East Bay SPCA: Grant Report

How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?

This money was used to cover the adoption fees of some of our most vulnerable and difficult-to-place animals. This group typically includes dogs and cats who are senior or have significant medical or behavioral challenges to adoption.

By removing the adoption fee as a barrier to adoption, we were able to reduce the length of stay in the shelter and find these animals loving homes sooner.

How many pets did this grant help?

2

Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.

Marie, Cruella, and Berlioz were brought into our shelter halfway through June of 2020 as stray kittens. All three were showing high levels of fear — hissing, spitting, and retreating in the kennel. We began working to build positive associations with people approaching and opening the kennel door.

Berlioz made fast progress, first in our shelter and then in a foster home, and was quickly adopted. But while Marie and Cruella were food-motivated and would readily approach for offered reinforcers, they continued to show reactive — bordering on panicked — responses to any attempted handling.

Happily, we reached out and found an adopter who was specifically looking for a pair of under-socialized kittens with some outdoor experience. We were able to cover their adoption fees and send them to a loving home where their special needs are being addressed.