We increased our impact on our community in multiple, substantial ways compared to 2022. The vital work we do in our community could not be done without YOU! In 2023 Great Plains SPCA:

• Transferred 459 pets from out-of-time shelters, a 7% increase from 2022
• Saw an increase in the length of stay for our dogs from 24 days to 28 days, a 17% increase
• Spayed/neutered 698 community cats through Trap-Neuter-Return services, a 19% increase
• Distributed 92,657 pounds of donated pet food to the community, an increase of 73%
• Reached 903 families through our HERO Outreach Team, an increase of 34%
• Completed 1,166 community outreach visits, an increase of 16% compared to 1,004 in 2022
• Served 2,534 community pets through our HERO Program, an increase of 54%

In addition to these accomplishments, we have taken a proactive approach to address the changing times. We led the creation of a shelter-wide Spay/Neuter Collaborative of Kansas City (SNKCK), bringing together local shelters for a common cause. We have continued our partnerships with KCK Animal Services and other shelters, both locally and out of state. These collaborative efforts are creating significant progress in pet welfare.

Our outreach work has also expanded to provide weekly walks for tethered and outside dogs. This improves their quality of life by giving them a needed break from their tethers.

None of this would be possible without the support of our dedicated supporters. As we enter 2024, we humbly request your continued support as we strive to find forever homes for our animals and make an even greater impact on the community.

Thank you for being a part of our journey. We are excited about what 2024 has in store and are already hard at work to create a positive and lasting change in the lives of pets and the people who love them.

With heartfelt gratitude,

Tam Singer, Chief Executive Officer

The post 2023 Year In Review appeared first on Great Plains SPCA.

On Friday afternoon, we, like thousands of others in Kansas City, lost power after the huge storm hit our area. With no power or generators, we were without lights to see as the night went on and had no way to keep our pets and people cool in the hot and humid temperatures. With 150 animals in our care, we were in an emergency situation.

As word spread of what was happening, our emergency turned into a huge outpouring of phenomenal community support. Hundreds of people stepped up instantly to help us.

I cannot express how moving it was to see. Huge thanks to my phenomenal team of staff, our volunteers, fosters, our Board of Directors, donors, and all the people who came from far and wide to provide water, ice, coolers, laundry, flashlights, batteries, fans, generators, portable air conditioning units, food, and donations.

I want to express my appreciation to our brilliant pet partners, Wayside Waifs, Humane Society of Greater Kansas City, Pet Resource Center of Kansas City, and KCK Animal Services, who all quickly stepped up and offered or took in many of our pets. Also, huge thank you to Scott Poore with Mission Driven, Dr. Sadie Scott, Andria Knobbe and KCTV5 News Kansas City for their support and raising awareness. I could not be more thankful to our friends at each of these organizations. Thank YOU all!

It was a hot, humid and crazy 48 hours, and because of everyone who helped, we got through it. We are thrilled that last night, around 6:00pm we finally got our power back.

Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart, to every single person who helped us yesterday; we couldn’t have done it without you. You are my HEROES.

Thank YOU,

Tam

The post A Note From Tam appeared first on Great Plains SPCA.

It has been a tough, tough time. Dog adoptions are down 25% from the prior sixmonths. Our average length of stay this year is 30 days (an increase of three days over2022), but for pets like Bug, Guinness, Noah, and Callie, theirs is 23 times that amount.

We do everything we can to help these pups. Great Plains SPCA focuses more than any other shelter in Kansas City to consistently provide care, support, and enrichment far above the standard. We work tirelessly advocating for our animals to raise awareness of their plight.

Unfortunately, it’s not enough. It’s bigger than us. It is a nationwide crisis. According to Shelter Pet Counts, “per capita, the Midwest shelters and rescues ranked number one in terms of increased demand to intake animals needing shelter and assistance in 2022.” Across the United States dog adoptions were down 8% in 2022 compared to the prior year. The impact on our animals’ well-being is clear. They are stressed and losing hope.

But no matter how dark it is, we cannot give up. These pets need us now more than ever.And we are fortunate to have you. You, our incredible, loyal, compassionate donors.Helping us continue our life saving work.

We need you. THEY need you. Bug, Guinness, Noah, Callie and countless others.

They need you.

Will you commit to supporting our Lend A Paw Match campaign? This summer, from June1 to July 31, all donations will be matched up to $150,000. Will you help us reach our goal to raise $350,000 by July 31 so we can continue our mission to be “Heroes for Pets?”

Thank you for all you do and all you give,

Tam Singer, CEO Great Plains SPCA

The post Lend A Paw to Double Your Donation appeared first on Great Plains SPCA.

