Animal Coalition of Tampa's Blog

Spay/Neuter Voucher Program resumes July 1!

actampa — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 23:43:12 +0000

Below is a press release that came out July 1 announcing that the voucher program will resume! We don’t have all of the details about how it will be funded yet, but we’re hopeful that it will be sustainable. A big THANK YOU to all of our supporters for making your voice known to the County Commissioners and letting them know how important this program is to the community. Thanks, also, to Commissioner Ken Hagen for his tremendous support. He continues to be a true asset to the animals in our community! Thanks, also to Carole Baskin and Big Cat Rescue for helping us spread the word about this important issue.

We will post more information as soon as we have it.

Popular Pet Program To Resume in Hillsborough County

The Hillsborough County Spay/Neuter Voucher Program for pet owners on income assistance will resume today, July 1. Hillsborough County Animal Services temporarily stopped issuing new vouchers in order to assess available funding a few weeks ago.

Under the program, residents of Hillsborough County who meet qualifying guidelines may obtain sterilization surgery for their owned pets from dozens of participating clinics and veterinarians. Residents must supply an approved voucher and $10 co-payment for service which includes a rabies vaccination and pet registration tag. Application forms, program guidelines, suggested documentation needed for application approval, and a list of participating veterinary clinics are all listed on the County website. The voucher applications (in English and Spanish) are also available at Hillsborough County Animal Services (440 Falkenburg Road, N., Tampa).

Pet owners and participating veterinarians should note an important new difference in the expiration policy for the Hillsborough County Spay/Neuter Program: citizens must now redeem vouchers for their pet’s surgery within 30 days of issuance. Pet owners are encouraged to contact any and all participating veterinary clinics as necessary in order to schedule appointments within the 30 day window.

The Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners approved the low-cost spay/neuter voucher program in 2002 to be funded through sales of pet registration tags. Thanks to outreach by the Department of Animal Services and an array of committed community partners, this program soared to unprecedented success in a few short years. A national spay/neuter expert was recently commissioned to assess Hillsborough County’s spay/neuter voucher program and declared it one of the most progressive and successful in the nation.

Targeted to economically-challenged residents, the Hillsborough County Spay/Neuter Voucher Program is integral to the core missions for animal welfare and public safety while promoting responsible pet ownership. In addition to reducing pet overpopulation and the spread of disease, spaying and neutering reduces unwanted pet behaviors (including aggression), dog-bites, and the incidence of certain cancers in animals.

For more information on the benefits of spaying/neutering pets or the voucher program, contact Hillsborough County Animal Services at 813.744.5660 or online at www.hillsboroughcounty.org/animalservices.

Summer tips for pet safety in the heat

actampa — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 11:10:42 +0000

As we get ready for summer to start, we wanted to provide you with some important information to protect your pets from the Florida heat. Pets, just like people, can suffer heatstroke at any time of day – even in the shade. In Florida, they are particularly vulnerable due to the extreme heat and humidity – even short haired varieties.

Tips for summer pet safety:

Be aware that the outside temperature can be a lot warmer than what is on your thermometer – on humid days (and we have a lot of them here!) the relative temperature is much higher
Dogs really don’t know when to stop playing – try and keep your dog’s activity to a minimum particularly on hot and humid days
Exercise your dog early in the morning and/or later in the evening when the temperature is cooler
If possible keep your dog indoors during the heat of the day in a well ventilated or air conditioned room
If your dog is outside during the day, make sure there is plenty of shady areas for him to lie in and he has access to cold water. Put a small kid-sized pool of water for him in a shady area so he can lie in that to keep cool, and/or periodically spray him with cool water.
Make sure anyone watching your pet is also aware of these safety precautions

Signs of heat stroke:

Excessive panting
Dark or bright red tongue and gums
Sticky or dry tongue and gums
Staggering
Stupor
Seizures
Bloody diarrhea or vomiting
Coma
Death

If you suspect your pet is suffering from heat stroke, try the following first-aid procedures:

Cool him in cool (not icy) water, or by running a hose over his body. Cool the head and neck areas first.
Put him in an air conditioned space.
Do not attempt to force him to drink water.
Call your veterinarian or a nearby emergency vet office for more advice. It’s best to keep these numbers availably to all family members at all times. A magnet or note on the refrigerator is a good way to do this.

As with children, local and State statutes also forbid leaving animals inside vehicles — even with windows cracked or during evening hours. Violators risk both civil and criminal penalties. When the temperature outside is 85 degrees, the inside of a vehicle can reach 102 in just 10 minutes — 120 degrees in 30 minutes! Animals left in closed vehicles will develop heatstroke, and may suffer pain, injury or even death.

