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!

~ Congratulations and Thank You! ~

Best in Show

Top Collector

Jenny Murtaugh   -   $2,020.50

Top Dogs

Walkers Raising $1,000 or More

Gina Kline  –   $1,133.00

Joyce Rose  –   $1,119.00

Hot Dogs

Walkers Raising $500 or More

Kathren Keller-Hopkins  –   $675.00

Maureen Rossi  -  $640.00

Jan Zumbolo  -  $600.00

Amy Tollner  -  $515.00

Premier Pups

Walkers Raising $100 or More

Laurie Kunigel  -  $260.00

Joanie Jones  -  $196.00

Marilyn Mach  -  $190.00

Heather Boothe  -  $156.00

Debi Crandall  -  $140.00

Tina Vogel  -  $125.00

Donna Daggett  -  $110.00

Heather Mach  -  $110.00

Jamie Chace  -  $100.35

Leaders of the Pack

Team Raising $500 or More

DOT Workforce  -  $696.00

Why the Walk?

The first Dog Walk took place in 2003 when efforts began to construct a new animal shelter, which will replace the current outgrown and aging facility on Route 5-S, just a few miles east of Amsterdam.

MCSPCA staff, volunteers, and board members help homeless animals in the community receive the most precious gift of all— a second chance at love. As the needs of the community grow, the shelter is hindered by a lack of appropriate space and a building that has seen better days. A new facility will allow the MCSPCA to improve and expand the many services provided for the homeless, abused, neglected, and abandoned animals and the community. In addition to increasing the number of cats and dogs that will be taken in to find new homes, plans include expansion of the Prevent Another Litter (P.A.L.) program for cats and a reduced-cost spay/neuter program for dogs. The MCSPCA will have space to offer dog obedience and agility classes with the hope that implementing a training program will provide not only recreation, but a first option to surrendering. Besides improving physical fitness, agility helps dogs build confidence, provides mental stimulation, and strengthens the bond between dogs and their owners. These are just a few of the MCSPCA’s many visions for the future!

As a registered 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, the MCSPCA receives no funding from governmental agencies nor from animal welfare organizations such as the ASPCA or Humane Society of the US and relies on nominal fees, fundraising, and support from people like you.

While we strive to provide the community with an enjoyable day, participant fundraising as part of the Dog Walk is extremely important. This year, donations are still being accepted through our website, which will remain active until October 17^th. Make a general donation, support someone you know who is an existing walker, or register for free and collect donations as a “virtual walker” yourself. Of course, offline donations are also welcome. So far, we’ve raised $16,000 and counting as part of this year’s event!

The Montgomery County SPCA is dedicated to helping the community and its animals, those members which cannot help themselves. The Dog Walk is the community’s chance– YOUR chance– to give back. Please keep the future looking paw-stitively bright for our new shelter plans and for our furry friends by participating today!

Thank you to all who donated!!!

Special thanks to Sheila Jweid-Webber for organizing the collection and the SDTC Trial and to Chris Beck for organizing the collection at the CDAFG and monitoring the boxes left at SDTC and AOC!

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

Thank you to THE A-TEAM!!! This new “organization” of school age kids got together and held a bottle drive for the MCSPCA! They raised $15.50! The kids: Amelia Barkevich,Alliah Schoonmaker, Anastacia Montalvo, & Jonas Barkevich, are hoping to get more kids to join their group and are currently collecting books for another non-profit organization.  Great job and keep at it!!!

A big thanks to SEFCU for once again choosing our shelter for another very generous donation!

A huge thank you to MCT Bank, for having us at their bank, to promote our shelter and for the  donations and adoptions that were a result of that clinic!

Thank you to the Lynch Literacy Academy Staff for their generous cash donation!

 Thanks to the kids of Mariaville School for all their hard work collecting donations and money for our shelter animals! Steve Caporizzo  even said you were an amazing group of caring kids! We think so too!

Thank you to the Cub Scouts that come EVERY year to Spring Clean the shelter’s grounds! This year they spruced up the trail they blazed 2 years ago and raked and cut back the huge tree limbs on the property! EXCELLANT job guys!!!!They even wood chipped the cut branches for us!!!

Thank you to ADIRONDACK SEPTIC for all the hard work you do at our shelter! Without you coming ASAP when we call, we’d be in quite a mess! We hope the community in our area takes a ‘hint’ from us and uses your services!!!!

