Press Room

Contact:
Rich Avanzino, President,
Maddie’s Fund
(510) 337-8979

Erin Lopez, Executive Director,
the Alliance for Companion Animals
(602) 275-0131

Emily Kane, Executive Director,
Arizona Veterinary Medical Association
(602) 242-7936

MADDIE’S FUND TO GIVE $6 MILLION
TO ARIZONA’S MARICOPA COUNTY

Maddie’s Pet Rescue and Maddie’s Spay/Neuter Projects Funded to Help Save Healthy Shelter Dogs and Cats

(Alameda-December 2002) Maddie’s Fund has awarded $556,000 to support the first year of the concurrently running Maddie’s Pet Rescue and Maddie’s Spay/Neuter Projects to end the killing of healthy shelter dogs and cats in Phoenix and the surrounding Maricopa County, Arizona within five years. As goals are achieved, Maddie’s Fund could provide Maricopa County’s Maddie Projects with as much as $6 million.

Working together towards one common goal, the lifesaving efforts in Maricopa County are being administered by two different organizations operating under separate Maddie’s Fund grants:

Maddie’s Pet Rescue Project is a coalition of animal control agencies, traditional shelters, no-kill organizations and rescue groups focused solely on increasing adoptions.

The coalition’s lead agency is the no-kill Arizona Animal Welfare League. Other partners include Maricopa County Animal Care and Control; Friends for Life Animal Sanctuary; H.A.L.O Animal Rescue; Noah’s Ark Animal Rescue; Second Chance; Cat Help and Rescue Movement, Inc.; Dog Rescue; Foothills Animal Rescue, Inc.; Sun Cities Animal Rescue and the Arizona Humane Society.

The coalition has received a first year grant of $375,000 to increase adoptions by 1,141 over the previous year’s baseline and to decrease the number of dogs and cats euthanized in Maricopa shelters by 1,141.

Maddie’s Spay/Neuter Project is being administered by the Arizona Veterinary Medical Association (AZVMA) with surgeries performed by participating private practice veterinarians. To date, eighty hospitals have enrolled in the program.

Maddie’s Spay/Neuter Project has a first year goal of 3,000 surgeries. The AZVMA plans to reach the goal by offering dog spays and neuters for $20 and cat surgeries for $10 to low-income county residents. Maddie’s Fund is contributing between $20 and $90 per surgery depending upon species and gender. AZVMA veterinarians will contribute the remainder of the cost by reducing their fees to help more low-income pet owners spay/neuter their companion animals. Pet owners must show proof of income with a Medicaid card. A first year grant of $181,000 has been awarded to the AZVMA to administer the project and help underwrite the cost of the surgeries.

By awarding grants to two different agencies, Maddie’s Fund hopes to make the project more manageable and the goals more attainable. Another aim is to encourage private practice veterinarians to get involved, expanding the safety net of care for companion animals and building upon the great progress that has already been made by animal welfare organizations.

“Maricopa County is a very interesting model,” commented Maddie’s Fund President Rich Avanzino. “It’s the first time we’ve tried funding two agencies as part of one community collaboration. And we have a big challenge. The county population is large and growing—over three million people. The number of animals sheltered --109,000--is equally large. But the county has a variety of assets. It has one of the most progressive animal control programs in the nation. Maricopa County Animal Care and Control offers an impressive array of lifesaving programs and has done a tremendous job in lowering shelter intake, reducing shelter deaths and boosting adoptions. The coalition includes every major animal welfare organization in the community and has several very strong partners. Maricopa County is home to pet retailer PETSMART and PETSMART Charities who have both pledged support. And the coalition leadership is strong. Because of these factors, we’re looking forward to some very exciting results.”

Maddie’s FundSM The Pet Rescue Foundation (www.maddiesfund.org) is a family foundation endowed through the generosity of Cheryl and Dave Duffield, PeopleSoft Founder and Board Chairman. The foundation is helping to fund the creation of a no-kill nation. The first step is to help create programs that guarantee loving homes for all healthy shelter dogs and cats throughout the country. The next step will be to save the sick and injured pets in animal shelters nationwide. Maddie’s Fund is named after the family’s beloved Miniature Schnauzer who passed away in 1997.