ASAP receives $100,000 grant

The Animal Shelter Alliance of Portland, a coalition of public and private animal welfare and sheltering organizations, has been awarded a $100,000 grant from PetSmart Charities as part of a continuing effort against pet overpopulation in the Portland metro area.

The grant allows the continuation of ASAP’s flagship “Spay & Save” low-cost pet sterilization program, now in its eighth year. To date, 72,500 cats have been altered through the program, resulting in a 44 percent decrease in shelter intake of cats from the public.

Spay & Save provides low-income families from Clark, Clackamas, Washington and Multnomah Counties with easy, affordable access to spay and neuter services for their pets through one of the program’s five participating surgery locations. Spay & Save also serves caretakers of feral cats.

Since being founded in 2006, ASAP has worked to end the euthanasia of healthy, social, treatable dogs and cats in local shelters and now saves 94.8 percent of cats and dogs.

“While we have made great progress in tackling the problem of cat overpopulation in our area, it is important we sustain these efforts,” says Jackie Rose, Director of Animal Services for Multnomah County.  “When one female cat can have two litters of 3-5 kittens per year, we could be back where we started quickly without the Spay & Save program. We are grateful to PetSmart Charities for not only recognizing the importance of spaying and neutering in reducing the homeless pet population, but also for their continued support of Spay & Save.”