 Thank you BROWNIE TROOP 2245!!!     For the wonderful pets toys you all made and donated!!  This is for  Sapphire,Emilie,Katelyn,Raven,Rory,Katelynn,Morganne,Emily,Alexis,Brooke, Sophia & Colleen!

Thank you to Alyssa and Loren Foti for collecting $30.00 in donations for our shelter animals, during a Garage Sale they held in Schenectady!

Thank you,Sierra Francher for your donation of your Birthday money to our pets at the shelter!

Thanks AGAIN to Ashlyn O’Neil who raised $70.00 and lots of pet food and supplies to our shelter. She had her birthday party and requested monetary and pet supply donations to be gifted instead of anything for herself!  WAY TO GO ASH!!!

Daniel,Andrew,Catie & Maggie  Van Epps built a Lemonade stand and brought us a donation of $20.00, the entire proceeds of their  sale!! This is the 2nd year they have held this fundraiser for us!  Great work Kids!!!!

WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW!!!!!

 Over one-hundred animals in our area are waiting to be placed at the Montgomery County SPCA Animal Shelter in Amsterdam, as limited space and resources at the facility are preventing their admittance. Many, mostly cats, have been on a waiting list for several months, with the lucky ones receiving basic care by kindhearted residents who are unable to take them in permanently. There are daily calls from people wanting to surrender litters of kittens to us and it is very overwhelming to us as well as to the people that are wanting to do the right thing with there homeless cats/kittens.

In response to this critical need to find appropriate temporary living situations until space becomes available at the Animal Shelter, the Montgomery County SPCA is waiting for caring and compassionate people to come forward to foster some of these animals for a period of time, through Emma’s Hope Foster Care Program. The organization is now recruiting caring individuals who are willing to share their love and home on a temporary basis with these animals, according to program coordinator Chris Fura, who also serves as vice-president of the MCSPCA Board of Directors. The program is named to honor Emma Hope, an abandoned and injured pup who was  taken in by the Montgomery County SPCA and fostered by Fura.

“We are seeking volunteers who want to make a space in their hearts and their homes for an abandoned cat, or maybe two, or a mother cat and her kittens. The MCSPCA will provide any medical needs and spaying/neutering during the foster care, and will make periodic checks with the foster home to make sure all is well”, Fura explains.

In order to insure that volunteer foster homes will provide the appropriate setting for these animals, an application and home interview will be part of the process. “While one’s heart may be in the right place, one’s home may not be the best setting for certain cats”, Fura clarifies. “For instance, an ideal foster home for a particular cat might be one with no other pets, or perhaps one with no small children. Also, some animals may have special needs – medications that need to be administered or minor physical therapy. Each foster situation will be considered individually. The foster home is the first step – once a space is available at the Animal Shelter, the foster pet will be transferred to the facility to continue its care until a new permanent home is found.”

Those interested in participating in Emma’s Hope Foster Care Program by opening their homes and hearts to a homeless animal on a temporary basis should contact Fura for an application by emailing info@mc-spca.org.

The Montgomery County SPCA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the welfare of homeless, neglected, abandoned and abused animals in the Montgomery County area. We recieve no monies from municipalities or any branch of the government, but depend mainly on the generosity of private donors like yourselves.

Click here for a foster care application

If we take in all the homeless cats and kittens into our foster program, we need the funds to have them spayed and neutered.  If you are not able to foster a cat(s) or kitten(s), please consider donating to help us spay and neuter them.  We are limited to the number of cats and kittens we take into the program because we cannot afford the thousands of dollars it will take for the spaying and neutering of them.  We do not adopt out any of the cats or kittens without being spayed or neutered.  This is what is holding us back from taking all the homeless cats and kittens off of the streets in Montgomery County.

A donation in the amount of $85 will spay and neuter one cat.  This, also, includes a vet exam, blood testing of 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, PO Box 484, Amsterdam, NY 12010.  Please make the check payable to: MCSPCA-PAL.  PAL stands for Prevent Another Litter.

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.