Scooby has historically struggled with reactivity to other dogs while on leash. After weeks of following a training plan from our Behavior Team, Scooby made huge strides with other dogs. He has improved so tremendously that he was able to have a brief playgroup with another dog. This type of play hasn’t been possible for him in the 130+ days at our shelter until now.

At Great Plains SPCA, the personal care, focus, and passion our team gives to each animal is at the forefront of what we do. Every staff member contributes to the care of our animals, not just the people with “animal care” in their title.

We are proud of our very high standard of care that goes beyond the basics of food, water, and shelter. Our dogs receive at least four walks every day, which far exceeds what other local shelters provide. Every Monday we do a “Pack Walk” for dogs on leash and our cats who like to take an outdoor adventure in a stroller. Catastic Thursdays are dedicated to our kitties. All staff spend an additional minimum of 15 minutes of their day with our feline friends.

We use our space meticulously and wisely to make sure that, cat or dog, animals get frequent time away from their kennels. Whether it is on a walk beyond our campus, free-roaming in our Cattery or Shelter Medicine clinic, in an outdoor yard, or in a large space with a window. These forms of enrichment support the mental health of Great Plains SPCA animals.

I am incredibly proud to be part of an organization that lives its tagline, “Heroes for Pets.”

Scooby is available for adoption. Check out his profile here. He is a joy to be with.

Tam Singer, CEO Great Plains SPCA

The post Transforming Lives: Great Plains SPCA’s Unmatched Care for Shelter Pets appeared first on Great Plains SPCA.

During our Lend A Paw donation drive:

• We took in 423 new animals
• We adopted out 403 animals
• Our Shelter Medicine Team performed
  – 342 spays/neuters
  – 22 dental surgeries
  – 11 other surgeries that include removing bladder stones and tumors, previous surgery repairs, removing foreign bodies and three amputations (leg, tail and ear)
• Our Pet Food Pantry distributed 6,882 pounds of pet food to community pets.

You are our HEROES. We cannot do what we do without you. This year has shown all of us how tough times can be. We shared stories of  our pets in need like Brodie, Lilac, Prada, Russell and so many more. This summer, you showed us how much you care for pets in our community by supporting our organization.

On behalf of myself and my team and all the animals in our care,

Thank YOU!

Tam Singer, CEO

The post Thank You for Lending A Paw appeared first on Great Plains SPCA.

Shelters exist to provide temporary care for pets in need. We are a safe place to rest on their journey until they find their forever home. While our goal is to provide temporary care, for pets like Brodie who have surpassed the 200 day mark, our temporary care has turned into long-term care.

For Brodie, waking up every single day to the same four walls of a kennel, without a forever family to love him or the comforts of a home, is a heartbreaking reality. Despite our Herculean efforts, pets like Brodie are stuck in a cycle of “homelessness.” This can result in high levels of stress that frequently manifest in undesirable behaviors, putting pets at a consistent disadvantage to finding a “forever” home.

And it’s not just the length of time a pet is in our care, it is also the fact that this is a shelter. We have a best-in-class shelter with a best-in-class team that goes above and beyond every day to ensure incredible care for our pets, but at the end of the day, it is still a shelter. Dogs like Prada arrive at the shelter petrified. She feared men and any noise she heard, and she would constantly drop to the floor and shake. A shelter with hundreds of animals and constant bustle has presented numerous challenges for this terrified girl. 

We know shelter life is stressful and life in a kennel is hard. That is why at Great Plains SPCA, we do more than any other local shelter to give pets a break from their four walls. While other shelter may take their dogs out of their kennels once or twice a day, our dogs go out four to seven times a day. And while some shelters may have a pet in an office as a special treat, at Great Plains, every single staff member shares their office space with a shelter pet. Our staff take our dogs to the park on our lunch hour, for pup cups, anything we can do to help them. And it’s not just our dogs. Cats like Lilac who have been here over 100 days get to go for walks in pet strollers and also share our offices. Going above and beyond for our pets is what we do.

We continue to see pets being surrendered to the shelter not just for behavioral issues but for medical issues. Like little Russell, brought in through our HERO Team along with his brother. Russell had a hernia, and he and his brother both needed cherry eye surgery. This cute little boy quickly stole our hearts, and we were so glad we could give him the medical care he so desperately needed.

You are our HEROES. We cannot do what we do without you.

2022 has shown all of us how tough times can be. This summer, from June 1 through July 31, all donations will be matched up to $150,000 during our Lend A Paw match campaign.

Will you Lend A Paw for our pets in need like Brodie, Lilac, Prada, Russell and so many more?

On behalf of my team and all the animals in our care,

Thank YOU!

Tam Singer

The post Will you Lend A Paw for Shelter Pets? appeared first on Great Plains SPCA.

