Photo Courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
DOI Commissioner Margaret Garnett
By Forum Staff
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is awarding $1 million in grant funding to Animal Care Centers of NYC to support their operations and fund key programs, including those aimed at keeping pets and their families together and preventing shelter relinquishments throughout the COVID-19 crisis and beyond.
In addition to providing grant funding, ASPCA officials indicated that the organization is committed to continuing to support ACC’s efforts through a multi-faceted collaboration, which includes providing veterinary care for owned pets living in underserved communities, spay/neuter services for homeless animals, and the transfer of dogs and cats, including victims of cruelty and neglect, to the ASPCA Adoption Center in New York City.
“Now, when New York City’s resources are under pressure and many animals are at risk due to pandemic-related conditions, the ASPCA’s funding will provide additional support for the work of ACC, which cares for approximately 20,000 animals in an average year,” said Matt Bershadker, president and CEO of the ASPCA. “We are proud to partner with and support ACC by providing this lifesaving funding at a time when it is greatly needed to safeguard New York City’s most vulnerable animals.”
In addition to funding ACC’s operations, the ASPCA grant will also support ACC’s innovative approach to preventing animal surrenders. These safety net services include admissions counseling for owners considering relinquishing their animals, providing owners with alternate solutions to keep their pets in their homes. The grant will also support programs like Community Pets, which provides critical resources, pet food, veterinary care and microchips to pet-owning families in underserved neighborhoods–offering a vital resource that is needed now more than ever as New York City faces another spike in COVID-19 cases.
“Our partnership with the ASPCA has enabled ACC to provide crucial resources to the community beyond the scope of our contract with the city,” said ACC’s President and CEO Risa Weinstock. “This funding from the ASPCA is critical as we anticipate the need to provide services such as surrender prevention, vaccine clinics and pet food distribution to only increase as pet owners face even more financial hardships due to job loss and evictions. We are so proud to be recognized by the nation’s leading voice in animal welfare as we pursue our shared goal of making sure every New Yorker has access to pet-related services in the communities that need it the most. We look forward to continuing to work together, and to save even more lives in the years to come.”
ASPCA officials also noted that the organization has provided more than $21 million in grant funding to support ACC and other NYC animal welfare organizations to advance efforts to drastically reduce euthanasia, increase adoption and placement numbers, and improve access to care for underserved pets. Since 2017, ACC has maintained a placement rate of more than 90 percent, making New York City one of the nation’s leaders in the placement of dogs, cats and rabbits among high-intake shelters.
Photo Courtesy of ASPCA
