Animal Shelter Inc. of Sterling

History: The Animal Shelter Inc. of Sterling, MA (also referred to as the Sterling Shelter) EIN # 04-3236868 is a non-profit organization (formed in 1988 - incorporated in 1996) and no-kill animal shelter with no time or age restrictions. The shelter exists to provide humane sheltering and high quality medical care for stray, unwanted, abused and neglected animals and to find loving, lifelong homes for orphaned pets. Our staff is dedicated to finding good homes for adoptable pets and we continue to promote responsible pet ownership and to improve the quality of life for the animals and people in our community. The Shelter is supported entirely by donations from private individuals and through surrender and adoption fees. The Animal Shelter, Inc. does not receive support from the United Way or from federal, state or local governments. Our on-site veterinary clinic cares for 4,000+ animals that come through our shelter yearly and provides a low/no cost spay/neuter, general wellness program assisting local animal control officers, shelters and breed rescues.

Position Statement – A leader in our field, The Animal Shelter Inc. of Sterling is a happy, clean, well run, family friendly animal shelter with progressive programs that improves lives by raising the bar for animal care in our shelter and community. We are an established organization committed to placing animals in caring homes through innovative programs and placement services.

At the Animal Shelter Inc. of Sterling we share a core belief that we will only help animals by working proactively and compassionately with people. Reflected in all of our programs and services is our belief that people and animals are inherently good. We strive to create a judgment-free and caring environment for all community members seeking our services, whether they are surrendering a pet, adopting or utilizing our low-cost services. This philosophy is shared with all employees and volunteers. We have a streamlined adoption process and have a more positive way of connecting people and animals. There are no lengthy applications and screening processes. Instead, we want to engage in conversation with prospective adopters. If we start from a perspective that people are coming to us with the best intentions, we will have a much better success rate of finding life-long matches.

Listed below are some of our Shelter Programs for People and Pets!

Pediatric Spay/Neuter Program – Established February, 1999 - Our shelter has maintained a 100% compliance rate on spay/neuter of all animals before they leave the shelter.  This includes puppies and kittens as young as 8 weeks UNLESS there is a MEDICAL necessity that would cause fatal complications or risk the pet's life. Early age spay / neuter is the surgical sterilization of companion animals prior to the conventional age of 6 months. For shelters it can mean 100% sterilization compliance rates, fewer returned animals, and improved staff morale.

Save A Sato Program – Established May 1999 - a joint life-saving venture with animal rescues of Puerto Rico. Hundreds of homeless, neglected animals are rescued, rehabilitated and flown to our shelter each year, where they find loving, lifelong homes. These dogs known as "Satos" (mixed breed street dogs) are spayed or neutered provided any necessary vet care and found loving homes! To date our shelter has rescued and re-homed thousands of these amazing dogs/puppies.

Seniors 4 Seniors - Established October 2000 - Companion animals are essential to keeping people healthy, vibrant and to reducing blood pressure and stress. Often times older people need or want animals to give them love and companionship throughout their golden years. Pets can be expensive if one is on disability, Social Security or limited income, in response our shelter has created a Seniors for Seniors program. The shelter waives the adoption fee of any qualifying animal at our shelter 5+ years for an adopter 55 years or older. All pets are spayed / neutered and provided all medical care before adoption. The average cost of this service is over $700. The adopter is taking home a new companion and saving the initial cost of any medical care and adoption fees. This program is a win/win situation for both the adopter and the pet.

Spay Your Mama & Neuter Your Daddy– Established January 2001 – our shelter provides low/no cost spaying/neutering for pet owners that have recently surrendered a litter. Pets who enter this program must meet specific criteria for our services. It is our goal to accept the litter (where they will be spayed/neutered and receive any necessary medical prior to adoption), spay the mother (and/or neuter the father) dog/cat so they do not become repeat offenders of continual litters reproducing in our community. Prior to instituting this program, we repeatedly saw multiple litters of puppies/kittens coming from the same household. We have spayed hundreds of dogs/cats that would have otherwise kept delivering puppies/kittens in to our community. IF YOU KNOW OF A PET THAT WOULD BENEFIT FROM THIS PROGRAM PLEASE CONTACT OUR SHELTER 978-422-8585 or email sterlingshelterclinic@gmail.com

Homebound Hounds Program – Established July 2000 - A Death Row Puppy Rescue Mission -Rescuing and re-homing puppies/dogs from Virginia - destined to die in the gas chambers. Currently we work with dozens of rural community kill shelters, animal control facilities and pounds. Here at our shelter, they are spayed or neutered and provided any needed vet care and found loving homes! We have rescued and re-homed thousands of dogs and puppies through this program. Southern Rescue – Established Summer 2006 – this same program was launched with shelters/rescues in rural TN, Texas and other shelters throughout the South, several thousand dogs and puppies have been rescued on this program. New partners from different states are being added monthly!

