NEWS RELEASE

MADDIE'S® AWARDS $412,000 TO THE CHARLOTTESVILLE-ALBERMARLE SPCA FOR SAVING ALL HEALTHY AND TREATABLE SHELTER PETS

(Alameda, CA-May 2008) Maddie's Fund® has given the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA a  $412,000 Lifesaving Award* for achieving and maintaining an adoption guarantee over two years for healthy and treatable shelter dogs and cats in the City of Charlottesville and County of Albemarle, Virginia.

Albemarle County is the second in the nation to have achieved no-kill status community wide.

"Maddie's Fund is proud to recognize and financially reward the SPCA's incredible lifesaving achievement," said Maddie's Fund President, Richard Avanzino. "We hope others will view this community as a model and emulate their great success."

The Charlottesville-Albermarle SPCA is the only shelter in the county, providing animal control sheltering in addition to adoption and spay/neuter programs. In each of the past two years, approximately 4,700 dogs and cats have entered the SPCA. In 2006, the annual live release rate community-wide was 90%. In 2007, the live release rate was 87%.

The SPCA plans to use their Maddie's Fund grant to underwrite growing medical costs related to providing an adoption guarantee for treatable pets; to expand marketing efforts to boost adoptions; and to provide more low-cost and free spay/neuter services.

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*Maddie's Fund Lifesaving Awards acknowledge the outstanding contributions being made by communities that have implemented an adoption guarantee for all healthy shelter pets or have achieved no-kill status (an adoption guarantee for healthy and treatable pets) in their target communities and are likely to sustain it in the future. Awards range from $200,000 to $3 million, depending upon the size of the community. For more information, go to http://www.maddiesfund.org/grant/starter_lifesaving.html