Dough Boy is an 8-year-old American Bulldog mix that lived a tough life managing the pain of an old fracture that was never properly treated. When his owner could no longer care for him, he was brought to the Alachua County Animal Shelter to be putdown. It wasn’t long ago that Dough Boy’s special needs and advanced age meant a certain death sentence, but, thanks to Maddie’s Pet Rescue Project, Dough Boy was rescued by Gainesville Pet Rescue and rehabilitated. He is now inseparable from his newly adopted family.
The Maddie’s Pet Rescue Project in Alachua County, which just completed its 11th year, is a community collaborative effort to end the killing of healthy, treatable shelter dogs and cats in the city of Gainesville and surrounding rural communities by July 1, 2015. Since t
he project began in 2002, the euthanasia rate has gone from 8,063 deaths to 742 deaths in 2013 — a decrease of over 90 percent.
Jeannette Peters, who serves as the organization’s project coordinator, said, “Alachua County residents are passionately committed to animal welfare and have been patient with us as we have worked to create lasting, sustainable change in our systems to support a community that can guarantee a home for every pet.”
Maddie’s Fund ® is a California-based family foundation endowed by the founder of Workday® and PeopleSoft to help achieve and sustain
a no-kill nation. Two Gainesville veterinarians, Dr. Randy Caligiuri and Dr. Julie Levy, and the former executive director of the Alachua County Humane Society, Melissa Glikes, submitted applications to Maddie’s Fund and passionately advocated for Alachua County to be selected for the project. Their efforts were rewarded with a grant of more than $3.5 million dollars to save dogs and cats in the community.
The coalition of animal control agencies and adoption guarantee organizations includes: Alachua County Humane Society, Gainesville Pet Rescue, Puppy Hill Farm, Haile’s Angels Pet Rescue, Helping Hands Pet Rescue and Alachua County Animal Services.
The funding from Maddie’s has supported activities such as special adoption events, collaborative advertising, consistent marketing, collaborative placement strategies and increased education in the community. As part of the project, the rescue groups also set and publicize concrete monthly performance goals for adoptions and euthanasia reduction.
“Our partners are focused on moving dogs and cats through the system with a target turnaround time from intake to adoption of 90 days or less,” Peters said. “After 90 days, our pets go on the long-term residents list and receive priority marketing attention to find them homes.”
Heather Thomas, executive director of Gainesville Pet Rescue, said, “Because of Maddie’s Pet Rescue Project, we’re now rescuing not only healthy dogs and cats, but animals with treatable medical conditions, like Dough Boy. In fact, 75 percent of our animals require medical treatment for an illness or injury, which is double the number we were able to take in before the project.
“The support from our community has been critical in this project and in our goal to become a no-kill county,” she continued. “Alachua County is a very pet-friendly community with residents who support rescue by adopting, fostering, volunteering and donating. We also have a large number of transient students who are very passionate about animal welfare and become involved in our local organizations.”
Peters said that there are several ways Alachua County residents can help the coalition of animal rescues continue to achieve its goal of a no-kill county by the year 2015.
“The most important things for everyone to do are to make sure your pets are spayed and neutered and to help your friends and family understand that this simple step saves lives and is healthiest for your pet. Adopt; don’t shop for your next family member. There are beautiful cats and dogs of all breeds, ages and personalities waiting at animal services and our many wonderful rescue groups.
“Finally, consider donating to local nonprofit animal shelters and rescue groups. That way, your gift will have the greatest impact saving lives right here in Alachua County,” Peters said.
Dough Boy and his new forever family agree.