Monroe County Friends of Animals of Vonore was recently awarded a $10,000 grant from the Petco Foundation to support construction of its canine behavior assessment building.
The purpose of the building is to provide a dedicated space apart from the main shelter facility to assess dog behavior so they can be properly evaluated and placed in proper homes.
Monroe County Friends of Animals is a 501(c)(3) corporation formed in 2005 to help start and support Monroe County Animal Shelter. The organization has more than 100 volunteer members that support the shelter through fundraising and in-kind donations of time and materials. In addition to hands-on animal care at the shelter, MCFA offers educational programs at schools, provides spay and neuter vouchers to local low-income pet owners through a partnership with Spay Neuter Assistance for Pets and promotes public awareness in the community.
MCFA has about 175 members, which include 60 volunteers and a nine-member volunteer board. The organization has no paid staff members. As of January 2015, more than 18,000 animals have been saved by the efforts of MCFA’s volunteers.
The Petco Foundation grant was made possible through the annual Helping Heroes fundraising campaign, in partnership with Natural Balance Pet Foods.
“This grant from the Petco Foundation is especially important to MCFA,” Ed Roeber, president of Monroe County Friends of Animals, said. “It allows MCFA to expand the facilities to provide animal behavior testing in the appropriate environment for this activity. Thus, we are able to save more animals. We are grateful that the Petco Foundation has provided this grant and has confidence in our program to save as many animals as possible for future adoptions where there is a need.”
Pair of cats looking for new home
Sam and Isabella are the featured pets for adoption this week at Monroe County Animal Shelter.
Sam is a neutered cat that is about 7 years old. Isabella is a long-haired tortoiseshell cat that has been been declawed in the front. She is about 4 years old. According to shelter officials, Isabella does not like to be picked up and will require a home without young children or dogs.
All pets adopted from the shelter are spayed or neutered, current on vaccinations, microchipped and have a new collar and name tag.
Visit the shelter 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays at 170 Kefauver Lane in Madisonville behind Walmart. The shelter is closed to the public on Sunday and Monday. For more information, call 423-442-1015.
