Member Profile: UCAN Passes 150,000 Spay/Neuters |
Potentially millions of unwanted and stray pets in the greater Cincinnati area never had the chance to be born thanks to Community Shares of Greater Cincinnati member UCAN, which recently passed 150,000 spay and neuter surgeries since inception 14 years ago.
The milestone 150,000th surgery was performed on a community cat, Nosey, brought in by one of UCAN's Trap-Neuter-Return team members. Nosey goes back out a healthier and happier cat that will not reproduce.
A nonprofit clinic.
United Coalition for Animals (UCAN) operates a nonprofit veterinary clinic which provides quality, affordable spay/neuter, wellness, and other services to prevent the euthanasia of dogs and cats in shelters and help pets live longer, healthier lives so they can stay with their families who love them. Their mission is ending the euthanasia of cats and dogs in local shelters and keeping pets in their loving homes by providing professional and affordable spay/neuter services. They also provide low-cost wellness services to keep pets healthy and in their loving homes, and helped over 5,000 pets in 2020.
Removing obstacles to spay/neuter services.
The main reasons that people do not spay/neuter their pets is because they cannot afford the costs of a private veterinarian and/or they do not have access close by to spay/neuter services. Because of its nonprofit status, UCAN can offer low prices and even free services to needier residents and can even provide free transportation from several locations in Southern Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Southeastern Indiana to make sure everyone in a 75 mile radius from the Cincinnati clinic has access to its services.
Impacting the community.
These surgeries have prevented hundreds of thousands of unwanted animals from being born into abuse and neglect and ultimately winding up in over-burdened local shelters, where they face euthanasia. The services also benefit communities, which spend millions of dollars every year to handle homeless animals. As a result of its programs, owned pets live longer and healthier lives and shelter intake and euthanasia rates of cats and dogs have decreased.
Addressing a huge problem.
One cat can have three, possibly four litters a year. The average litter size is seven kittens, half of which would be female. Kittens can be impregnated as early as four months of age. Female cats, unlike female dogs, can become pregnant at any time. Hence, the large number of feral cats living in colonies and the large number of kittens brought to shelters every spring/summer (the height of "kitten season"). Female dogs go into heat twice a year and can become pregnant at that time, with average litters of six puppies, half of which will be female. Female puppies can become pregnant at 6-8 months of age. Therefore, the measurement tool used to gauge UCAN's impact is simple exponential multiplication. Preventing unwanted litters should result in decreasing intake rates and therefore decreasing euthanasia rates at the county shelters in our service area. Accordingly, UCAN obtains intake data from the rescues and shelters it serves each year to measure its impact.
One of many Members.
UCAN is part of our Animal Welfare category with PAWS Adoptions Center, League of Animal Welfare, and United Pet Fund. Learn more about them and our other Member Charities here. Donations may be made for the benefit of UCAN or of any of our Member Charities securely through our online gift processing portal here.
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Lecture On LGBTQIA+ Issues Coming Oct. 4 |
Don't forget Community Shares of Greater Cincinnati's new community conversation around social justice, the Margaret Fuller Lecture Series, launches next Monday, Oct. 4, at 7 p.m. Register for free here.
Co-preseted with Equality Ohio. “The Cincy Rainbow” examines Cincinnati’s relationship with its LGBTQIA+ communities through a critical lens, from earning the nickname “America’s most anti-gay city” in the 1990s to a culture of inclusion and acceptance throughout most of the city today while still facing struggles and attacks against the community.
The panel will be moderated by Local 12 anchor Kyle Inskeep and led by U.S. Supreme Court marriage equality plaintiff Jim Obergefell and noted civil rights attorney Al Gerhardstein, who served as lead counsel for the case. Also joining us are local LGBTQIA leaders Ron Clemons, Joshua Kayes, Rev. David Meredith, Ryan Messer, Tristan Vaught, and Sara Vance Waddell.
Sponsorship opportunities for the series are available at the $1,000 at the Supporter level and $5,000 at the Producer level. Contact T. Duane Gordon at dgordon@cintishares.org for more information.
Register today for the 7 p.m. Oct. 4 lecture by clicking here.
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Jen Scott (she/her/hers) is a native Ohioan from Forest Park. She attended Northwestern University earning a degree in Chemistry. After returning to Ohio, she embarked on a successful career in information technology and established her own consulting firm.
In 2015, she began another path in life, that of a community organizer and grassroots activist. Through her volunteer roles, Jen learned how to use her personal passion to empower a community to make a real difference in the lives of others.
She brought this passion to Equality Ohio, a Community Shares member organization for which she serves as a Board Representative, when she joined the team in 2019 to establish and expand Equality Ohio’s work in the southwest Ohio region.
Jen also serves on the board of American Atheists, Community of Reason (COR), Cincinnati Pride and is one of the organizers for the Multifaith Coalition of Greater Cincinnati.
Jen joined the board of Community Shares in 2020 and enjoys furthering the mission of Community Shares to build social and economic equity and a healthy environment in Cincinnati and the surrounding region.
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Community Shares of Greater Cincinnati is the tri-state region's federation of charities serving the fields of social and economic justice, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare. We provide our member charities with training on nonprofit excellence, networking opportunities for collaborative work, fundraising through our annual regional workplace federated campaign, and mentorship/incubation through our fiscal sponsorship program. We serve the Cincinnati and Dayton metro areas of southwest Ohio including Butler and Warren Counties as well as southeast Indiana and Northern Kentucky. Our primary office is in downtown Cincinnati, but each of our two professional staff members also work out of their satellite home offices in Middletown. Call us at 513-724-GIVE (4483) for more information. |
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