The AWC is so happy to have helped out the Santa Fe Animal Shelter with  getting the data together for this!

The Santa Fe Animal Shelter, as a member of the Companion Animal Alliance of Northern New Mexico, is the recipient of a Maddie’s Fund grant. The funds will help the shelter and the Alliance work closely together to better the lives of all animals in Northern New Mexico.

The $30,000 grant was shared among participating Alliance members, including Española Valley Humane Society, City of Las Vegas Animal Shelter, Felines & Friends, Four Corners Animal League, Heart & Soul Animal Sanctuary and People for Animal Welfare Society.

The Maddie’s Fund® mission is to revolutionize the status and well-being of companion animals.

Maddie’s Fund® is a family foundation endowed by the founder of Workday® and PeopleSoft, Dave Duffield and his wife, Cheryl. Maddie’s Fund is helping to achieve and sustain a no-kill nation by providing solutions to the most challenging issues facing the animal welfare community through the synergistic work of Maddie’s® grant giving, Maddie’s CenterSM (hands-on animal care), and Maddie’s InstituteSM (research and education).

Maddie’s Fund is named after the family’s beloved Miniature Schnauzer who passed away in 1997.

“The AWC is very grateful to the ASPCA® for providing this funding.  Many individuals who care for feral cat colonies throughout the community have reached out to the AWC for help in controlling populations, and this generous grant will enable us to assist them by sterilizing those cats and preventing their populations from growing,” said Martha Price, Treasurer of the AWC.  The ASPCA® also helped with a grant that will enable the AWC to purchase approximately 35 humane traps to be used for the effort.  “Don’t worry if you see cats in traps, as we will be monitoring them closely and picking up the trapped cats frequently throughout the Fiestas weekend,” said Price. The AWC was founded in 2008 and one of its primary goals is to reduce the suffering caused by pet overpopulation by bringing low cost spay/neuter services to the area.

The ASPCA®, founded in 1866, was the first humane society to be established in North America, and is one of the largest in the world.  The ASPCA® believes that animals are entitled to kind and respectful treatment at the hands of humans, and its mission is to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States.

The $5,000 grant will fund a three-day sterilization clinic to be held June 29 through July 1, 2012.  “The most effective way to end the pet overpopulation problem is through an aggressive spay and neuter campaign,” said Martina Holguin, president of the Animal Welfare Coalition board.  During 40 spay/neuter clinic days in and around Las Vegas in 2011, over 1,200 dogs and cats were sterilized.  “Given that one female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 dogs in six years, and one female cat and her offspring can produce 420,000 cats in seven years, quite a dent has been made in the dog and cat population of Las Vegas and surrounding areas,” said Holguin.

The Santa Fe Animal Shelter mobile spay/neuter van costs the Animal Welfare Coalition approximately $6,600 for a three-day clinic.

“We are very grateful to the ASPCA® for their nationwide work and their generosity in helping us solve the area’s pet overpopulation,” said Holguin.  The ASPCA, founded in 1866, seeks to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States, and is recognized as a national welfare organization.

The $750 grant will allow the Animal Welfare Coalition to purchase approximately 35 humane traps to capture feral cats for spaying and neutering.

“Given one female cat and her offspring can produce 420,000 cats in seven years, spay and neuter programs are a humane and effective means of controlling feral cat colonies in Las Vegas and San Miguel County,” said Martina Holguin, president of the Animal Welfare Coalition.

The AWC is working with property owners and the City of Las Vegas to control the overpopulation of feral cats.  “A managed colony with spayed and neutered cats is a proven long-term solution for overpopulation,” Holguin said.  “Simply removing cats from a property could invite other cats to move in, and spay /neuter programs prevent more litters from populating a property.”

“We are very grateful to the ASPCA for their nationwide work and their generosity in helping us solve the area’s overpopulation,” said Corie Weaver, the AWC’s secretary.

Founded in 1866, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals® is the first humane organization established in the Americas and serves as the nation’s leading voice for animal welfare.  One million supporters strong, the ASPCA’s® mission is to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States.