Grant funds animal vaccinations through NASANA
A Northwest Alabama agency that provides spay/neuter funding assistance for pet owners will now be able to offer expanded aid thanks to a recent grant.
Northwest Alabama Spay And Neuter Assistance – a nonprofit dedicated to reducing the overpopulation of homeless dogs and cats, preventing overcrowding in local shelters and eliminating the need to euthanize abandoned animals – recently announced a grant from the Banfield Foundation.
“This grant is important to us because not only are we passionate about helping get animals spayed and neutered to help with the overpopulation problem, but we also care deeply about the health of animals,” explained NASANA President Pat Maguire. “With the Banfield Foundation’s help, not only are we able to continue helping spay/neuter animals (with our funding from other sources), but we can help many get the proper preventative vaccinations to protect them from diseases and give them a healthier life.”
The Banfield Foundation, according to its website, is the charitable arm of Washington-based Banfield Pet Hospital, which boats several veterinary clinics in North Alabama. The nonprofit “funds programs that enable veterinary care, elevate the power of the human-animal bond, provide disaster relief for pets and advance the science of veterinary medicine through fostering innovation and education,” according to the site.
NASANA applied for a $5,000 grant in May, Maguire said. “We had been asking applicants to pay the vets for the state-required rabies shots when they got their animals fixed. Some of the applicants stated that they were not able to cover that cost in addition to the $20 copay required by our program and were just not following through on getting the surgery,” Maguire said. “We knew that if the animal was not getting a rabies vaccination that there were other core vaccinations that help prevent diseases that are prevalent in this area that likely were also not being received by those animals.”
Maguire said the Banfield grant will, of course, be a temporary program – but while funding lasts, the money will cover required rabies shots and additional preventative vaccines for pets of owners who qualify for NASANA’s assistance program.
“We believe that NASANA was selected by Banfield because we are a small group making a big difference,” Maguire added. “Our proposal outlined the need in our community and the hard work being done to provide the help needed. We also have a proven track record of administering several successful programs using grant funding from various agencies.
“We are very excited to be able to help with not only fixing the animals to prevent more unwanted births but also to help keep animals more healthy and disease-free.”
Pet owners wishing to see if they qualify for assistance can go to www.nasana.org or call 256-415-5499. Those who qualify and want to take advantage of the offer will need to submit an application, provide proof of eligibility and send in the copay amount.
