“These pets don’t have to die.”
These were the words spoken on a recent national conference call. More than 250 animal welfare professionals were brainstorming about the changes happening in shelters across the country. Words like “emergency,” “national crisis,” and “critical” were actively used to describe a long list of challenges.
- Increase in the number of large, undertrained dogs
- Longer lengths of stay prior to adoption, especially for those large, undertrained dogs
- Decreased adoptions, especially for dogs
- Staffing shortages, particularly in the veterinary community
- Veterinary supply shortages
- More families with pets facing housing issues due to the pandemic and financial strain
- Instability of funding resources
- Compassion fatigue
SICSA began to see many of these patterns in 2018. It is why we created and then expanded the Help Center. The goal of the Help Center is to keep animals in their home and out of shelters. We provide triage and support services such as lost and found, pet food and supplies, behavior support, person-to-person rehoming, community cat outreach, veterinary referrals, and more. We recognize the human-animal bond. We understand that there are now more animals in homes than there are children. We know that when humans are suffering, so are their pets. This is a community issue on the cusp of being a crisis.
You are our community. Gratefully, you have been generous with your support. Whether you have adopted, volunteered, and/or donated, you have allowed us to provide for pets and people in need. We know that supply issues, gas prices, and staffing shortages have impacted us all. At SICSA, we are not immune, but we take comfort in knowing our community is there to help whenever possible. Now is such a time.
The summer months often mean people are traveling more. This can mean there is less time available to volunteer – especially those who foster animals in their homes. Could you be a
temporary foster? If you are willing to learn more, please visit our foster page on our website or reach out to foster@sicsa.org.
Those travels can also impact money available to donate. While SICSA works to diversify our funding in many ways, we are a private nonprofit that does not receive government support. We are funded with the generosity of private foundations and individual donors like yourself. Would you please take a moment to donate? It would mean the world to animals like Midnight, who has been looking for his new home for several months.
Will you become a sustaining member? Our Sustaining Members Network donates monthly, becoming the backbone of budgeting efforts. Because we know this support is forthcoming, we can make decisions which bolster our services in the community.
If none of the above is possible right now, we would love for you to stay in contact. If you are an adoption alumni parent, tag us on social media with pictures of their summer adventures with you. While there, please like and share our posts. Midnight (pictured) is one of our longest residents. His adopter is out there. Maybe your shared post will reach his future family.
All to say, please do not forget us this summer. There are many ways to stay involved, even when you are traveling. Please, show your support today!