Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
Toll Free: 800-234-6575
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
By DEBBIE HALL - Bulletin Staff Writer
A lack of donations has forced the Martinsville-Henry County SPCA to slash its budget, and more reductions may follow after the first of the year.
“We have been forced to reduce our services to the animals and people,” Executive Director Leslie Hervey said Monday. “We should know by Dec. 31 just how much further we will have to reduce.”
The agency’s estimated $500,000 annual operating budget will have to be cut by at least $150,000, because about $300,000, comes from membership dues, memorial gifts and donations during the annual appeal, which is now under way, Hervey said.
SPCA officials are bracing for donations to be down by as much as half.
“We usually open 15 checks a day” during the annual appeal, which runs September through December, Hervey said, but “from the first day the stock market dropped, we stopped getting checks.”
In an effort to cut expenses, the agency is reducing the days and hours of operation, the number of employees and the number of animals accepted.
Effective immediately, the agency is closed to the public on Sundays and Mondays. New hours and days are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, Hervey said.
“We are downsizing our staff, which means we are unable to care for as many animals,” Hervey said. As a result, “we have reduced the number of animals we can allow in the building to a total of 60 cats/kittens, 60 puppies and 25 dogs,” Hervey said.
The agency previously held 110 dogs/puppies and 110 cats/kittens, Hervey said.
Positions also have been cut, she said.
One staff member is leaving later this month, and the hours of two 30- to 35-hour employees “have been reduced dramatically,” Hervey said, adding those employees will now work only 10 to 12 hours per week.
“We’ll just keep cutting until the shortfall is met,” she said.
The SPCA routinely took in animals from the city and county shelters, but with new limits on the number of animals housed at the SPCA, fewer animals can be taken from animal control, and more will likely be euthanized, she said.
“It’s bad news all the way around,” Hervey said. “We’ve also had to increase our spay/neuter fees” for city and county residents on any form of public assistance. The fees increased from $35 to $40 for cats and from $35 to $50 for dogs.
The agency also has suspended the $75 family maximum that allowed the spay/neuter of all pets in a family.
Hervey said she hopes residents continue getting their animals spayed or neutered because “it will greatly reduce the financial burden, not only on the SPCA but also on taxpayers.”
A $50 dog spay or neuter saves an estimated $200 because “it costs $250 per animal for animal control to make calls, pick up animals, care for them the statutory time and then euthanize and dispose of them,” Hervey said, adding the national average is $500.
“Last year, the three agencies working together took in 3,595 animals,” Hervey said. “We were able to put a majority, or more than 60 percent, back into loving homes, and our community has one of the lowest euthanasia rates in the state.”
Still, animal control officers had to euthanize 1,392 animals in 2007, Hervey said, adding “most of them were nice, friendly animals. There are simply too many of them.”
In addition to the number of unwanted pets, Hervey said more pet owners are unable to care for their pets in the current state of the economy. Those owners often look to the SPCA to take those pets and try to adopt them.
“We had a lady come by with two purebred dogs that were highly adoptable and fully vetted. The lady left here crying and said she was leaving them because she couldn’t afford to fill her gas tank,” Hervey said.
Then, there is the story of a renter who moved and left two pit bulls behind, Hervey said. The dogs’ skeletons were found chained in a back corner of the yard.
“They starved. They weren’t visible and nobody knew they were there,” she said, adding that real estate agents also often call when a rental property changes hands because pets are left behind.
“People are just leaving these animals because they can’t afford to take care of them,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking.”
“We are writing grants as fast as we can, and we’re actively seeking help from our wonderful supporters,” Hervey said. “There are lots of ways people can help.”
For example, Hervey said she recently made the SPCA the beneficiary on her life insurance policy, and said, “It was as simple as signing a one-page form.”
Residents also can donate money, volunteer their time or supplies such as paper towels, hand sanitizer, dog and cat crates, treats, collars, and the like, she said.
For more information, contact the SPCA at 638 - PAWS (7297) or visit the Web site at www.spcamhc.org. |
| |
|
|
.jpg)
