SPOT

About SPOT

Saving Pets One at a Time has two missions. The first is to help and rescue Morgan County animals currently in need, especially impounded dogs picked up by the dog warden or animals seized by the humane agent. The second is to provide spay/neuter for as many animals in our area as possible, so that in the future there will not be so many animals to need our help. In our first years of operation, we have been able to make a real difference in these areas. Despite the financial challenges we face, we are now able to save all adoptable dogs that are impounded by the dog warden, or seized by the humane agent, as well as many that are surrendered directly to us. We take them all in, and place them in our network of foster homes. We give them all needed veterinary care, get them fixed and up-to-date on vaccinations, and, when they are ready, we find them the best permanent home that we can find, however long it takes. We also work very hard to provide a long-term solution to the problem of pet overpopulation. We spay and neuter as many dogs and cats as we can afford to do, with our adoption fees and other funding. So far we have spayed or neutered 2,500 dogs and cats since 2009. This is a priority for us, and we will pay the entire cost of the surgery, if the owner cannot afford to contribute anything. We do not want lack of money to allow any pets to continue to breed. At one time we thought building a modern shelter would be our eventual goal. But as we have worked with the foster care system so successfully all this time, we have discovered that we, none of us, want to switch to a shelter, even if we could afford one. At times, such as after an animal hoarder or illegal puppy mill has been cleaned out, that we have just over 100 dogs in foster care. We are crowded, but the dogs still get a lot more personal attention, time to play and space to run around in, access to other dogs and activities to keep them engaged and responsive. The longer a dog stays in our foster care, the better behaved and more socialized he becomes. He also becomes better suited for life in a foster home, which means more likely to get adopted and stay adopted. Shelter dogs tend to "shut down" after several months, but our dogs shine. Our foster dogs have no time limit set on their life with us. There is no "death row". They can stay years, if necessary, and some do. Some have died of old age and natural causes, in our care. We love them all. We are fortunate that we have the support of the many animal lovers in our county, and also the local officials concerned with animal welfare. Attitudes here are changing for the better, as far as animals are concerned, and we hope for even more improvement, in the years to come. Other areas of the country have such comprehensive and successful spay/neuter programs, that their residents who wish to adopt pound rescues must look far afield to find them. They come here to Morgan County, in fact. Our long term goal is for the Morgan County pound to be empty. We hope someday that people here who wish to rescue pound dogs will have to go to other areas to find them. It can be done, and we are on our way to doing it.