The Ark receives so many phone calls asking for financial assistance with medical bills for their cats. As much as we would like to help. This is not why we are here. If you own an animal part of your responsibility as a pet owner is to be able to provide vet care for your own personal animals.
We have been asked to pay for cremations, blood work, insulin and various other things. It breaks my heart that pet owners cannot provide this for their own personal animals. Once again I urge everyone to do their homework before they get a pet and make sure they can actually afford them. Medical care is a huge part of owning an animal.
We as an organization work very hard to raise funds in order to help stray animals that have no other alternative. All of our money comes from donations, fundraising and grant money. We receive no town or state funding so our finances are limited and therefore dictate what we can and cannot do.
Yes there are times when we can help and then there are others when we can’t. Saying “no” for us is never easy. Right now we are limited to three cages which holds six cats and we have some wonderful foster homes, but most times they are full.
Our building is still not complete, but we are very close. Once we are up and running we will be able to help more but we will never take on more than we can financially afford.
We also receive phone calls saying I have to move and I need you to take my pet. That again is not why we are here. It is up to you as a responsible pet owner to make those arrangements for your pet.
We have been asked to take in feral cats. Putting a feral cat in a cage is not the right thing to do. They are terrified and sometimes they just shut down and die because their spirit is broken.The best thing for feral cats his to trap neuter and release back.
This past month The Ark has paid out about $2,000 in vet bills. That is huge for a non-profit organization that has no guaranteed income. How were we able to do this? A group of individuals volunteered their time to make this happen. Most already work a full time job, they volunteer in their spare time. This is how passionate we are about our mission. Our supporters donated money because they believe in the work we do. The $2,000 is just vet bills it does not include food, litter and other supplies.
We can always give you contact numbers for assistance with neuter and spay, we can always give you advice but we cannot give financial assistance. We are in the process of setting criteria in place for what animals we can help. Once this is complete we will share that with you.
Thank you for your continued support and as always thank you for reading our column.