While many of us know the loss of losing our own family pets, at Great Plains we often end up taking in pets who have sadly lost their owner, pets like Sweet Libby.

Libby was brought to Great Plains SPCA just before New Year after her owner had sadly passed away. Having lived the past few years in a home full of love to end up at a shelter has been devastating for Libby. Her first couple of days were especially hard, she was incredibly stressed with constant pacing and crying in her kennel. Fortunately our wonderful Medical and Behavior team got to work quickly to create a plan to help Libby adjust with medicine and extra care time out of her kennel which has definitely helped. This past week she has been my lovely office guest at the shelter.

Seeing dogs like Libby after their owner passes is incredibly sad. For me, having a plan to make sure that should anything happen to me and my family, my pets will be taken care of is key. At Great Plains planning for what will happen to your pets is something we have tried to make easier for people. Our Pet Agreement creates ease of mind for you and your furry family member. We hope it helps others who wish to plan for their pet’s future.

While Libby is doing better, she is in desperate need to find a loving foster home or permanent home.

Please help us find Libby a new home to call her very own.

The post A Note from Tam – January 2022 appeared first on Great Plains SPCA.

Transcript:

This is Anda. Anda has been at Great Plains SPCA for over 100 days and she’s my office mate. When she first arrived, she was incredibly fearful and scared. Our amazing Behavior team and staff have worked tirelessly every day to ensure that she receives all the care to survive and thrive in her new home. Dogs like Anda who have more requirements than other dogs take longer to find a home and we don’t give up on them.

Right now, we’re in the middle of our match campaign, where all donations are matched up to $150,000. As a no-kill shelter that does not receive government funding, we depend on donations. We never want to turn away a dog like Anda, or any other animal that arrives at our doors. We simply cannot do it without you.

If every person who saw this video donated just ten dollars, we would be over 70% of our way to our goal. Donations are crucial for ensuring we can maintain our life-saving mission so that fabulous dogs like Anda, can find their forever home. She’s loyal, she’s loving, she’s house trained, she gives the best hugs in the world. Please consider donating to our Lend-A-Paw match campaign so that we can continue our life-saving work and ensure that dogs just like under never get turned away. Thank you.

The post Why your donations are crucial to our lifesaving mission appeared first on Great Plains SPCA.

Stories like this reflect the massive need for shelters like ours. Great Plains SPCA is a private no kill shelter, serving more than 4,000 animals annually. We receive no government funding and depend entirely on donations and revenue from adoptions and our other services that support our animals.

Each time you donate to Great Plains SPCA you ensure animals just like Ellie Mae are not turned away. Ellie Mae is the sweetest pup. This little springer spaniel is three-and-a-half years old and was recently surrendered to us by her owner. Ellie Mae has urinary incontinence and requires ongoing medicine and supportive care to help her lead the life she so truly deserves.

From June 1st through July 31st, we have a huge goal to raise $325,000 to support our life saving mission. We are incredibly fortunate that an anonymous family is matching ALL donations received during this time up to $150,000!

While the average cost of care per animal at the shelter is $751, our average adoption fee is just $130. The large gap between what we frequently need to invest in our pets to make them ready for adoption medically and behaviorally and our adoptions fees highlights how critically we need your financial support.

Great Plains SPCA relies on the wonderful generosity of our donors, volunteers, foster families, and supporters. Will you “Lend a Paw” this summer to help us reach our goal of $325,000?

Thank you so much for all you each give and do for the animals in our care. We simply could not do what we do without you – THANK YOU!

Tam Singer, CEO

‘Giving is not just about making a Donation, it’s about making a Difference’. – Kathy Calvin

The post Lend A Paw Donation Match Drive appeared first on Great Plains SPCA.

I wanted to share two quick updates with you, our dedicated donors:

• Bad Pet Drawing Fundraiser is back for its second year! If you donate $15 to Great Plains SPCA, we’ll create a custom drawing of your pet. The catch? Our team is way better at caring for animals than drawing them. Whether your drawing ends up being a masterpiece or a truly bad drawing, we’re going to have a blast and hope to make you smile! See our Facebook post for more details.
• As a ‘Thank You’ for any ‘Helping Hero’ monthly donor who is able to increase their current monthly donation we are offering a complimentary 30 minute phone consultation with our Director of Animal Behavior and Training.  If you are not currently a monthly donor and would like to become one, click here to sign up and receive 25% off coupon for your next purchase at our campus retail store.

Knowing that we are in a time of financial instability, your donation is extra special to us. Thank you for your generous financial support during this tumultuous time.

Thank you – you make a difference.

Tam Singer, CEO Great Plains SPCA

The post A short personal note from Tam appeared first on Great Plains SPCA.