As has come to be tradition, the MCSPCA began the season with our 4th Annual Holiday Pet Photos event on December 3rd and 4th! It was wonderful to see so many dogs and cats, bunnies, cockatoos, and even turtles, and their people, come out to support the shelter. In addition to photos, the event included shopping at the shelter store and guest vendors, a cat adoption clinic, discounts on pet micro-chipping and nail clipping, and face painting for the kids. Thank you to all of the SPCA  volunteers who made the event possible and to our friends who came for photos! Special thanks to our Santa, Nyle Nelson,  for volunteering two days during this very busy season to the benefit of the shelter, and listening to the many requests brought to him by ALL of the children- human, furry, feathered, and scaled! Photos from the event can be found on the MCSPCA facebook page. Those who do not have a facebook account can also view the photos here on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/montgomerycountyspca/sets/ by clicking on the “4th Annual Holiday Pet Portraits” album. Don’t forget to join us again in April for our 2nd Annual Spring Pet Portraits!

Supporters also included the MCSPCA in their holiday shopping, and made in-kind donations of wonderful toys, treats, and other gifts over the past month. We are very near our goal of having a KONG Wobbler for every dog in the shelter, to keep their minds active and challenged during our stay with us. There are still a few items that we need for our Enrichment Program, so if you didn’t have a chance with the holiday rush, please visit our Amazon wish list: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1TDD2C97TMI4. Our next goal is to obtain two KONG Scratch and Groom Curls- one for the cats at the shelter and one for our adoption center at PetSmart.

And of course, thank you to everyone who contributed monetary donations. This has been a very challenging year; with a struggling economy and the devastation caused by local flooding, the numbers of strays and surrenders has increased from in the past. Thankfully, cat adoptions have been doing very well with the opening of the shelter’s new off-site adoption center at PetSmart and the extra exposure that has come with it. Since the clinic opened on November 21st, a total of sixteen cats and kittens have found wonderful furever homes from the PetSmart adoption site alone!

With increased adoptions, we are moving forward toward our goal of taking all adoptable cats in off of the streets! We wouldn’t be able to do this without your help, and we will continue to rely on your support. If anyone needs to make year end tax deductible donations before the 31st, we would be an extremely thankful recipient! You can mail a check to us at P.O. Box 484, Amsterdam, NY 12010 – or – click on the Paypal link  to donate online. So many of you have been extremely generous, but we do need all the help we can get! Now that we will have the space, our ability to take more cats is dependent on having additional funding for their spaying/neutering and other care. About $400 is invested into every animal that comes through the MCSPCA’s doors.

Finally, thank you to the volunteers, staff, and board members who devote their time to keeping the shelter running every single day. It truly is a labor of love, paid in slobbery kisses and wagging tails, sandpaper licks and warming purrs.

Thank you all for a wonderful end to 2011, and for sharing the holiday spirit with our cats and dogs. Each and every one of you enables us to fulfill our mission of “no more homeless pets” and help bring hope to the lives of as many animals as we can. Please know how much we appreciate your support, and how proud we are to be part of this community.

 A donation in the amount of $85 will spay or neuter one cat.  This also includes a vet exam, blood testing for Feline Leukemia and Feline Immune Virus (like human AIDS), rabies vaccination, ear mite treatment (if necessary) and flea treatment (if necessary).

The donation may be sent to:

MCSPCA- PAL

PO Box 484

Amsterdam, NY 12010.

Please make the check payable to: MCSPCA-PAL.  PAL stands for Prevent Another Litter.

Thank you for helping us rescue more cats and kittens from the streets!

• BLEACH
• Paper Towels
• Laundry Detergent
• Dish Detergent
• Cat Litter
• Dry Purina Cat Chow (blue bag)
• Dry Purina Dog Chow or Pedigree
• White Copy Paper

If you can donate hay, grain or alfalfa cubes for horse feed, please contact us @ 842-8050 and leave your name, telephone number and that you have hay, grain or alfalfa to donate.  There are owners of horses that can no longer afford to feed their horses.  Due to their lack of funds, some of the owners are faced with having to make the decision of euthanizing the horses.  Your donation of the horse feed will allow the horses to live and relieve the owners of making this difficult decision.  Your help is very much appreciated.  Thank you.

Everyone’s generosity works wonders in the lives of the animals. Most of them have been abused or abandoned, but thanks to you, MC-SPCA can give them medical and tender loving care they so desperately need. You can help the animals by making a tax-deductible contribution to the SPCA. You will be helping us achieve a community with no more homeless animals, because your donation will go toward spaying and neutering the stray and abandoned animals we serve.

To make a donation to the Montgomery County SociePCA, please send a check payable to the Montgomery County S.P.C.A. to: Montgomery County S.P.C.A. PO Box 484 Amsterdam, NY 12010 or click on the donation button below:

Donation Pledge Sheet

If you prefer, please look for our cash donation canisters at the following community-minded locations:

Amsterdam Animal Hospital

Coffee Beanery

Cork Hill Wines & Liquors

Country Cupboard

Country Feed

Country Valley Veterinary Clinic

Head To Tail Pet Wellness Center

MCT Federal Credit Union

Mohawk Dairy Store

Old Brick Restaurant

Old Peddler’s Wagon

PetSmart

P.J. Spirits

Royal Mountain Campsites

Verizon Wireless

West End Wine & Liquor

White Cottage Gardens

List subject to change

Bequests and Estate Donations

By making a bequest to the SPCA you have the satisfaction of knowing your legacy will continue to help homeless and unwanted animals long into the future.

Gifts received through wills and trusts are the financial foundation that makes possible the extensive care and comfort of the animals. There are three common ways of making a bequest:

• Donate a percentage of your estate
• Donate a specific dollar amount
• Give the residue of your estate

Thank you for helping to make good things possible for the animals.

Serving Montgomery County for 100 years, the Montgomery County SPCA provides vital services to animals and people alike through sheltering and adopting animals, investigating animal cruelty and neglect.