HUMANE SOCIETY OF GREATER MIAMI TO OFFER FREE SPAY/NEUTER SERVICES TO PETS BELONGING TO CITY OF MIAMI RESIDENTS

HUMANE SOCIETY OF GREATER MIAMI TO OFFER FREE SPAY/NEUTER SERVICES TO PETS BELONGING TO CITY OF MIAMI RESIDENTS

Mobile Clinic Will Provide On-Site Surgeries to Pets throughout City

20 March 2008 (Miami, FL) – The Mobile Animal Clinic (MAC) will be offering free spay/neuter services to pets of eligible low income residents of the City of Miami starting April 8th. The MAC will travel two days per week to Little Haiti, the Upper East Side, Curtis Park, Shenandoah and Coconut Grove neighborhoods. In order to qualify for a free spay/neuter surgery, the pet owner must show proof of federal assistance such as food stamps, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, Aid for Families with Dependent Children or Jackson Clinic card. The schedule for the mobile unit is available at www.miamigov.com (in the news channel) and is also detailed below.
The MAC is part of an alliance between Miami-Dade County Animal Services and the Humane Society of Greater Miami. “The MAC unit gives us a chance to offer these services at no cost to qualifying residents in the City of Miami,” said Emily Márquez-Dulin, executive director of the Humane Society of Greater Miami. “We have a unique alliance with Miami-Dade Animal Services, which actually owns the MAC vehicle, while funding for the program is provided by a grant from Florida Animal Friends.”
“We’re thrilled to kick-off this program in the City of Miami and we look forward to other Miami-Dade municipalities joining our efforts,” added Márquez-Dulin.
This overall campaign is part of an effort spearheaded by the South Florida Animal Welfare Association, a collaboration of animal welfare organizations from Monroe County to the Treasure Coast, that promotes the spaying and neutering of pets. However, the Humane Society of Greater Miami maintains an on-going program to inform the public about the importance of this issue.
In fact, the Humane Society of Greater Miami seeks to transform the public’s perception about pet sterilization, which is paramount to ending the serious pet overpopulation problem in Miami-Dade County.
In April and May, the MAC unit’s schedule will be:

April 8
Upper East Side Service Center / Legion Park
6599 Biscayne Boulevard

April 11, 15
Shenandoah Park
1800 S.W. 21st Avenue

April 16, 25
Elizabeth Virrick Park
3255 Plaza Street
Coconut Grove

May 13, 20
Little Haiti Net Center
6421 N.E. 2nd Avenue

May 21, 28
Curtis Park Sports Complex
1901 N.W. 24th Street

Founded in 1936, the Humane Society of Greater Miami Adopt-A-Pet is dedicated to placing every dog and cat in its care into a loving home, and to promoting responsible pet ownership and spay/neuter programs.
For more information on the MAC schedule or other services, please call the Humane Society of Greater Miami at (305) 696-0800 or visit www.humanesocietymiami.org.

SPAY & NEUTER SERVICES

HUMANE SOCIETY OF GREATER MIAMI AND
MIAMI-DADE ANIMAL SERVICES ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP TO PROVIDE SPAY & NEUTER SERVICES

The Humane Society of Greater Miami Adopt-A-Pet and Miami-Dade County Animal Services have entered into a ground-breaking and innovative partnership. This unprecedented partnership entails leasing the south clinic of Animal Services to the Humane Society of Greater Miami for $1 a year for two years.

Beginning January 8th, the Humane Society of Greater Miami will provide low cost and free spay/neuter services to the public from the Animal Services facility at 10700 S.W. 211 Street, Miami. The phone number for scheduling and information will be 305-696-0800, the main line of the Humane Society of Greater Miami.

Underwriting for the Humane Society of Greater Miami’s free spay/neuter program comes through several grants, the largest of which is from Florida Animal Friends, the spay/neuter program funded by sales of specialty license plates. In order to qualify for a free spay/neuter surgery, the Humane Society of Greater Miami will require that all candidates show proof of Federal Assistance (Food Stamps, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, Aid for Families with Dependent Children, Jackson Clinic Cards).

Hours of operation will continue to be Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with surgery drop-offs from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Anyone interested in spay/neuter services is encouraged to make an appointment to receive pre-surgical information; however, walk-ins are accepted on a space available basis. The Humane Society will close its existing Palmetto Bay location at 17425 S.W. 97th Avenue, also on January 8th.

“The Humane Society of Greater Miami has been operating in this community for 71 years and is pleased to be embarking on this partnership with Animal Services,” said Mrs. Emily Márquez-Dulin, executive director. “We are delighted that our community will continue to receive free spay/neuter services and not experience a void in responsible pet care because of this partnership.”

As part of the agreement, the Humane Society of Greater Miami will also offer free spay/neuter services via the county’s Mobile Animal Clinic (MAC) to residents in underprivileged neighborhoods. “We are pleased that this partnership and the grant will permit the Mobile Animal Clinic to continue visiting some of our neediest neighborhoods,” said Dr. Sara Pizano, director of Miami-Dade Animal Services. “The MAC will provide free spay/neuter services two days a week.” To find out the locations of the MAC unit, please call the Humane Society of Greater Miami at 305-696-0800.

In addition to free or low cost spaying and neutering, services at the clinic will include low cost preventive veterinary care including rabies and other vaccines, heartworm check-ups and prevention, FIV/Leukemia and fecal tests.

Founded in 1936, the Humane Society of Greater Miami is dedicated to creating a humane community in which all animals have homes with responsible, committed and loving caregivers. The focus is on ending the euthanasia of healthy, adoptable pets by providing the public with quality adoption services, low-cost spay/neuter services and extensive humane education programs for citizens of all ages. For more information on the Humane Society of Greater Miami, please call (305) 696-0800 or visit www.humanesocietymiami.org.

Miami-Dade Animal Services is responsible for enforcing Chapter V of the county code, as well as Florida Statutes 828, which deals primarily with animal cruelty issues. More than 34,000 pets were abandoned at Animal Services last year and the goal of the department is to reunite lost pets with their families or find life-long homes for as many animals as possible. For more information, call 311 or visit www.miamidade.gov/animals.

Pet Rescue Has Lost a Friend

It is with deep sadness that I let you know of the death of our friend, John Lovell. John initially designed Pet Rescue's website back in 1998 and got us up and running so we could showcase our beloved residents for the world to see and adopt into new homes. The website has been a wonderful marketing tool for Pet Rescue and John had the foresight back in a time when few others did to get our "pets" out there to be seen in a new way.

Recently, John re-mastered the website with a new vision and adding features we never had before attracting more viewers and making navigation much easier. As the person that has updated the website for over 6 years, I was a bit scared that he would make it impossible for me to make changes or add new photos. John, with his kind heart assured me he would make it "Lynn-friendly" and I would have no problem updating the site. He guided me through the procedures for adding to the redesigned pages and within no time, I was able to do it.

John did all his work for Pet Rescue without a fee. He had always loved animals and was more than happy to help us.

Some of you may have read John's letter on our blog about his beloved dog, Kirby, who died last year. On Monday, March 17th, they have been reunited. John left one dog behind here, but Mike will soon be in a new loving home.

Pet Rescue and I will miss John.