SPCA of Brevard Takes Part in Epic Travel Day for Homeless Dogs from Miami
Titusville, Florida (PRWEB) November 06, 2013 -- What has 804 legs, wiggly butts and gives wet kisses? Two hundred and one lucky dogs, which were on death row, now leaving Miami Dade Animal Services bound for rescues and no-kill shelters throughout the country, including the SPCA of Brevard in Titusville. That’s what!
This unprecedented event will take place on November 13th, 2013, and marks both the two-year anniversary and 100th transport of the innovative transport program, DOGS ON THE MOVE. The magic number, 201, was arrived at after figuring 2 years x 100 transports = 200 dogs + 1 more dog for good luck, the proverbial candle on the cake.
Bonnie Plafke, DOGS ON THE MOVE Director of Operations, decided that this momentous occasion warranted something BIG and when asked why she chose this huge amount of dogs to exit she replied, "Well...GO BIG or GO HOME but in our case it's GO BIG AND GO HOME. All these homeless dogs will finally GO HOME."
The planning for this massive undertaking has been two months underway both for DOTM (Dogs on the Move) and MDAS (Miami-Dade Animal Services). MDAS takes in over 30,000 unwanted pets per year and serves as the only public shelter for all of Miami-Dade County. As such, they are forced to euthanize pets for space when the shelter becomes over-crowded. MDAS partnered with DOGS ON THE MOVE two years ago to create an innovative private/public partnership to transport animals and save more lives.
Melissa Sorokin, DOTM PR Director, recounts how the SPCA of Brevard was a big inspiration behind the creation of this very successful transport program, “I happened to stop by the SPCA while on a road trip around Florida and Debra Cantwell, the SPCA of Brevard Adoption Coordinator, said to me ‘you are an angel come down from heaven. We want your dogs.’"
“That started the wheels in motion; Titusville was the receiving partner of our first transport ever. Now, celebrating our 100th transport, we are so happy that the SPCA of Brevard is taking 25 of those homeless dogs.”
“The SPCA of Brevard is thrilled to be part of part of GO BIG AND GO HOME, which will empty out half of Miami Dade Animal Services all in one day,” states Cantwell, “before we started accepting small-breed dogs from Miami, many times we were unable to help clients looking specifically for a smaller dog because there simply aren’t many small-breed dogs in need at local shelters. Our small dog cage area sat empty for weeks at a time and customers who were looking for a smaller dog were forced to look to breeders, pet stores and Craigslist. By accepting these types of dogs from MDAS, we are literally saving their lives and giving local customers the ability to adopt the size dog they want that is already spayed or neutered, micro-chipped and is up-to-date on vaccinations. It’s really a win-win for everyone; especially the dogs!”
Prior to the November 13th transport, the SPCA had rescued 386 small-breed dogs from MDAS via DOGS ON THE MOVE and with the GO BIG AND GO HOME day, that number will jump to over 400 dogs saved! That number includes fourteen dogs that were pregnant when they arrived at our shelter. If you add in the number of puppies that were born to those mothers, it brings the total dogs saved to over 460.
Since the program’s inception, it has changed the lives of thousands of pets and families. Please join us in helping DOGS ON THE MOVE mark this wonderful occasion. There will be eight vans rolling out of Miami Dade Animal Services the morning of November 13th and the arrival of those 25 small-breed dogs in Titusville will be around 1pm. The other vans will be traveling to various parts of the country, such as New Hampshire, New York, Virginia, Massachusetts and Iowa with rescues and shelters there welcoming these dogs.
SPCA of Brevard Media Contact
Susan Naylor
Media Specialist
321.501.7696 (mobile)
spcamedia(at)spcanorthbrevard(dot)com
MDAS/ Dogs on the Move Media Contact
Rebecca Winship
Blink PR
957.457.5556
rebecca(at)blinkpr(dot)com
Day of Event Contact (Miami):
Melissa Sorokin
PR Director
786.301.4878
http://www.dogsonthemove.org or Facebook at Dogs On the Move by Pawsitive4Life.
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About SPCA of Brevard
The SPCA of Brevard is a private, non-profit organization with the mission of “protecting and providing a voice to the homeless animals of Brevard County.” Founded in 1979 in Titusville, Florida, the SPCA is the largest private no-kill animal rescue group in Brevard, finding homes for more than 1,300 animals a year. It is the first adoption facility with free-roaming cat rooms in the County, allowing adopters to interact with the cats in a more home-like setting. The SPCA of Brevard Clinic also provides reduced-price vaccines to the public and has performed more than 50,000 low-cost spay/neuter surgeries since 1999.
For more information, visit http://www.spcabrevard.com.
Susan Naylor, SPCA of North Brevard Inc, http://www.spcanorthbrevard.com, 321-501-7696, [email protected]
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