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The following Letter to the Editor, written by our own President Debby Mitchell, appeared in the Advance News on Sunday, 11 November 2006. I think you’ll find it informative and a good overview of the hard work that goes on every day by the mostly volunteer staff at our SPCA.
Any support you can lend to any of these efforts will be most welcome by the SPCA, future adopters, staff members and its wonderful population of “perfect pets”!
Help SPCA
To The Editor:
Since 1901, the St. Lawrence Valley SPCA (formerly the St. Lawrence County SPCA) has served our area. We are committed to caring for unwanted animals, housing stray dogs rescued by the dog control officers of contracted municipalities, maintaining a clean, healthy shelter environment, promoting quality adoptions, educating the public on proper humane care and respect for animals and advocating spay/neuter to prevent unwanted litters and needless suffering. In the past ten years we have installed an air purification system that has dramatically reduced the number of cases of upper respiratory infection in cats, upgraded the vaccines used, renovated two areas of the shelter facility, started the Pet Taxi program that provides transportation to the veterinarian for the pets of seniors and the disabled, built a new wing to replace the original building constructed in the 1920s, begun a Humane Education Program in area schools and for service organizations, instituted an Assisted Therapy, Program, started a quarterly newsletter, and our own Web site (www.StLawrenceValleySPCA.org).
Our future goals include renovation to the facility area built in 1977, establishing a program of feral cat colony management that provides for spay/neuter, testing for disease and vaccinations for the multitude of feral cats in our area, set up a dog training program that would enable every dog or puppy that came into the shelter to receive basic obedience training prior to adoption, training for the adopter and pet counseling to reduce the number of dogs brought back to the shelter due to behavior problems, hire a full time cruelty investigator to work within our area with law enforcement agencies and the St. Lawrence County Department of Social Services and expand our Humane Education Program to include all area schools.
Operating income is derived from adoption and surrender fees, donations, fund raisers, interest income from a limited portfolio, grants and service contracts for dog control with the city of Ogdensburg and towns of Fine and DePeyster.
We do not receive support of any kind. from St. Lawrence County.
The 2006 Memory and Honor Tree for pets will be illuminated at the shelter Dec. 16th to Jan. 1. You may sponsor a bulb for a minimum charge of $1.
[From your Web Manager: Forms are available in the last quarterly newsletter sent out, or by stopping by the shelter during regular hours.
Please mail to:
St. Lawrence Valley SPCA,
P .O. Box 594, Ogdensburg, NY,
or
drop in at the shelter during regular open hours.
Our sincere thanks to those who support our work helping homeless animals.
Deborah Mitchell,
President
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