$1.5 Million Awarded to Benefit Dogs, Cats and Their Human Companions

Los Angeles — The California Community Foundation announced today that it has awarded $1.5 million to 15 Los Angeles-based nonprofit organizations working with domestic animals. The grants range from $4,750 to $170,000 and address a variety of issues, including spay/neuter services, pet adoption, assistance dogs, therapy animals and the preservation of companion animals in the home.

Nationally, animal welfare funding receives less foundation support than any other issue area, equaling less than one percent of foundation funding.

Judy Spiegel, senior vice president of programs at the California Community Foundation, says that combining the accumulated assets of four foundation funds that focus on animal welfare serves many more animals and their human companions than if each fund were making grants separately.

"This is the most significant amount of money the community foundation has ever awarded to animal organizations at any one time," said Spiegel. "These organizations are improving the lives of cats, dogs and vulnerable adults in wonderful ways, especially in low-income communities."

With the help of the California Community Foundation, nonprofit animal organizations located in Beverly Hills, North Hollywood, Pasadena, Pomona, Sherman Oaks and Sylmar will spay and neuter thousands of feral cats and dogs, many from low-income homes, as well as feral cats throughout Los Angeles County (all grantees). An increase in spay and neuter services reduces the rate of euthanasia of companion animals.

One organization, the Western University of Health Sciences, received a $101,855 grant in support of its free mobile veterinary clinic. Students from the university's College of Veterinary Medicine — the first new veterinary program to be established in the United States in more than 20 years — gain clinical experience by providing spay and neuter services, vaccinations and treatment to strays and the pets of low-income individuals and families across Los Angeles County.

Another organization, the UCLA Medical Center, received a $150,000 grant for its innovative People-Animal Connection (PAC) program, which trains dogs to interact with the hospital's patients.

"This grant from the California Community Foundation allows us to double the number of canine and volunteer teams at UCLA's Westwood and Santa Monica campuses," said Jack Barron Jr., director of the People-Animal Connection program at the UCLA Medical Center. "These teams bring companionship and joy to more than 400 patients each month."

Many different types of patients are visited by the animals, including rehabilitation, pediatric, dialysis, neuro-psychiatric, cardiac, transplant, and critical care patients. Dogs of all sizes and breeds are eligible for the training. The animals are most often used during therapy or treatment sessions, but the dogs are also taken on visits to provide comfort and companionship to nervous or worried patients and their families.

A third organization, Canine Support Teams, was awarded an $84,000 grant to train 10 assistance dogs. Canine Support Teams provides specially trained service dogs for a nominal cost to people with severe, long-term disabilities. Assistance dogs are taught to open and close doors, pull manual wheelchairs, turn lights on and off, push elevator buttons and retrieve hard-to-reach items. Through its Prison Pup program — the first of its kind in California — some of Canine Support Teams' puppy trainers are inmates at the California Institute for Women near Chino.

All of these grants are made possible by the Pets and Partners Initiative of the California Community Foundation. The Pets and Partners Initiative was created by pooling the assets of four field of interest funds at the California Community Foundation; the donors designated animal welfare as their funds' issue area, and put their trust in the community foundation to make grants to the organizations best qualified to fulfill their funds' missions.

Established in 1915, the California Community Foundation is one of the largest and most active philanthropic organizations in Southern California, with assets of more than $600 million. In partnership with its donors, the foundation supports nonprofit organizations and public institutions with funds for health and human services, affordable housing, early childhood education, community arts and culture and other areas of need.

Pets & Partners Grant Recipient Organizations

Actors and Others for Animals, North Hollywood ($153,300)
Established in 1971, Actors and Others for Animals promotes the humane treatment of animals and fosters an awareness of the importance of animals in our lives. Services are provided to low and fixed income individuals, with an emphasis on the elderly and the handicapped. Its core mission is to prevent unwanted animal births by subsidizing veterinarian spay and neuter services. A $153,000 grant supports the expansion of the organizations' free spay and neuter program for low-income residents with dangerous dogs, such as pit bulls, resulting in an additional 500 procedures a year.

