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Cape Coral Animal Shelter and Veterinary Clinic receives $51,000 grant from PetSmart Charities

By CJ HADDAD - | Jan 14, 2021

The Cape Coral Animal Shelter and Veterinary Clinic recently received a grant from a national organization that will help expedite the process of making their veterinary services fully operational.

CCAS was awarded a $51,000 grant from PetSmart Charities that will go towards bolstering their low-cost clinic which includes services such as wellness visits, vaccines, dental procedures, spay/neuter surgeries, preventative medicines, bloodwork, and microchipping.

“This grant couldn’t have come at a better time,” said CCAS Executive Director Liz McCauley. “We’re still working to become fully operational and we hope to be open six days a week in February because the need is there. To have the funding and staff to get up and running has been challenging, especially during a pandemic, but this money will be used directly towards the clinic, which helps us tremendously.”

Grant dollars will be used to obtain additional supplies, staffing, and equipment CCAS may not have otherwise been able to afford, resulting in the ability to offer more to the community.

McCauley said CCAS hopes to be able to add another veterinarian on staff in the coming weeks, which would allow them to take additional appointments for veterinary care (they are currently open limited days by-appointment only). The shelter’s goal is to be able to ease the financial burden of pet owners in the area to help keep pets with loved ones, especially during an economic downturn due to COVID-19.

“Our community has a large population of seniors on fixed income that have difficulty affording basic care for their pets,” McCauley said.  “Further, the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly hard on our region, which relies heavily on hospitality and tourism revenue.  Being able to open our clinic and provide affordable care is more important than ever and in line with the mission of our organization.”

PetSmart Charities regional relationship manager Keely Balthazor said, “Cape Coral Animal Shelter’s new facility is a vital resource that is needed in an area that previously did not have a full-service health and wellness provider for local pets. We are proud to support this work that will allow pet parents to focus on being with their pets, instead of how to provide for them.”

Since 1994, PetSmart Charities has assisted more than 9.4 million pets to find loving homes via its in-store adoption program in more than 1,650 PetSmart stores. They have also donated nearly $430 million to positively impact communities “to connect people and pets, to help preserve families and to improve access to veterinary care through initiatives like this with the Cape Coral Animal Shelter.”

McCauley also mentioned how humbling it is to be recognized by a national organization.

“It’s especially rewarding to receive a grant on a national level like this,” she said. “For a small, upstart shelter like ours to get the exposure is huge and it means a lot to us. We’re happy they recognize the work we’re doing.”

CCAS has found nearly 1,000 animals new homes since they opened in March of 2020. Their low-cost clinic opened in August and as of now, takes appointments by schedule only. McCauley said she hopes for walk-in services to be available at some point this year.

For more information on CCAS, their clinic, and animals for adoption, visit www.capecoralanimalshelter.com . Donations are always welcome.

 

— Connect with this reporter on Twitter: @haddad_cj