“We are so excited to be announcing this and celebrating an incredible milestone,” says SPCA of Tompkins County’s executive director Jim Bouderau. “With the help of this community, we became the first open-admission, No Kill shelter in 2001, and the first LEED certified Animal Shelter in 2004. With the help of this community we can now celebrate the fact that we have saved the lives of just over 30,000 companion animals!”

Bouderau goes on to explain that a major supporter of the SPCA, who wishes to remain anonymous, was so inspired by this incredible milestone that they have offered to match every dollar donated before May 15th, up to $30,000.

“It’s going to be such an exciting year,” Bouderau says. “We worked with our “matchmaker” so the challenge was timed to coincide with reaching the 30,000 lives saved milestone AND the beginning of kitten/puppy season, when entire litters of animals are surrendered to us for care and eventual adoption. We’ve grown a lot in the last 12 years – especially our low-income spay/neuter programs – and couldn’t have done this without our many donors and the support of our local community”

Included in the 30,000 lives saved are the normal cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamster, birds and pet rats that most shelters see. Some of the more unusual animals saved included Julius Squeezer, a boa constrictor, several goats, and Marge, an 800 pound pig who was re-homed to Farm Sanctuary. Thousands of cruelty investigations and more than 10,000 spay/neuter surgeries have taken place in the last 12 years as well.

Bouderau can’t stress enough the importance of local support. “We are not government funded; we rely on the generosity of this community, and their belief in our mission, to make the work we do possible”!

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