Help from the community doesn't STOP

After a successful first year of saving the lives of pets, STOP the Overpopulation of Pets, Inc. could have to start limiting the work it does to save pets' lives in the Mat-Su Borough.

Founder and Executive Director Lori Jo Oswald said that more community involvement in the form of financial support and volunteer help is needed for STOP to continue offering financial assistance to spay and neuter pets.

Since beginning the spay-neuter program a year ago, STOP has responded to the request for over 1,200 vouchers worth half the cost of altering a pet cat or dog at the SPCA mobile clinic. This is double the goal set for a two-year period.

"We originally set a goal of spaying and neutering 500 dogs and cats over two years," Oswald said. "We have far exceeded that, and this shows the tremendous need for this program in the Mat-Su."

Most of the money has come from Outside, in the form of grants from foundations like the DJ&T Foundation, PETsMART Charities and family trusts that offer benevolent assistance to humane programs.

When the program first started, only the SPCA accepted the vouchers. With limited appointments available, STOP needed help in meeting the demand, and contacted every veterinarian in the state. Now there are 12 veterinary clinics that are partnering with STOP to reduce the pet overpopulation problem. Oswald said this -- along with the work of the volunteers in distributing applications, brochures and newsletters around the Valley -- has helped spawn an increase in requests for assistance. Most of the 1,200 spay-neuter applications have been received in the last four months.

Oswald, with the help of STOP's board of directors, has written several grants that have been successful, but the grantors do not fund 100 percent of program and operating costs. Some of the money has to come from other sources, like private donations and memberships in the organization.

In addition to the spay-neuter fees, STOP has an educational program and most of the regular costs of doing business. Missing from the STOP budget are the costs associated with payroll. There are no paid positions with the organization -- it is all-volunteer.

Thousands of volunteer hours have been generously donated by a very few individuals since STOP's inception, most by Oswald. Someday the group hopes to hire a part-time administrator to run the 50(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization.

Oswald has averaged more than 20 hours a week with STOP last year, even though she runs a technical writing business, teaches at Mat-Su College and has a 3-year-old, as well as her numerous rescued pets.

STOP is the only organization of its kind in the state. "There are rescue groups, adoption programs and $20 coupons," Oswald said. "But we are the only organization that pays such a large amount toward spaying and neutering."

STOP pays for half the cost of spaying and neutering charged by the SPCA mobile clinic. When vouchers are used at veterinarians, they may not cover 50 percent of the fees, but they are issued for 50 percent of the SPCA fees and applied toward whatever the veterinarian charges.

STOP launched a web site in June 2003 (www.alaskastop.org), which provides information on the organization and has .pdf versions of the brochure, spay/neuter application form and newsletters.

The site includes links to all animal controls and humane societies in the state of Alaska and provides information on pet overpopulation and animal control statistics throughout the state.

STOP's primary goal is to end pet overpopulation and the killing of healthy cats and dogs simply because there are not enough homes for them. The educational program conducted by STOP is serving as a conduit to get that message out, organizers said, as well as providing additional educational information for people regarding pets.

Since May 2003, STOP has printed and distributed thousands of educational documents and materials, including press releases and articles which were published in several Alaska newspapers.

STOP has also recorded and written public service announcements for radio and television stations; and set up information booths at community events such as Pet Appreciation Day in Anchorage. STOP has written all Alaska veterinarians and pet-related organizations and businesses about their organization.

STOP also publishes a quarterly newsletter, Alaska Pet News, that is full of educational information about the importance of spaying and neutering pets and other pet-related topics.

Still, raising money is tough.

"Unfortunately, fund-raising is the area where we are weakest," Oswald said. "We have held a garage sale, appealed to the Mat-Su Borough, contacted all Alaska grant organizations and many of Alaska's largest businesses by mail, appealed to the Mat-Su United Way and contacted state Legislators, but we have pretty consistently run into the response that with Alaska's economy in such a tight state that most social service agencies have lost all or part of their funding, monies are only being donated to "human-centered" organizations."