Fee of $85 per cat includes:

Transportation of the cat between MCSPCA Animal Shelter and the vet’s office
Spaying or Neutering
Veterinarian Examination
Feline Leukemia Test
FIV Test
Rabies Vaccination (cats over 3 months old)
Ear Mite Treatment
Capstar Flea Treatment (this is a 24 hour treatment, fleas only)
Nail Trimming
Feral Cats will have their ears notched to indicate they have already been spayed or neutered

Optional Services:
$8 for Worming
$8 for 30-Day Topical Flea Treatment to kill fleas plus eggs

Additional Services determined by the vet during examination:

Ranging from $10 to $20 for Females in heat or pregnant, cryptorchid males and other minor surgery

You must pre-register at the MCSPCA Animal Shelter during open hours. At this time you will sign registration forms and pay $85 plus the  $8,  extra, if you choose optional services. Cash only. Unfortunately, checks cannot be accepted. The exact amount of cash is appreciated. You will be scheduled for the next available Monday.

On the scheduled Monday, Please:

Drop your cat(s) off at the MCSPCA animal shelter by 6:30 – 7:00 AM.
For the cat’s safety, have each cat in a separate durable plastic cat carrier.
Be sure the carrier is clean and provide a towel for your cat.
Be advised appropriately sized carriers make the surgery day more comfortable for your cat. They will be spending most of the day in the carrier.
Pick your cat(s) up the same day at the MCSPCA animal shelter @ 5:00 PM.
Be advised that we cannot house any cat overnight.

For health reasons your cat will not be vaccinated for distemper. It is a health risk for your cat to be vaccinated at the same time of the surgery and rabies vaccination. Please be sure to have your cat vaccinated for distemper by your veterinarian.

~ Do it for Love ~

Each day, 10,000 human babies are born in the US, and each day 70,000 puppies and kittens are born.

To provide a home for these animals, each person in the US would have to have seven pets.

In reality, there will never be enough homes for all the animals born in this country.

In 3 years, one unspayed female cat and one unneutered male can produce 382 kittens! In 7 years, one female cat and her offspring can produce 420,00 cats!

In 3 years, one female dog and her mate can produce 512 puppies. In 6 years, the number is 67,000 puppies.

The pet overpopulation problem is real.

The only solution to the pet overpopulation problem is to spay or neuter.

In addition:

Spaying or Neutering Is Good for Your Pet

Spaying and neutering helps dogs and cats live longer, healthier lives.

Spaying eliminates the possibility of uterine or ovarian cancer and greatly reduces the incidence of breast cancer.

Neutering eliminates testicular cancer and decreases the incidence of prostate disease.

Spaying or Neutering Is Good for You

Spaying and neutering makes for better, more affectionate pet companions.

Spaying and neutering can make pets less likely to bite.

Neutering makes males less likely to roam the neighborhood, run away, or get into fights.

Neutering cats makes them less likely to spray and mark territory.

Spaying a dog or cat eliminates her heat cycle, which can last six to 12 days, twice a year, in dogs and six to seven days, three or more times a year, in cats.

Myths and Facts about Spay/Neuter

Myth: My pet will get fat and lazy.

Fact: The truth is that most pets get fat and lazy because their owners feed them too much and don’t give them enough exercise.

Myth: I don’t want my male dog or cat to feel like less of a male.

Fact: Pets don’t have any concept of sexual identity or ego. Neutering will not change a pet’s basic personality. He doesn’t suffer any kind of emotional reaction or identity crisis when neutered.

Myth: It’s better for her to have one litter first.

Fact: Medical evidence indicates just the opposite. In fact, the evidence shows that females spayed before their first heat are typically healthier. Many veterinarians now sterilize dogs and cats as young as eight weeks of age.

Myth: My children should experience the miracle of birth.

Fact: Even if children are able to see a pet give birth — which is unlikely, since it usually occurs at night and in seclusion — the lesson they will really learn is that animals can be created and discarded as it suits adults.

Instead, it should be explained to children that the real miracle is life and that preventing the birth of some pets can save the lives of others.

Myth: But my pet is a purebred.

Fact: So is at least one out of every four pets brought to animal shelters around the country. There are just too many dogs and cats—mixed breed and purebred.

Myth: It’s too expensive to have my pet spayed or neutered.

Fact: The MCSPCA offers the Prevent Another Litter (PAL) program at lost cost. Most importantly, it’s a very small price to pay for the health of your pet and the prevention of the births of more unwanted pets.