Amanda Foundation, Beverly Hills ($100,000)
The Amanda Foundation was founded in 1978 to rescue dogs and cats from the prospect of euthanasia in city and county shelters and place them in loving homes. The organization provides educational seminars regarding the importance of spaying and neutering domestic animals and how to be a responsible pet owner. It also offers spay and neuter services in low-income communities and an outreach hotline to provide advice and information. A $100,000 grant enables the Amanda Foundation to expand its spay and neuter services, rescue an increased number of animals, conduct educational seminars and assist low-income, elderly and disabled populations with pet care.

Animal Avengers, Los Angeles ($135,000)
Founded in 2001 by actress Shannon Elizabeth and her husband, actor Joseph D. Reitman, Animal Avengers rescues stray animals and those at shelters that are threatened with euthanasia. Animal Avengers' innovative foster program places animals in volunteers' homes and provides them with behavior training, food and veterinary care. Animals become acclimated to home life while living with foster families, increasing their chances for adoption and the likelihood that they will successfully remain in their new homes. A $135,000 grant supports the expansion of Animal Avengers' foster program, enabling it to successfully place as many as 50 animals in permanent homes.

Ariel Rescue, Dana Point ($4,750)
Ariel Rescue is an all-breed rescue organization that focuses on mixed-breed, medium to large sized dogs. Since its founding in 1999, the organization has placed 600 dogs in homes. Touting family-friendly dogs, Ariel Rescue looks for dogs with good temperaments that are not likely to be rescued prior to euthanasia. A $4,750 grant supports the rescue of 25 relinquished senior age dogs ages six to nine and their placement into secure, stable homes.

Beagles & Buddies, El Monte ($75,000)
In the ten years since its founding, Beagle Rescue, a small volunteer-run organization, has expanded to become Beagles & Buddies, with seven staff members and hundreds of volunteers, sheltering all kinds of dogs at its permanent facility in El Monte. Beagles & Buddies has found that, of the dogs they rescue, those that are larger and poorly trained are the hardest to place. To make these dogs more adoptable, Beagles & Buddies has developed a program with nearby Lincoln Training Center, which provides job training and employment to people with developmental disabilities. Supported by a $75,000 grant from the foundation, the disabled clients walk dogs, supervise playtime and learn grooming skills. Meanwhile, the dogs, in addition to getting exercise, learn to socialize with humans and other animals, becoming more attractive to adoptive families.

Best Friends Catnippers, Sherman Oaks ($28,000)
Established in 1999, Best Friends Catnippers is dedicated to humanely reducing the population of homeless and stray feral cats in Los Angeles County. The nonprofit is an outreach program of the Best Friends Animal Society based in Utah, which operates the nation's largest no-kill shelter for domestic animals. Catnippers uses the proven Trap-Neuter/Spay-Return (TNR) method. Volunteers humanely trap feral cats and bring them to the clinics where they are spayed or neutered, given any necessary medical or dental treatment, and then released. In 2004, Best Friends Catnippers expects to spay or neuter more than 2,300 cats in Los Angeles County with the help of a $28,000 community foundation grant.

Canine Companions for Independence, Southwest Region, Oceanside ($50,000)
Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) is a national nonprofit whose mission is to enhance the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly trained assistance dogs and ongoing support to ensure quality partnerships. Founded in 1975, CCI is the oldest and largest organization of its kind. A $50,000 grant enables the organization to hire a Los Angeles coordinator, increase the number of puppy raisers and volunteers, enhance services for Los Angeles County graduate teams and expand outreach to disabled individuals.

Canine Support Teams, Menifee ($84,000)
Canine Support Teams provides specially trained assistance dogs for a very low cost to people with severe, long-term disabilities other than blindness. Assistance dogs are taught to open and close doors, pull manual wheelchairs, turn lights on and off, push elevator buttons and retrieve hard to reach items. Through its Prison Pup program — the first of its kind in California — some of Canine Support Teams' puppy raisers are inmates at the California Institute for Women near Chino. With a recent $84,000 grant, Canine Support Teams will be able to train and place 10 additional dogs as service animals.