Rescue Group Assistance – Established 2003 - our shelter clinic provides low cost spay/neuter and medical care for several dozen N.E. Animal organizations that do not have funds or veterinary care available to them. This program allows organizations to adopt out pets maintaining a 100% compliance rate on spay/neuter PRIOR to adoption. To date our clinic has performed thousands of surgeries/treatments and medical procedures for several dozen groups. Additionally, our shelter collects and donates thousands of pounds of pet food and supplies each month for animal welfare organizations in need and less fortunate than ours.

Worldwide Outreach Program – Established September 2003 – The staff, vets and volunteers at our shelter have partnered with rescue organizations in the Caribbean islands to spay/neuter and provide general veterinary care for the animals of their community at NO COST. In the Caribbean there is no money or governmental support for animals. Spay/Neuter is our most important focus as well as education, proper nutrition, and ID collars for the pets. 100% of the trip, supplies and materials are donated or fundraised specifically for these trips. Saint Lucia, Puerto Rico, and the Galapagos Islands have all received our assistance.

Merit “Bone Badge” Program – Established September 2003 - The "Bone Badge" Girl Scout Pet Care patch is offered. The girls have a minimum number of lessons in kindness to perform in order to earn their patch. The program and all the lessons are age appropriate for Daisies, Brownies, Juniors, and Cadettes/Seniors. The girls learn how to be safe around animals, how to properly care for a pet, importance of having proper identification on pets, and the importance of medical care. We have educated hundreds of girls through this program.

Kids Helping Kritters Humane Education – Established September 2003 – a formal program for kids that are to young to help IN our shelter. The kids have the ability to tour our shelter, learn about community involvement and the importance of volunteering. Children get a behind the scenes tour of the shelter and are educated on a variety of animal welfare topics including basic animal care, the responsibility of owning a pet, how to be safe around pets, importance of spaying and neutering, and what THEY can do to help the pets in our shelter and community.

Disaster Rescue Assistance – Established August 2004 – disaster animal rescue trained shelter staff and veterinarians travel to natural and man-made disasters to assist animals in need. Rescue, recovery and rehabilitation are the main focus. 100% of the trips are funded through donations. Our shelter is proud to have assisted after Hurricane Charley, Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy.

Veterinary Training Program - Established January 2005 – Updated program in 2012 - Tufts University 4^th year vet students spend one week rotations in our on-site shelter veterinary clinic providing them hands on surgical experience. Over 60 students rotate through this program each year where they perform several dozen spays/neuters and other miscellaneous surgical procedures they would never be permitted to do in a private practice vet hospital. We have the opportunity to educate the students about pet overpopulation problems, pediatric spay/neuter procedures and protocols (practiced in few veterinary hospitals/shelters throughout all of the United States), shelter medicine and herd health/management. New graduates will leave school with a sense of accomplishment and passion and we hope "give back" to the homeless animals in their community in the future. Many of our externs have gone on to specialize and focus in shelter medicine and are currently working with shelters nationally! In addition, many of the students have gone on to develop official Shelter Medicine programs in their own Colleges which proves that this program is extremely beneficial.

Foster Family Program – Established January 2006 – each year our shelter receives hundreds of pets that are not immediately suitable for adoption. Pets that might be in need of medical care / treatment, socialization, behavioral evaluations and training, or may be too young to be spayed/neutered and sheltered for adoption at our facility. Our foster care families each have a niche to provide a life-saving option for pets that would otherwise be left as strays on the street, euthanized for behavior or medical reasons and passed over for potential adoption. Many of our foster families have a “specialty” within the foster program – from feral feline rehabilitation, providing basic medical care and treatments, capability of evaluating and modifying behavioral issues or just a loving, warm, safe environment to allow our juvenile animals to grow in to young dogs/cats. Foster animals lives saved 2010: 503 - 2011: 100 animals - 2012: 85 animals 2013: 75 animals 2014: 75 animals 2015: 40 animals 2016: 30 animals 2017: 45 animals 2018: 52 animals

Shelter Volunteer Program – Established January 2006 – volunteers are critical to our organizations mission. Our shelter formalized a volunteer program which accepts volunteers 17 years and older. Formal orientations are held each month that walk potential volunteers through our shelter goals, missions and programs. Our volunteers have a variety of tasks they can participate in, including hands on pet care, administrative tasks and events. Over the past years our shelter has benefited from hundreds of volunteers assisting our shelter, collectively donating several thousand hours of their time. Volunteer hours 2007: 4747 - 2008: 3500 - 2009: 4859 - 2010: 6592 - 2011: 5749.5 - 2012: 2873.5 2013: 3483   2014: 4500  2015: 4500 hours 2016: 4145 2017: 3730  2018: 3585 

Kitty Convoy– Established Spring 2006 – an intra-state kitten (and cat) relocation program assisting overburdened euthanasia shelters in Massachusetts. Spring through fall (which is high volume kitten season for shelters in New England) - our shelter accepts felines from shelters that are filled to capacity and that face euthanasia for lack of space. Our shelter absorbs 100% of the costs to spay/neuter, test, vaccinate and care for these felines until they are adopted. Each year, we accepted several HUNDRED felines EACH YEAR through this program that would otherwise be euthanized through no fault of their own

Kitty Convoy from the South – Established Spring 2014 - our shelter has partnered with multiple shelters from NJ to Texas to transport their overfull cat rooms to the safety of our shelter. Our shelter then has these furry felines spayed/neutered, updated on any necessary medical care and found loving lifelong homes.

