THIS IS ALMOST TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE! -linda
From: "PAWS, the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society" <i...@phillypaws.org
>
Date: October 13, 2009 2:38:38 PM EDT
Subject: PAWS to Open Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Facility
If you're having trouble reading this, click here. http://www.phillypaws.org
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PAWS to Open High-Volume, Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Facility
In an effort to reduce the number of dogs and cats entering city
shelters, the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) today
announced it will open a high-volume, low-cost spay/neuter facility
in January 2010. Located in the Grays Ferry section of the city,
the PAWS Spay/Neuter and Wellness Center will serve pet owners who
have difficulty affording or do not have access to basic veterinary
care (sterilization, vaccinations, treatments for upper respiratory
infections/parasites/fleas, etc.) and rescue organizations that
need affordable spay/neuter surgery and basic veterinary care to
carry out their lifesaving work. It will also include housing for
homeless dogs and cats, enabling PAWS to save even more animals
from being needlessly killed in shelters.
"Our goal is to give pet owners an affordable way to care for and
keep their pets as cherished family members," says Dana Spain, PAWS
founder and president. "In doing so, we expect this facility to
significantly reduce Philadelphia's homeless animal population,
which now consists of more than 30,000 dogs and cats each year, and
move Philadelphia closer to being a no-kill city in which every
healthy and treatable pet is guaranteed a home."
By providing badly needed services to the public, the Center will
fulfill a dire need in the community and enhance the health of
Philadelphia's animal population as a whole. In conjunction with
PAWS' large and growing adoption and foster care programs (which
will be bolstered by the Center's housing capabilities, enabling
PAWS to rescue an estimated 1,000 additional homeless pets in its
first year), the Center will have both an immediate and a long-term
effect on the number of stray and unwanted animals born and
surrendered to shelters.
The PAWS Spay/Neuter and Wellness Center will occupy a 6200 sq. ft.
space at 2900 Grays Ferry Avenue and will operate seven days a
week. PAWS projects it will perform 12,000-15,000 spay/neuter
surgeries during the Center's first year in operation. PAWS is
actively raising funds for the facility's construction,
development, and initial operating costs, and is approximately
$300,000 away from its goal. On Monday, October 12, the
Philadelphia Eagles named PAWS one of the first recipients of its
Treating Animals With Kindness (TAWK) grant program. The Eagles
have made a $50,000 commitment toward the establishment of PAWS'
Spay/Neuter and Wellness Center and are challenging community
members to bring the total level of support to $100,000 by giving
generously as well.
To donate online, please click here.
Donations may also be mailed to:
PAWS
100 N. 2nd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
For information on naming opportunities, please contact Melissa
Levy at meli...@phillypaws.org.
PAWS, the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society, is a 501(c)3 non-
profit organization dedicated to saving Philadelphia's homeless,
abandoned, and unwanted animals. PAWS is the city's largest rescue
and only no-kill shelter, and is working to make Philadelphia a
place in which every healthy and treatable pet is guaranteed a home.
From 2005 through 2008, PAWS raised the "save rate" at the city
shelter - which took in approximately 30,000 animals each year -
from 11% to 60%. PAWS remains dedicated to saving the city's most
vulnerable animals. Through its adoption locations, special events,
and foster care network, PAWS finds loving homes for thousands of
animals each year. Support for PAWS funds lifesaving initiatives
including adoption and foster care programs, spay and neuter
surgeries, low-cost vaccinations, and other efforts, all of which
help reduce and will ultimately eliminate the unnecessary killing of
Philadelphia's animals. For more information, please visit www.phillypaws.org
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