Medicine Hat, AB – The local SPCA is having difficulties soaking up the cost of senior pets after Save Old Souls closed last year.
That is why the SPCA decided to start a GoFundMe page to alleviate some of the costs.
Their goal? A hefty $16,000.
With the reason behind the amount, here’s SPCA President and Fundraising Coordinator, Kristina Segall.
“$16,000 only covers their medical expenses and we got that number from what our costs were in 2018” explained Segall. “That doesn’t include if they need special food or other care here at the shelter.”
Segall then simplified things by saying this:
“We have over 8,000 followers on Facebook. If you think about it, that’s $2 a person. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but we’re hoping to rally the support.”
To put it into perspective, here are some of the examples of the SPCA’s 2018 medical expenses for senior pets:
Segall said the SPCA budget is already stretched fairly thin and that is why they are reaching out to the public.
“Often when senior pets are dropped off, they need surgery or dental work. If you’ve ever taken your pet to the vet, it’s extremely expensive. So, when a senior animal is dropped off, it costs the SPCA anywhere from $500 to $2,500.”
As of January 6th, the Save a Senior Pet GoFundMe page received just over $800 in donations.
The SPCA is hoping to have reached their goal by the end of January.
“You never know, we could have 20 animals that need dental or medical care tomorrow that we would need to pay for and we never turn an animal away. So, if someone comes in and has medical expenses of $5,000, we’re going to pay for that because we’re going to save every animal we can.”
Segall then stated there are other ways to help rather than donating cash.
“Adoption is always an option. We try our best with social-media to get them adopted right away because lots of times they’re not used to being in a shelter. It takes a special person to adopt a senior animal for sure. We don’t want them to spend a ton of time here at the SPCA. We want them to find a good home to spend their retirement years.”
One senior animal that was recently adopted was Bubbas the cat.
“He was a senior cat that was here for 14 months and it had a big impact on him. We had a huge celebration when he left, but as you can see, the animals often tend to stay here longer than anticipated, which has higher expenses on us as an organization.”
To finish the conversation, Segall had this to say:
“We know $16,000 is a big goal, but this community is outstanding and we know they will help us in whatever way they can.”
