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A year-long needs assessment of animal shelters in the Northeast Kentucky region has resulted in the award of a $100,000 grant to Gateway Area Development District (GADD) from the Joanie Bernard Foundation for the implementation of the Gateway Cat Spay/Neuter pilot project that includes continued mentorship with Team Shelter USA, LLC. The project goal is to decrease the number of cats and kittens entering shelters.
Over the next six (6) months, Dr. Sara Pizano, with Team Shelter USA, LLC, will assist the Gateway region comprised of Bath, Menifee, Montgomery, Morgan, and Rowan Counties with spay/neuter efforts for cats. Menifee, Montgomery, and Rowan Counties were selected as the targeted areas by the Foundation to participate in the project, with Bath and Morgan Counties being provided services via the Menifee County shelter. Service providers include local veterinarians and non-profit organizations who are issued contracts by GADD to complete spay and neuter services.
In addition to the spay/neuter procedures, cats will be provided with vaccinations and are marked in a process known as “ear-tipping”, which makes the cat easily identifiable from a distance as being fixed and no longer able to add to the cat population.
In an earlier statement, Ms. Deborah Cribbs, with the Joanie Bernard Foundation, commented, “Our Northern Kentucky and Bluegrass models have been a great success. We have funded more than $3 million and completed over 40,000 cat spays and neuters since 2016 in over 21 Kentucky counties. Shelter intake has been dramatically reduced and euthanasia for space is a thing of the past.”
Dr. Sara Pizano, founder and consultant of Team Shelter USA, LLC commented, “It is crucial to make an impact on the cat population through spay/neuter. It not only decreases intake and euthanasia risk at the shelter, but dogs and people will benefit as well when finite resources are used more strategically.”
Mr. Joshua Farrow, GADD’s Executive Director, expressed his gratitude to those who helped make this project possible, stating, “On behalf of Gateway Area Development District’s Board of Directors, I would like to thank the Joanie Bernard Foundation for selecting the Gateway Region as a pilot project for cat spay/neuter services. I would also like to thank Dr. Sara Pizano, who we have worked with for the past year, for her assistance in the grant application preparation and project implementation. Both Bluegrass and Northern Kentucky Area Development Districts have been the recipients of Joanie Bernard Foundation grants for many years. We hope to be as successful as those regions by implementing a similar program in our five-county region.”
Surgeries can only be scheduled by contacting your county of residence’s designated organization. Please see below for telephone contact information.
- Bath County Residents: Menifee County Animal Shelter 606.768.9368
- Menifee County Residents: Menifee County Animal Shelter 606.768.9368
- Montgomery County Residents: Montgomery County Animal Shelter 859.498.8751
- Morgan County Residents: Menifee County Animal Shelter 606.768.9368
- Rowan County Residents: Rowan County Animal Shelter at 606.784.4930
For additional information about the Joanie Bernard Foundation and Team Shelter USA, LLC, please visit www.thejoaniebernardfoundation.org or www.teamshelterusa.com.
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