Wood County Humane Society Successfully Completes Grant for Spay/Neuter Initiative Program (SNIP)
(Bowling Green)—Recently the Wood County Humane Society (WCHS) successfully completed a grant that it received from the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society (MRFRS) and PetSmart Charities in October 2014. The grant was intended to assist the organization in managing the free-roaming feline population in Wood County.
The grant period ran through February 2015 and the grant monies specifically were earmarked for providing free spay/neuter services and rabies vaccines of free-roaming, outdoor cats in the 43402 zip code.
With the $8,001 that it was awarded, the WCHS was able to fix a total of 219 cats. Of these cats, 85 were neuters, 134 were spays, 9 were pregnant, and 13 were in heat at the time of their procedures. Additionally, 46 were owned cats and most of the fixed cats were from the 43402 zip code. The WCHS did have to branch out to other areas within Wood County in order to complete the grant on schedule. Ten of the fixed cats were from the organization’s next largest intake zip code, 43551.
With the approximately $1,300 that the WCHS was awarded for equipment, the organization purchased 15 new live traps, a feral cat recovery cage, and a box trap with transfer cage to catch stubborn community cats that know better than to go into a live trap.
After the completion of the pilot program in February of this year, the WCHS began planning to extend this program to other areas of Wood County. Expanding the program is now dependent on the organization’s ability to secure additional funds for the program. The WCHS is accepting donations for its “Spay it Forward” campaign to be able to help assist with future spay/neuter surgeries for free-roaming cats. For more information about this program, interested community members are encouraged to contact the shelter at (419) 352-7339.
The WCHS, located in Bowling Green, Ohio, is a full-service, no-kill shelter providing care for homeless and abused pets and investigating cruelty complaints in Wood County. In addition, the organization assists Wood County residents with its Safe Haven and food assistance programs, spay/neuter transport, and educational presentations. The WCHS provides care for hundreds of animals each year—from dogs and cats, to horses, goats, and pocket pets. The non-profit organization is funded predominantly through donations from local individuals and businesses, Community Shares of Northwest Ohio (a workplace giving campaign), and fundraisers. The Wood County Commissioners help fund a Humane Agent, but the organization receives no additional funding from national humane organizations or the government. For more information on adopting and/or volunteering, see: http://www.woodcountyhumanesociety.org.
