less than 15 cents per resident, including all administrative costs. Taking into account the moderate cost of living there and the low poverty rate, comparably effective programs can be established in any part of the country for 30 cents per person per year. Animal control, impoundment and sheltering expenses typically cost taxpayers about $3 per person every year, so a targeted neutering subsidy program could be established by reallocating about ten per cent of the amount now spent for reactive programs to impound and shelter the victims of overpopulation. Or, as mentioned earlier, the full cost of such a program could be paid for through a $10 increase in the differential for intact dog licenses.

These programs are a good investment. They more than pay for themselves. Every dollar spent on the New Hampshire low-income program, for instance, has saved $3.22 in reduced impoundment expenses.

Not only are proactive programs like this cost effective, in the end they are our only hope to end pet overpopulation. Bitter experience has shown that we cannot adopt our way out of pet overpopulation or build our way out. A system that continues to spend upwards of 95% of its resources on reactive programs is doomed to failure and frustration. On the other hand, effective preventive programs reverse this debilitating dynamic. Investing in proactive programs allows the increasing reallocation of resources to proactive programs, building momentum to the day when shelters will realize their century-long mission--to rescue and rehabilitate homeless animals and find a loving home for each and every one.

Peter Marsh
Solutions to Overpopulation of Pets
24 Montgomery Street
Concord, N.H. 03301

2009.09.02 07:53:21

SNKC Admin

From New York Times

ANIMAL shelters have reported a steep rise in the number of cats and dogs being surrendered as owners face unemployment, home foreclosures, evictions and other financial hardships. But animal welfare groups and even churches are stepping up with bags of kibble and containers of cat litter to help owners keep their pets and to prevent more from being sent to shelters, and sometimes death.

No national network coordinates pet food assistance. Instead, efforts have sprung up at a grass-roots level as individuals and groups have recognized the problem. The means of offering aid to pet owners varies with each organization. The Humane Society of the United States keeps a long list of programs on its Web site headlined “Having Trouble Affording Your Pet?” And the society acknowledges that there are probably many more programs the organization is not aware of.

The Tree House Humane Society in Chicago, which focuses on cats, has provided food assistance for more than 30 years, said Ollie Davidson, the society’s programs manager.

The society, which also provides food for dogs, has seen demand almost double over the last year, giving out more than 44,000 pounds of pet food this year, Mr. Davidson said. About 20 percent of the food distributed was for dogs and about 80 percent for cats. If current trends continue, the organization expects the number of those receiving pet food assistance to grow to 200 next year, from 157.

“Most of our food is coming from donations of people,” Mr. Davidson said, but with the sharp increase in demand the organization is applying for grants to help cover the costs.

Mr. Davidson said the grant applications emphasize that the food aid program is about much more than feeding hungry animals. “We’re helping people,” he said. “In times of stress, it’s always good to keep people with their pets.”

Jennifer Fulton, president of the Northland Pet Food Pantry in Kansas City, Mo., said the demand was huge. “We started giving out food in May of this year, and the response has been incredible,” she said. “We had people feeding their pets before they were feeding themselves.” But now 155 families with pets are being helped.

PAWS Chicago, a no-kill animal shelter, started a crisis-care program and a food bank last year, “when we saw the whole real estate thing happening and people were losing their homes,” said Paula Fasseas, who founded the organization in 1997. The organization provides temporary foster care for pet owners who are struggling because of the economy. In addition, the shelter has worked with the Petco Foundation, providing dog or cat food and litter for up to three months, said Rochelle Michalek, executive director of the shelter.

Sandra Jauga, a maintenance worker in Chicago who said she had been out of work since falling off a ladder this year, turned to PAWS Chicago for help when her workers’ compensation claim was denied. Ms. Jauga, a single mother of four, said Roxy, her beagle-pit bull, would not be able to eat without the aid. “I’m really grateful for the help,” she said. “If you have to get rid of the dog, what’s going to happen with the dog? Where is it going to go?”

With a mission of making Chicago a no-kill city, the shelter visits Chicago’s animal pounds regularly to rescue animals that have not been reclaimed or adopted. By providing pet food to people facing financial hardship, the organization is trying to keep more animals from being surrendered to the pounds.

