LETTER: Some facts about Spay and Neuter Task Force

I would like to take this opportunity to respond to an anonymous letter that was sent to Flathead Spay and Neuter Task Force this week. You didn’t include your name or address so that we could answer your concerns, but indicated that you do read this paper. So here are some facts for you to consider:

1. We provided over 2,600 surgeries in 2015, 1,800 of them on cats; over one quarter are feral/barn cats/unowned cats. To date, we have provided over 37,000 surgeries; 70 percent of those are on cats. We have provide tens of thousands of dogs and cats with low-cost altering, vaccines and microchipping.

2. Each year we distribute over 6,000 pounds of pet food, provide over $8,000 in veterinary care and hold vaccine clinics for hundreds of animals. Through a recent grant from the I.A. O’Shaughnessy Foundation, $15,000 was dedicated to supplying pet food, vaccines and emergency veterinary care.

3. We are the lead animal welfare organization for Project Homeless Connect and the upcoming Winter Warm Up event, providing free services (spays/neuters, vaccines, microchipping, pet food, collars/leashes, etc., to pets of low-income individuals and veterans. The Task Force participates in the Veterans Stand Down, providing these same services.

4. Clinics are held every month with individuals and rescue groups/shelters from a five-county area participating. Over 7,000 volunteer hours are dedicated to these clinics, outreach programs and the 40 plus cats that we house every year (mostly ferals).

5. We are run by a four-person board of directors and an appointed treasurer. I take a salary of $12,000 per year. Our yearly expenses are generally in the $145,000 range, for all of the above mentioned services. We are dedicated stewards of our donor dollars, spending far less than the two shelters in the valley (approx. $900,000 per year).

6. Our services are promoted through newspaper advertising, press releases, weekly ads in the local shopper publication and online, as well as through our website and Facebook.

Your accusations are very disheartening, but also very inaccurate. So, if you would like to provide contact information, we can discuss this further. Better yet, stop by during one of our clinics or events and see for yourself exactly what our group does and all of the services that we provide. Also, check us out on Guidestar for more information on what we do and how we spend our money. —Mimi Beadles, executive director, Flathead Spay and Neuter Task Force