Dakin Humane Society (Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society): A Shot at Life Vaccination Grant Report

How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?

We received feline distemper combo vaccines. We used them to vaccinate cats to prepare them for our adoption program.

The gift of these vaccines kept us from expending resources to purchase vaccine. Those resources could then be allocated toward other efforts to help animals (i.e., extraordinary medical care). Also, the vaccines protected the cats in our care from common contagious disease and started them on the path to better health in their new homes.

How many pets did this grant help?

150 cats.

Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.

Sammy Jo is a 15 pound shorthaired white cat with black splotches (think Holstein cow). He came to Dakin’s adoption center in Springfield when his family could no longer care for him. The new routine didn’t sit well with Sammy Jo, and he began swatting at people who spent too much time petting him. Luckily, Dakin has an “Office Buddy” program for cats like him. Sammy Jo was vaccinated (thank you, Petfinder Foundation!) and blood tested before being sent upstairs to stay with Corey, our annual fund manager. As Corey’s Office Buddy, Sammy Jo lounged on the computer keyboard, watched the comings and goings of the other Office Buddies, and awaited his new home. A few months went by before Sammy Jo’s new family found him. Today, he is living it up in a nearby town. Probably lounging on their computer keyboard.