For its part, the Petco Foundation has been involved with pet-food banks since it began in 1999, said Paul Jolly, the executive director. “We have always been involved in the food bank concept simply because it keeps people with their animals.”

Mr. Jolly said that Hurricane Katrina was a drastic lesson for the country about how strong the bond between people and their pets can be. “Katrina pointed out that pets are part of the family, too,” he said.

The Petco Foundation, based in San Diego, has partnerships for pet-food assistance with about 75 organizations across the country. In January, the foundation is introducing a program with Feeding America, a hunger-relief charity whose members supply food to more than 25 million Americans each year.

Under the program, “We Are Families Too,” 750 Petco stores will have bins where customers can donate pet food, Mr. Jolly said. In addition, the foundation will supplement the donations with food from Petco and other vendors. Distributors will often donate food approaching its expiration date.

Help is also available from tiny, grass-roots organizations in smaller towns.

The Young at Heart pet rescue of Palatine, Ill., which focuses on finding homes for cats and dogs over age 5, established Nina’s Pet Food Pantry with a donation from Steve and Laurie Weiner of Buffalo Grove, Ill., in memory of their Portuguese water dog, Nina. The pantry collects donated kibble from individuals and pet-food distributors, mixes the various brands and types of food and repackages it in plastic zip-top bags for distribution at two human food banks, said Karen Ortolano, a spokeswoman for the organization. (Combining the food assures a uniform quality and makes it easier for the animal to make the transition to what the group calls its “rescue mix.”)

After Nina died about a year ago, Mr. Weiner said he could understand the pain of separating from a family pet. “I’m thrilled that dozens of pets don’t know how close they came to having their lives changed,” he said, adding that a relationship with a pet is a 24/7 commitment for the life of the pet. “You don’t move away from them or they don’t go off to college,” he said. His family continues to help with the pantry program, staying involved in the rebagging of the food. “Just last week I was knee-deep in pet food with latex gloves on, sifting and sorting,” he said.

Some of the food-pantry programs encourage or even require pet owners to spay or neuter their pets. Spay and Neuter Kansas City is one group that makes pet altering a requirement. Gloria Harris, pet outreach program manager, said the organization provides low-cost spaying and neutering services for low-income pet owners. If there is not enough money to feed a pet, there probably is not enough for a litter of puppies or kittens, she said.

In October, the organization held its “doggy food raiser,” collecting 12,000 pounds of the 20,000 pounds of food it will distribute this year, Ms. Harris said.

Part of the campaign was tied to the Kansas City Chiefs-Philadelphia Eagles National Football League game this season. Fans were asked to pledge a bag of dog food every time the Chiefs sacked Philadelphia’s quarterback, Michael Vick. Although the quarterback was sacked only once, 500 pounds of food was collected.

But the pet-food banks are not simply the work of animal welfare groups. Northeast Community Lutheran Church in the urban core of Minneapolis serves about 300 people a month at its Little Kitchen Food Shelf, according to its Web site. But the church, which also provides vaccines for companion animals, found that people struggling financially also needed food for their pets. Now people are also offered food for their pets.

“We know that pets being dropped off at humane societies tend to be on the rise in this current economy, so its obvious that pets are suffering,” said the Rev. Craig Pederson, the pastor.

Jennifer Schultz, coordinator of the Little Kitchen, said she knew the demand was great because the church had received calls from people who live in the suburbs and needed help feeding pets.

Dwayne Pough, a Chicago cook who has been out of work for several months, said help from PAWS Chicago made a big difference for his American Staffordshire, Malachi. “Man, it was crucial because he’s a big dog and he eats a lot,” Mr. Pough said. “I get food stamps, and you can’t buy dog food with food stamps. Actually, I was down to my last bag with maybe two more feedings when they came through. It was a life-saver, really.”

 See slideshow here

2009.08.28 04:05:36

Administrator

Doggie Food Raiser

me | blog | jayhawk

2009.08.28 04:05:36

Administrator

SNKC Winter Dog House Drive

2009.08.28 04:05:36

Administrator

Doggie Food Raiser - Update!