If you see a pet confined inside a vehicle should notify law enforcement or Hillsborough County Animal Services immediately. For more information, call (813) 744-5660 or log on www.hillsboroughcounty.org/animalservices.

Kids for Paws contest a success!

actampa — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 11:33:40 +0000

We hosted our first Kids for Paws contest in May for kids ages 6 – 13 to raise money for the Spay/Neuter Clinic. Kids requested donations online asking people to “vote” for them for $1 per vote. 16 kids participated, raising over $6,000 for the animals. Madison Morrow was the contest winner, bringing in $2500. Second place was Zoe Antinori with $633, and third was Cooper Martin with $527.

12 year old Maggie Fitzsimmons contacted us with the idea for the contest. When asked why she wanted to do this, Maggie said: “Well, I’ve been thinking about helping somehow, giving back to the community. And I love dogs.”

The contest culminated in an event at Seaplane Basin Park on Davis Islands on June 4. Families and their pets enjoyed a bounce house, face painting, kid-friendly vendors, food, entertainment and games.

Our next fundraising event is the Stride for Strays walkathon on October 23. Maggie hopes to participate and is forming a team for kids. “Last year, I went to the Stride, but I didn’t really make a difference because I’m just a kid,” said Maggie. “This year, we are going to be a team called Kids for Paws.”

Thanks to all of these wonderful children for raising this much-needed money for the animals!

ACT responds to the County Commissioners

actampa — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 18:23:00 +0000

One of our supporters contacted the County Commissioners using our auto-generated email program to let them know they care about the spay/neuter voucher program and want it to continue. Below is an excerpt from the response she received (and you may have received this too):

“Unfortunately there is some misinformation being communicated regarding the current status of the program. While it is true we have ceased the approval of new applications [emphasis added], surgeries are continuing to be performed and as previously stated, vouchers previously issued to citizens are being honored. We estimate that after the outstanding vouchers have been redeemed, we will be very close to the aforementioned 7,500 target number for this fiscal year.”

The reason we are contacting the commissioners (and asking you to do so as well) is because of the bolded text above. The have stopped accepting new applications for the voucher program. The commissioners’ argument in this case is that they determined a target number of surgeries to perform each year (7,500) and because they will soon reach that target, they can justify not accepting new applications. This is not okay with us because:

There are still lots more people who need the voucher to get their pets fixed. If they have to wait until next year, (IF and when new applications are accepted again), more litters will be born and put down in the meantime.
There is no guarantee they will ever accept new applications again. The email we received from Hillsborough County Animal Services stated: “there will be no new approvals until further notice.” It also said: “Due to significant budgetary issues faced by county government this [7,500 surgeries per year] may or may not be an attainable goal for the immediate future.”

We want to be sure you know that ACT has not been giving out misinformation. We have not denied that vouchers previously issued are being honored. We simply said no more new vouchers will be issued and the program is in danger of being discontinued.

Please continue to let the commissioners know this is not okay with you.

Thank you for your support.

-ACT Spay/Neuter Clinic (and all of the county’s citizens and their animals who have benefited from the voucher program)

Please help save the Hillsborough County Spay/Neuter Voucher Program

actampa — Mon, 30 May 2011 22:15:54 +0000

We don’t often reach out to you with urgent requests, but this one is worth your immediate attention. It focuses on the core purpose of why ACT exists.

animaltalkies.blogspot.com

In 2003, a spay/neuter voucher program was created in Hillsborough County to help people on a limited income get their dogs and cats fixed at a low cost. Because of this program and other efforts to lower pet overpopulation, the number of animals being put down in our community has dropped by 50%. Although that is certainly a reason to celebrate, there are still over 16,000 dogs and cats being put down in our community, simply because there were too many of them. We are not okay with that.

We have recently learned that the low income voucher program has been temporarily discontinued and the funding is at risk of being taken away forever. We are asking for your help to make sure this doesn’t happen.

cvcl.mit.edu

The direct recipients of these funds were the poor residents of our community (families, elderly, kids). They are the people that have a hard time putting food on their table. Using precious dollars to fix their animals would be unthinkable.

We’re reaching out to you to ask you to help us continue this program to help people do the right thing and save the animals.
How can you help?

Tell our local commissioners that this is not okay. Let them know how important the voucher program is, and how important it is to you that we stop putting down innocent animals.

Click here to send a pre-written email to Hillsborough County Commissioners.

Or send an email of your own through their web site.

You can also call the commissioners. Find out what district you are in here and click here for a list of commissioners by district. Call (813) 272-5660 and ask to speak to your commissioner.

Thank you for caring, and for lending your voice to help the animals – and the people – of our community.