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Urgent Plea for
Spay-Neuter Program |
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Sixty Nine Percent
Said “Yes” November 3, 2005 The Humane Society of South Mississippi (HSSM) is in dire need of assistance with spay/neuter funding for our Hurricane Katrina affected area. There are many citizens of our community who have unaltered pets and have indicated an interest in having them altered if the service were offered for free. Hurricane Katrina made us all aware of the value of having our pets microchipped. The HSSM solicited the supplies necessary to offer free microchip and rabies vaccinations to all members of our community who could prove receipt of financial assistance as a result of the storm. I went on TV explaining the benefits of having pets microchipped and how the guardian’s contact information would be registered with a national database. PSA’s were created for TV and radio and notice of the clinic was posted in the local newspaper and our organization’s web site. The clinic was offered from Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM. Our staff and volunteers serviced 1,532 animals over the five days. Of the 1,532 seen, 93.5% were free. (The general public was charged $5 for each service) Fifty one percent of the animals seen were unaltered. Sixty nine percent of the guardians of unaltered pets responded “yes” when asked if they would be interested in getting their pets S/N if the service were offered to them for free. The time has never been better for us to reach guardians of unaltered pets in our hurricane affected region. People of our community are primed for receiving free services, some services of which they would not have acted on, even if offered for free, prior to the storm. Our community has experienced mass devastation and people are reaching out to receive assistance because they know it will only be offered for a limited time. With adequate funding we can provide surgeries to a large number of individuals in our community that are currently contributing to our pet overpopulation problem. Last year, our organization euthanized just over 10,000 animals, many of which would have been adoptable. Please help us fund an aggressive spay/neuter campaign while our community is so receptive to assistance. Help us attack the problem of pet overpopulation in South Mississippi. I am confident that with funding for an aggressive spay/neuter campaign, I can reach the people of our community who are in need of such a service. We can dramatically reduce the intake to our shelter (15,500 in 2004) thus reducing the number of animals that we are forced to euthanize each year. The time has never been better to make such a difference in a community. The citizens and companion animals of our area have experience untold tragedies over the past weeks. It is up to us to put our community back together; but, as has been so obvious since the storm, we depend on the support of other “animal people” across the country to help us make it happen. The people of South Mississippi have the heart and the spirit to do our part. Please help us if you can to finance this great need to get our area’s unaltered animals fixed. It is our hearts desire to truly become a HUMANE Society where all adoptable animals find a loving home. Together we can make it happen and what a legacy you can leave by helping South Mississippi become a kinder place for companion animals! I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you have already done for our community in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and for your support both financial and emotional. God bless. Respectfully yours, Tara High P.S. Please feel free to call me at 228-669-8272. P.P.S. Donations can be mailed to HSSM, 13756 Washington Ave, Gulfport, MS 39503. Please specify donation to be applied to the SNIP Fund (Spay Neuter Incentive Program). NOTE: You can also donate through InasPawprints.com. Click the logo below, and then click arrow on "Choose Member," and select "Pawprints-Katrina Pets." Monies will go direct to HSSM for this and other critical funding needs.
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