Press Room

NEWS RELEASE
Maddie's Fund

Contact:

Rich Avanzino, Maddie's Fund President, (510) 337-8979
Gregory Castle, No More Homeless Pets in Utah, (801) 557-4052

UTAH'S $8.27 MILLION MADDIE'S FUND^® GRANT
ENDS ON A HIGH NOTE

(Alameda, CA – June 2005) A five year Maddie's Fund grant to help save Utah's healthy shelter pets has concluded. Led by Best Friends Animal Society, a statewide coalition of 25 rescue groups, 54 animal control agencies, one traditional shelter and 93 private practice veterinary hospitals has achieved the following results:

• Increased adoptions by 56% in the fifth year compared to the baseline year. More than 130,000* dogs and cats have been placed in loving homes over five years.
  
  
• Spayed and neutered more than 100,000* dogs and cats.
  
  
• Reduced overall shelter deaths statewide by 29%.*
  

In addition, twelve Utah counties have achieved an adoption guarantee for healthy dogs and cats—in other words, every healthy dog or cat that enters a shelter in one of these counties is guaranteed a home. With this achievement, the twelve counties rank among the top lifesaving communities in the nation.

Though Maddie funding has concluded, the No More Homeless Pets coalition will continue its lifesaving work with financial support from Best Friends Animal Society and donations from the people of Utah.

With an initial Maddie's Fund grant of $1.3 million in July 2000 (and a total grant award of $8.27 million over five years), No More Homeless Pets in Utah put an array of new programs in place to increase shelter adoptions and reduce dog and cat births including: Super adoptathons, shopping mall adoption centers, rural adoption fairs, a spay/neuter voucher program, and creative advertisements and promotions.

The project developed an infrastructure to enable the statewide coalition to tabulate and analyze progress towards goals through a uniform system of definitions and statistics, built organizational capacities through training and consultation programs, and established a statewide communication network among the groups for mutual assistance and resource sharing. Over the course of the five year project, public awareness of the plight of Utah's homeless shelter animals and of the No More Homeless Pets goals permeated every sector of the state.

"This was our first multi-year project, and its size, scope and complexity made it a real challenge," says Maddie's Fund President, Rich Avanzino. "Yet everyone rose to the occasion. The 130,000 formerly abandoned shelter dogs and cats alive in loving homes today are evidence of the coalition's achievement. Maddie's Fund is proud to be associated with this group of dedicated, hard working and successful animal welfare organizations."

*These numbers are based on four years of data, with some estimates for 2005. Of the estimated total 130,000 adoptions, approximately 40,000 were above baseline. Final tabulations will be completed in Fall 2005.

No More Homeless Pets in Utah Partners

Animal Control Agencies		Animal Control Agencies (cont.)
Bluffdale AC		N. Cache Vet Clinic
Draper City AC		Logan AC
Midvale AC		Basin Vet Clinic
Murray AC		Hyrum AC
Riverton City AC		Morgan County AC
Salt Lake County Animal Services		Tooele County AC
Sandy City AC		Tooele Vet Clinic
South Jordan AC		Tooele City AC
South Salt Lake AC		Grantsville AC
Summit County AC		Uintah County and Vernal City AC
West Jordan AC		Heber City
West Valley City AC
Orem City AC		Adoption Gurantee Organizations
Utah County Animal Shelter
Davis County Animal Care and Control		Animal Oasis
Ogden City Animal Services		Best Friends Animal Sanctuary
Weber County Animal Services		CARE
Beaver County AC		CAWS
Carbon County AC		Companion Golden Retriever Rescue
Emery County AC		Cottonwood Pets
Panguitch AC		Four Paws Rescue
Moab AC		German Shepherd Dog Rescue of Utah
Cedar City Animal Shelter		Happy Tails Animal League
Enoch City Shelter		Heaven's Gate Animal Sanctuary
Parowan City Animal Shelter		HS of Moab Valley
Nephi AC		Labrador Retriever Club & Rescue of Utah
Kanab		Lost Paws, Inc.
Monticello AC		Mooney's Boxer Rescue
Blanding AC		Providing Animals With Support (PAWS)
Mt. Pleasant AC		Pet Haven Sanctuary
Centerfield AC		Pet Samaritan Fund
Ephraim AC		RottsnMore
Manti AC		Second Chance for Homeless Pets
Moroni AC		Summit County Friends of Animals
Sevier County AC		Utah Animal Advocacy Foundation
Hurricane AC		Central Utah Wag-n-Train Dog Rescue & Training
Ivins AC		W.A. Rescue (Wasatch Animal Rescue)
Santa Clara AC		WA Rescue (Wild Again Rescue)
Springdale AC		Wasatch Humane
Washington City AC
Box Elder County AC		Traditional Shelter
Tremonton AC
Cache County AC		Humane Society of Utah