SPA Ohio

After nearly three decades of rescue work, Society for the Protection of Animals, Inc. has reached a natural stopping point and will be dissolving our 501(c)(3) status.

Rescue work is joyful, but it is also relentless. We are older now, and tired... physically and emotionally... and no longer able to sustain the intense demands of ongoing rescue and fundraising.

What does not end is our commitment to the animals already in our care.

Dale, Char, Terry, and I will continue providing love and stability to all remaining SPA fosters.

Terry and Barb personally funded and built a beautiful Catroom with large windows overlooking the woods, and Melanie... our four-year-old FELV+ girl... has a very special home of her own.

Thank you for your unwavering support. Well over 1,000 lives were saved because you cared. Those lives... and the love behind them... are our enduring legacy.

Along the way, SPA helped to educate others, by example, about the importance of compassion and our responsibility toward all living beings.

Every rescue was a small act of defiance against suffering, and a quiet affirmation that kindness matters.

Though this chapter ends, the compassion that carried it forward continues... alive in every animal who knew safety, because this work was never ours alone... it was a partnership, carried forward together... through SPA and you.

"Humankind has not woven
the web of life.
We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web,
we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect."

—Chief Seattle

May kindness endure,
Barbara McGrady
Founder and President

Society for the Protection of Animals, Inc. (aka SPA Ohio on Facebook) formed as a non-profit animal rescue organization in 1998, twenty four years ago, and is comprised of unpaid volunteers.

We rescue castaway cats and dogs, providing complete medical care that includes: vaccinations, testing, heartworm preventative, spay/neuter, and all other necessary medical care.

SPA OHIO fosters animals in our homes until forever homes are found. When forever homes aren’t found we don’t euthanize. The animals who are not adopted are kept (and loved) by volunteers for the rest of their lives, if necessary.

SPA OHIO is not just a rescue, we’re a Sanctuary... and that means a lifetime commitment of care to rescued cats and dogs who remain unadoptable due to behavioral and/or health conditions.

We primarily need donations for veterinary expenses for necessary medical care of each rescued animal. We also help cover expenses for others whose pets need emergency care when they're unable to afford it. And there's the expense of food, supplies, housing and transportation.

Your donation will help us continue our rescue work to save the lives of abandoned, stray, and abused companion animals.

You can mail your Tax Deductible Donation to:

SPA OHIO
P.O. Box 1047
Fremont, Ohio 43420

Or donate via Paypal at:

Donate to Society for the Protection of Animals, Inc. Help support Society for the Protection of Animals, Inc. by donating or sharing with your friends.

We rescued Melanie Sunshine 🌞 2 years ago today, when she was 6 months old.

We rushed her to our vet's office immediately and his prognosis was grim.

Melanie tested positive for feline Leukemia and a powerful infection was raging inside her kitten body.

Because of her fragile, weakened condition we opted to by-pass vaccines and spay.

She wasn't expected to live very long.

I recently purchased a very large, heavy duty cat tower on Chewy for her and she loves climbing and sleeping in it!

She's a spoiled princess and I must say one of the most intelligent cats we've ever rescued, and we've rescued hundreds over the past 30+ years.

Melanie is about 2½.

The estimated life expectancy for kittens diagnoised with FeLV is 2½ years.

I'm introducing powder form of Viralys into her diet in an effort to boost her immune system.

Anyone who really knows me understands I'm all about defying odds, so...
_____________________

Society for the Protection of Animals, Inc. (aka SPA Ohio on Facebook) formed as a non-profit animal rescue organization in 1998 (26 years ago) and is comprised of unpaid volunteers.

We rescue castaway cats and dogs, providing complete medical care that includes: vaccinations, testing, heartworm preventative, spay/neuter, and all other necessary medical care.

SPA OHIO fosters animals in our homes until forever homes are found. When forever homes aren’t found we don’t euthanize. The animals who are not adopted are kept (and loved) by volunteers for the rest of their lives, if necessary.

SPA OHIO is not just a rescue, we’re a Sanctuary... and that means a lifetime commitment of care to rescued cats and dogs who remain unadoptable due to behavioral and/or health conditions.

We primarily need donations for veterinary expenses for necessary medical care of each rescued animal. We also help cover expenses for others whose pets need emergency care when they're unable to afford it. And there's the expense of food, supplies, housing and transportation.

Your donation will help us continue our rescue work to save the lives of abandoned, stray, and abused companion animals.

You can mail your Tax Deductible Donation to:

SPA OHIO
P.O. Box 1047
Fremont, Ohio 43420

Or donate via Paypal at:
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=MC7DDDJV9ZXN4

👉 MARCH 9th, 2022...
A wet, crusty-eyed, skinny, mud-caked kitten was sitting in the middle of Buckland Ave. facing oncoming traffic. If I had not stopped abruptly I'm certain the car right behind me would have run over her, assuming she was already dead.