Whisker Walk www.whiskerwalk.org – Established June 2008 - A benefit and forum to raise money and awareness for New England based animal welfare organizations that do not have the funds and resources to host their own events. Our shelter pays for all costs associated with hosting the event but generously shares the ability for animal rescue groups to raise and keep 100% of funds they generate through their participation. Whisker Walk caters to families and their pets and promotes responsible pet ownership / care, education and ADOPTION. A great forum for a public relations, fund-raising, encouraging the general public to adopt a homeless pet from one of their local shelters / rescues and of course, and to show-off the wonderful pets that we’ve all adopted out. In 2014 our shelter transferred Whisker Walk to another group in hopes they would continue to run this wonderful event.

Feline Feral Fix – Established 2010 – offering low cost spay/neuter for feral cats. Ferals lives are short and usually harsh. They struggle to find food and water in an environment filled with the constant threats of disease, starvation, cruelty and predation. They are the abandoned, the lost and the wild. The number of feral cats in the U.S. is estimated to be in the tens of millions. Sadly, many communities still opt to control populations using outdated methods, including lethal elimination or relocation. Not only are some of these methods horribly cruel, they are also highly ineffective.  Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) as the only proven humane and effective method to manage feral cat colonies. For more information/questions or to schedule an appointment please call 978-422-8449 or email sterlingshelterclinic@gmail.com

Safe Shelter Surviving Pet Care Program – Established 2012 – For pet owners that are no longer able to care for their pets or if the pets should outlive the owner, the owner becomes ill and can no longer care for the pets, we will immediately finalize arrangements with the pet owners representative, family member, or executor to have their pets transported to our facilities for care, housing and medical treatment – where the pet will safely reside with us until adopted. This program is available to pets regardless of where they reside. For information staff@sterlingshelter.org

Spay – 4 – M.A.. – Spring 2013 – our on-site veterinary clinic offers low cost spay/neuter for friendly, healthy dogs and cats to the public. Vaccination and micro-chipping are optional, but to participate in the program, pets must receive spay or neuter services. Most importantly - This program is NOT limited by income requirements. The clinic can discuss options for pricing on other vaccines/tests – a valid RABIES vaccine is mandatory per state law before surgery -  or we can vaccinate at the shelter before we spay/neuter your pet/s.

Our staff veterinarian has the right to refuse surgery if the pet is aggressive/sick. For more information/questions or to schedule an appointment please call 978-422-8449 or email sterlingshelterclinic@gmail.com.  Please NOTE: This program is NOT designed to replace your current annual veterinary annual exam and general care.

Mass Animal Fund Spay/Neuter Voucher Program – Established Spring 2018 – Our on-site shelter vet clinic hosts FREE spay/neuter days through the MAF program every 4-8 weeks. If you live in MA and own a dog/cat that needs to be spayed or neutered but the cost of surgery is a financial hardship for you and your family, The Mass Animal Fund can provide free spay/neuter vouchers to low-income residents for their cats/dogs. If you are eligible to receive government help such as: (TAFDC, SSI, VS, SNAP, WIC, etc.) you can qualify. MA  residents who qualify can apply by contacting their local animal control officer. Contact information for municipal animal control officers is available here: ACO List. PLEASE NOTE: REQUESTS ARE MADE THROUGH YOUR LOCAL ACO, WE CAN NOT ACCEPT APPLICATIONS DIRECTLY FROM RESIDENTS. For questions you can contact our clinic at sterlingshelterclinic@gmail.com or 978-422-8449.  

Koi Fish Rescue & Adoption Services – Established May 2019 – With the completion of our BEAUTIFUL NEW pond we are now offering a new rescue and adoption program and this one ISN’T for the furry family members! – This program is for our finned friends “Koi Rescue & Adoption Services“. We understand that there are many reasons someone might not be able to care for their Koi fish. As with many animals we rescue and adopt out, there comes a time when the most humane thing to do is let them find a better home, a home that can better care for them, and a place of safety and health. Your finned friends will enjoy time in our 80×50 foot pond. Over 50,000 gallons with multiple hiding areas, different depths, various water features with lights, fountains and bubblers.  If you have Koi or fish that live in a pond and need to re-home them, contact us staff@sterlingshelter.org or call the shelter directly.

We're YOUR Local Animal Shelter... There's a place in your community where the hungry are fed, the homeless are sheltered, and the abandoned are given care. It’s your local animal shelter, right here in Sterling, MA. Where we provide comfort and care for our community's unwanted animals. We offer many other services too, for pets and their people. To do all this, we rely on the support of people like you. Here are a few ways you can help animals, especially those in our care...Give a little bit... Donate food or towels or old blankets and other needed supplies to us. Lend a hand and become a volunteer. Find that special someone here waiting for a home - ADOPT! Help spread the word about our program. Be a responsible pet owner. Vote for the animals. Support legislation that protects animals. Report animal cruelty. Teach your children respect for animals.