Valley Animal Haven: Bar Dog Operation Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
We used the grant funds to purchase vaccines for the animals at our facility. From May 4, 2021, through Aug. 13, 2021, we purchased a grand total of $3,529 in vaccines. The grant was used to offset the cost of these vaccines.
We provide vaccinations to all shelter animals prior to adoption. In the case of puppies and kittens, we provide them a series of vaccines, as outlined in our treatment protocols, through the date of adoption. These vaccines are of extreme importance in our life-saving efforts.
How many pets did this grant help?
272
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Victoria (first photo) was found running at large and immensely pregnant. She was very close to being ready to deliver her kittens when she came into our facility. She was immediately moved into one of our foster homes and delivered her kittens four days later.
It was determined that this was very likely Victoria’s first litter, as she is very young. She was a very dedicated mom while also remaining very loving to her foster family and their personal pets. Victoria LOVED to play and interact with the family dog whenever she wasn’t caring for her kittens.
Victoria and her kittens were returned to the shelter when the kittens were 12 weeks old. They were all spayed/neutered and the kittens were adopted right away. As usual, it took Victoria a little longer to meet her furever family, as most adopters prefer to adopt kittens rather than adult cats.
The grant funds from the Petfinder Foundation were instrumental in helping us prepare Victoria and her babies for adoption in that it provided the funds to purchase their life-saving vaccines.
We provide three different vaccines for our cats/kittens: The first is an HCPCH/FELV combination vaccine that protects the animals against feline upper-respiratory, calicivirus, feline herpes, and feline leukemia. The second vaccine, given three weeks after the first, provides additional protection against feline upper-respiratory, calicivirus, and feline herpes.
The third vaccine is a rabies vaccination that is administered by our veterinarian when the kittens are 4 months old. The leukemia component is only administered once a year and a subsequent vaccine is not needed within the kitten series.
These vaccines allow our team to provide the adopter with a tremendous sense of security in knowing that the animal they are adopting from our facility has been given vaccines to help prevent illness. We could not continue our life-saving mission without the help of amazing partners like the Petfinder Foundation.
We are the only facility in our area that houses cats and kittens and prepares them for adoption. We took in more than 325 cats/kittens between Feb. 1 and Aug. 10, 2021. All of these animals received life-saving vaccines while in our care. Of that number, 223 cats and kittens have been adopted as of the date of this report. We are including photos of some of the cats who had their litters while in our care. Each of these animals was helped by these grant funds.