When I jumped out of the van to scoop her up, I soon realized she couldn't see or hear. She was extremely underweight and obviously suffering from a severe infection.

We rushed her to Fremont Animal Hospital.

Dr. Reineck said he doubted she would make it, but they'd do all they could. She tested positive for Feline Leukemia (FeLV).

As most of you in the rescue world know it's often customary to euthanize felines who test positive with FeLV. Society for the Protection of Animals (SPA OHIO) has never held that view.

We named her Melanie Sunshine. She was placed in isolation and received excellent medical care at Fremont Animal Hospital for 12 days.

👉 On March 21st, 2022, I brought Melanie to my mom's house, where I'd been busy working to prepare for an estate sale. My mom passed on February 8th, a month before.

Feline Leukemia cats often only live for a couple of years. They should not be around other cats who do not have Feline Leukemia because FeLV is contagious to other cats.

Although a diagnosis of FeLV can be emotionally devastating, it is important to realize that cats with FeLV can live normal lives for prolonged periods of time. The median survival time for cats after FeLV is diagnosed is 2.5 years, but sometimes they live much longer!

On occasion, cats that are exposed to FeLV and test positive for FeLV can mount an effective immune response that suppresses the virus (called regressive infection); these cats can test negative on subsequent tests, are asymptomatic, and are then at low risk of transmitting the disease to other cats.

Melanie is an absolute sweetheart.... a pure purr bucket... and she's absolutely the friendliest cat SPA has ever rescued.

👉 NOW, 1¾ YEARS LATER....

When I think of her sitting in the middle of the road that day with infected ears and eyes, shivering as I held her under my coat (but still purring and making bread despite her suffering), compared to now, well... that's the magical stuff rescuers get to store in the happy room of their hearts for the rest of their lives.

She's now 2+ years old and just look at her!

We'll keep her happy and safe for the rest of her life, unless someone exceptional with no other cats shows interest in adopting her, understanding that she might require future vet visits to manage possible FeLV symptoms, which may or may not arrise.

For now, she's healthy, happy, and beautiful!!!

This is what SPA Ohio continues to do.

👉 MARCH 9th, 2022...
A wet, crusty-eyed, skinny, mud-caked kitten was sitting in the middle of Buckland Ave. facing oncoming traffic. If I had not stopped abruptly I'm certain the car right behind me would have run over her, assuming she was already dead.

When I jumped out of the van to scoop her up, I soon realized she couldn't see or hear. She was extremely underweight and obviously suffering from a severe infection.

We rushed her to Fremont Animal Hospital.

Dr. Reineck said he doubted she would make it, but they'd do all they could. She tested positive for Feline Leukemia (FeLV).

As most of you in the rescue world know it's often customary to euthanize felines who test positive with FeLV. Society for the Protection of Animals (SPA OHIO) has never held that view.

We named her Melanie Sunshine. She was placed in isolation and received excellent medical care at Fremont Animal Hospital for 12 days.

👉 On March 21st, 2022, I brought Melanie to my mom's house, where I'd been busy working to prepare for an estate sale. My mom passed on February 8th, a month before.

Feline Leukemia cats often only live for a couple of years. They should not be around other cats who do not have Feline Leukemia because FeLV is contagious to other cats.

Although a diagnosis of FeLV can be emotionally devastating, it is important to realize that cats with FeLV can live normal lives for prolonged periods of time. The median survival time for cats after FeLV is diagnosed is 2.5 years, but sometimes they live much longer!

On occasion, cats that are exposed to FeLV and test positive for FeLV can mount an effective immune response that suppresses the virus (called regressive infection); these cats can test negative on subsequent tests, are asymptomatic, and are then at low risk of transmitting the disease to other cats.

Melanie is an absolute sweetheart.... a pure purr bucket... and she's absolutely the friendliest cat SPA has ever rescued.

👉 NOW, 2¾ YEARS LATER....

When I think of her sitting in the middle of the road that day with infected ears and eyes, shivering as I held her under my coat (but still purring and making bread despite her suffering), compared to now, well... that's the magical stuff rescuers get to store in the happy room of their hearts for the rest of their lives.

She's now 2+ years old and just look at her!

We'll keep her happy and safe for the rest of her life, unless someone exceptional with no other cats shows interest in adopting her, understanding that she might require future vet visits to manage possible FeLV symptoms, which may or may not arrise.

For now, she's healthy, happy, and beautiful!!!

This is what SPA Ohio continues to do.

Society for the Protection of Animals, Inc. is a non-profit, 501(c)3, so your Donations are Tax Deductible.

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=MC7DDDJV9ZXN4

Photos of Melanie's Transformation:

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