Spay/neuter grants, statewide pet resource directory and community support are helping organizations and pet owners respond to flooding
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – In response to widespread flooding and severe weather across Indiana, Pet Friendly Services of Indiana is providing additional spay/neuter funding to animal welfare organizations caring for displaced and affected animals, while connecting pet owners and organizations with resources available throughout the state.
Pet Friendly Services has provided additional spay/neuter grant funding to Homer’s Helpers, Fluffy Butts Rescue, and the Animal Protection League in Anderson, three organizations dealing with the effects of the flooding.
For these organizations, the impact has taken different forms:
Homer’s Helpers, an all-volunteer, foster-based rescue, experienced flooding in its primary foster home and had to relocate all of the animals living there. The organization currently has 38 cats/ kittens and four dogs in foster homes.
Fluffy Butts Rescue had already closed its intake due to limited funds, but stepped up when families who had to evacuate their homes and flooded shelters needed help. The rescue took in nine dogs as a result of the flooding. Eight of the nine need to be spayed or neutered.
The Animal Protection League in Anderson experienced significant flooding at its facility and had to evacuate all animals in its care.
By covering spay/neuter expenses, Pet Friendly Services is helping these organizations direct their limited resources toward immediate needs while also getting animals ready for adoption.
Connecting Pet Owners with Food and Other Resources
Pet Friendly Services is also helping individual pet owners find assistance through its Indiana Pet Resource Directory, a statewide resource connecting Hoosiers with pet food pantries and other services.
For families dealing with damaged homes, lost belongings and unexpected expenses, access to pet food and other basic resources helps keep pets with the people who love them and prevent additional animals from entering already-strained shelters and rescues.
Pet Friendly Services is also encouraging those who are able to help to donate pet food or funds to local pet food pantries, particularly those serving communities affected by flooding.
“Disasters like this show how connected animal welfare and human welfare really are,” said Cheri Storms, executive director of Pet Friendly Services. “When families are displaced, their pets are affected too. When a shelter or foster home floods, animals suddenly need somewhere else to go. Our goal is to make sure Indiana’s animal welfare organizations have the resources to keep helping, even when they’re facing an emergency themselves.”
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About Pet Friendly Services of Indiana
Pet Friendly Services is Indiana’s only statewide animal welfare organization dedicated to ending the euthanasia of dogs and cats. Through our innovative spay/neuter programs that fix nearly 14,000 cats and dogs per year, we tackle pet overpopulation at the source — saving lives and reducing suffering. Support our mission by driving with a Pet Friendly specialty license plate, and join a movement that makes a difference for animals in need! www.PetFriendlyServices.org