A recent $20,000 grant to the Alachua County Humane Society will help puppies and kittens get one step closer to finding a forever home.
The humane society announced March 30 it received one of the largest grants from the PetCo Foundation it’s ever gotten. The money will go toward preparing animals for adoption.
The shelter applies for every PetCo Foundation grant it qualifies for — from adoption-specific ones to grants dedicated to neutering efforts, said Margot DeConna, an Alachua County Humane Society spokesperson.
Last year, the foundation gave the humane society a $10,000 grant for food, cleanings and medical expenses such as vaccinations, microchipping and sterilization surgery, according to Alligator archives.
This year, the shelter will use the money to pay for vet fees, neutering and microchipping, DeConna said. The grant’s impact is hard to quantify, but it costs about $150 to neuter each of the about 240 animals in the humane society’s care.
“Lots of work goes into the animals we pull (from shelters) before they’re ready for adoption,” she said. “We care for them seven days a week, every day of the year.”
Emerson, a 2-month-old domestic shorthair tabby mix, plays with his mouse toy at the Alachua County Humane Society in 2012.
Grants like these help the humane society remain a no-kill shelter, DeConna said. This will help offset adoption preparation costs for the about 2,000 cats and dogs the humane society takes in every year.
“With the grant money, we hope to sustain no-kill in Alachua County, but also to assist surrounding counties in no-kill facilitation,” she said.
The PetCo Foundation invests more than $30 million per year to organizations like the ACHS, foundation spokesperson Lisa Lane wrote in an email. It has donated more than $200 million to more than 8,000 animal welfare partners since 1999. This grant and others from the foundation are funded by donations and corporate contributions.
Callie, a 4-year-old cat, leaps from atop a crate at the Alachua County Humane Society.
