Pasadena Star News article 8/24/04

Grant to help with pet sterilizations

By Gretchen Hoffman , Staff Writer

PASADENA -- The Pasadena Humane Society has received a $106,000 grant from the California Community Foundation to help cut down on pet overpopulation. The money will be used over a three-year period to fund low- cost sterilizations, helping people who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford to spay or neuter their pets, Humane Society Executive Director Steve McNall said.

Each procedure costs $95 and up dogs average about $120 but pet owners are charged according to a sliding scale. One person may pay nothing, another $35 or $55.

The Pasadena Humane Society also offers free sterilizations for pit bulls and no-cost, trap-neuter-return services for organizations that serve feral cat colonies.

They perform about 1,400 pet sterilizations each year.

"We're very proactive in stopping pet overpopulation,' McNall said. "Obviously, the objective is to stop the euthanasia of adoptable animals, and the one way you're going to do that is to stop the unwanted birth of those animals.'

The funding is among $1.5 million in grants awarded by the foundation's Pets and Partners Initiative to 15 Los Angeles- based nonprofit organizations working with pets. The grants range from $4,750 to $170,000 and address a variety of issues from pet adoption to therapy and companion animals.

"This is the most significant amount of money the community foundation has ever awarded to animal organizations at any one time,' Judy Spiegel, senior vice president of programs at the foundation, said in a statement. "These organizations are improving the lives of cats, dogs and vulnerable adults in wonderful ways, especially in low-income communities.'

Gretchen Hoffman can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4494, or by e-mail at gretchen.hoffman@sgvn.com .