Inland Valley Humane Society, Pomona ($28,000)
The Inland Valley Humane Society, also known as the Pomona Valley Humane Society, has been serving the communities of Chino, Chino Hills, Claremont, Diamond Bar, La Verne, Montclair, Ontario, Pomona and San Dimas since 1949. A $28,000 community foundation grant supports the adoption of an additional 250-300 more animals by evaluating the temperaments of homeless dogs and by modifying the behavior of animals with poor temperaments.

Pasadena Humane Society, Pasadena ($106,495)
Celebrating its 100th birthday in 2003, the Pasadena Humane Society is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the humane treatment and quality of life for all animals. Each year, the organization cares for more than 10,000 animals from the seven cities it serves: Pasadena, South Pasadena, San Marino, La Cañada/Flintridge, Sierra Madre, Arcadia and Glendale. A $106,495 grant from the community foundation supports low-cost spay and neuter services for the residents of these communities.

Pet Adoption Fund, Canoga Park ($150,000)
The Pet Adoption Fund runs the largest no-kill shelter in Los Angeles County, housing 250 cats and dogs at a time. The Pet Adoption Fund shelter is open seven days a week and has been placing animals in adoptive homes for more than 20 years. A $150,000 grant from the foundation will help the Pet Adoption Fund increase attention to animals with behavioral problems in order to facilitate more adoption and lower return rates. Families that adopt more difficult pets will have access to special follow-up sessions. Additionally, for the first time, the organization will undertake targeted outreach to Spanish-speakers for both volunteers and adoptive homes.

Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS/LA), West Hollywood ($170,000)
Founded in 1989, Pets Are Wonderful Support is committed to preserving the benefits of animal companionship in the home. The nonprofit works to help people with disabling or terminal illnesses — who face both physical and financial challenges — to keep and care for their pets. PAWS/LA provides pet food, veterinary care, boarding, grooming and home-based services such as litter box cleaning or dog walking at no cost to its clients. With a $170,000 grant, PAWS/LA will expand their programs to include people 65 and older who face similar financial and physical barriers to caring for their pets.

Singita Animal Sanctuary, Sylmar ($163,600)
Through a variety of programs, Singita Animal Sanctuary works to rescue homeless companion animals and eliminate their overpopulation in Los Angeles, both at their shelter and through a mobile clinic. A $163,600 grant from the foundation allows Singita, in collaboration with the LA County Department of Animal Services, to keep two public County clinics open on weekends. These clinics, located in low-income areas of Downey and Lancaster, will each be open one day on the weekend to provide free and low-cost spay, neuter and vaccination services to the community. During the next three years, this project will spay and neuter 3,240 animals.

UCLA Medical Center People-Animal Connection (PAC) program, Los Angeles ($150,000)
At the UCLA facilities in Westwood and Santa Monica, a $150,000 grant from the foundation will support the People-Animal Connection program. Teams of volunteers and their dogs are screened and trained to enter the medical centers to interact with patients. With Animal-Assisted Activities and Animal-Assisted Therapy, the teams help patients both relax and be stimulated by their time with the dogs. Dogs of all sizes and breeds are eligible for the training. Twenty new dog-volunteer teams will provide assistance at the Santa Monica location and forty in Westwood, increasing the total visits and therapy sessions with patients to 800 per month.

Western University of Health Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Pomona ($101,855)
Last fall, the inaugural class of students entered the College of Veterinary Medicine at Western University in Pomona. The first new veterinary program to be established in the United States in more than 20 years, its mission is to promote the health of animals through an array of programs in education, veterinary care and community service. A $108,855 community foundation grant enables the College of Veterinary Medicine to establish a free mobile clinic program — staffed in part by students gaining clinical experience — to provide spay and neuter services, vaccinations, diagnoses and treatment to strays and the pets of low-income residents across Los Angeles County.

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