Paws and Claws Humane Society of Rochester MN, strives to promote and provide humane protection and shelter for abandoned or lost companion animals, and seek adoptive homes for companion animals under their protective care.

Pet overpopulation is a serious and ongoing problem. The Humane Society of the United States estimates that of the 6-8 million dogs and cats that enter shelters nationwide each year, half make it out alive. Three to four million find homes; and three to four million are euthanized. If more animals were altered, less would be having or fathering litters, and the number of healthy animals destroyed because they have nowhere to go would decrease.

Paws & Claws has five mission directives; two of the five deal with pet overpopulation:

• Advocate the spaying and neutering of all companion animals.
• Provide public education regarding the societal problem of animal overpopulation.

We have placed spay/neuter front and center in our list of "to dos". Toward this end, PCHS receives much-appreciated help in altering the animals in our care from the veterinarians in and around the Rochester area. These vet practices donate a spay/neuter to PCHS monthly. We are deeply grateful for their support. Despite this generous and ongoing service, PCHS finds itself lagging in its ability to send every animal to its new home altered. Our need to bolster our spay/neuter fund is a direct result of using fund dollars monthly to try & keep up with the cost of altering incoming animals and the puppies and kittens under our care. For the most part, this is because we are having such success in adopting our animals!

We are asking for your help to meet the need of altering every PCHS animal. Here's how you can help:

1. Make an ongoing monthly donation to the spay/neuter fund set up by Paws & Claws. Any amount is helpful, especially when combined with the dollars sent in by others. You could set this up as part of your electronic monthly automatic bill pay; or by writing "PCHS spay/neuter fund" on a card kept with your bills as a monthly tickler. Please be sure to note "spay/neuter fund" on your contribution to assure it is deposited in this earmarked fund.
2. Make periodic donations to the account whenever you are able.
3. Assign money from your recycling efforts, garage sales or extra change you collect from your pockets to the spay/neuter fund. Ask that birthday presents be donations to the PCHS spay/neuter account. You get the idea.