By LISA PEARCE
HEALING HEARTWORM AND EMPTY THE SHELTERS
The Bissell Pet Foundation has provided medical support to South Carolina dogs suffering from heartworm disease with a two-year $20,000 grant award.
This lifesaving medical treatment will cover the cost to save 100 adoptable dogs. Each year, the Animal Society participates in the national Empty the Shelters campaigns subsidized by the Bissell Pet Foundation. Founder Cathy Bissell won’t stop until every pet has a home. Thousands of animals across the country have been adopted due to Empty the Shelters.
INCREASING LIFESAVING CAPACITY WITH THE ASPCA
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) has worked in tandem with Charleston Animal Society for many years in response to both manmade disasters such as puppy mill cases, to the devastating effects of hurricanes and flooding saving hundreds of vulnerable animals in harm’s way. The ASPCA’s generous $150,000 capacity-building award will benefit the greater Charleston area, the state, and the Southeast region. The multi-year grant award paves the way for a dedicated manager to impact human and natural disasters through 2024.
PIONEERING BEHAVIOR TRAINING
Undesirable behavior can be one of the many challenges facing shelters across the nation when it comes to presenting adoptable dogs to the public and saving otherwise healthy dogs from unnecessary euthanasia. Charleston Animal Society’s highly trained behavior team led by Donya Satriale, Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA), and Courtney Larrier, presented a new way of temporarily sheltering the dogs who need a few more weeks or even months of training time before being considered for in-home fostering or adoption. The Sandra Powell Trust has invested $40,000 to create outdoor housing for the dogs who need more time and who may benefit from a smaller environment outside of the traditional shelter.
MAKING HUMANITARIANS, ONE CHILD AT A TIME
The Post and Courier Foundation has awarded $25,000 to the education team of Charleston Animal Society in support of teaching compassion. The curriculum is taught at the request of guidance counselors or teachers and uniquely incorporates animals to connect kindness lessons with social-emotional learning. Ultimately, the kindness and responsibility in the lessons help to break the cycle of cruelty or violence giving children a kinder way to interact with animals and in turn, others. The high-impact compassion education team taught over 12,000 compassion lessons in 2021 alone encouraging children to become humanitarians.
