Programs we Love
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SPCA Florida has many different programs going. Here is an overview of some of our favorites!
Adoption Program
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There is no greater joy than witnessing the excitement of an adopter who has fallen in love. In 2020, at the recommendation of our National Animal Organizations, we placed homeless cats and dogs in foster care for nearly two months. Despite that break in adoptions, a total of 4,297 cats and dogs were placed in loving homes. In 2021, the goal is to help 5,000.
Volunteer Program
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Volunteers are the backbone of every non-profit organization. They are the heart, hands, and support that drive success of the many programs offered at SPCA Florida. They haul, tote, set up, and break down events, print letters, answer phones, clean cages and runs, walk dogs, feed everyone, comfort the injured and timid, and provide much needed love.
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The help of these valuable friends allows us to reach our goals and maintain our mission.
Foster Program
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Fosters are life savers. They rise early, maintain rigid schedules, sacrifice sleep, and provide endless love.
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In 2020, our Foster Parents saved 2,373 kittens, puppies, dogs, and cats. Without their dedication, little hearts would not be beating. Their love reaches out to those with medical issues, special needs, seniors who need additional care, bottle babies, and shy or shut-down animals who need an extra dose of love to adjust and heal.
Compassion Funds
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SPCA Florida has always made it a mission to help animals and people who are suffering or in pain. In 2018 we became the recipient of donor funds and were for the first time able to provide financial assistance to help with general care as well as catastrophic injuries. Today, veterinarians throughout Polk County refer emergencies and illnesses to SPCA Florida's Medical Center.
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The original funds were depleted after a few months, but we continue through generous donors whose hearts and mission revolve around ending animal and human suffering, through keeping pets with the people who love them. Since 2018, the families of 365 cats and dogs have found assistance through $97,093 in donated care.
Transport to Safety
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SPCA Florida has partnered with no-kill humane animal shelters in Illinois, Ohio, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Virginia, and through Central Florida. Our mission - to save lives. When local shelters, including ours, are filled to capacity, we reach out to our partners who have the ability to house and find homes for more animals. Typically, these shelters are in northern states, or areas that have strong spay-and-neuter programs and high save rates.
To keep their hearts beating, devoted volunteers drive and fly moms with kittens, cats, and dogs to partner locations where they are safe and will find responsible loving homes. In 2020, 385 animals were transported to safety. For 2021 our goal is 1,000.
Saving lives works both ways. We transport animals that are in abundance out, such as cats and kittens, and transport animals that are in shortage in, such as small dogs. Our current partners are in Puerto Rico and Georgia; two locations where there are too many small dogs and they are at risk of euthanasia.
Spay and Neuter Program
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We cannot adopt our way out of overpopulation, but must increase our spay and neuter efforts to reach a no-kill equation for Polk County. Fortunately, we have donors with generous hearts who help fund these efforts. Their mission is to end the suffering of unwanted kittens and puppies and no program is more critical or important than this humane endeavor.
