“PETS IN NEED” PROGRAM TARGETS CINCINNATI’S NEEDIEST

Joint UCAN, Freestore Foodbank  program receives $30,000 grant

CINCINNATI, OHIO, January 14, 2010 – Funding for an innovative new program to benefit Cincinnati’s neediest pets was announced jointly today by the United Coalition for Animals (UCAN) and the Freestore Foodbank.  

Called “Pets In Need,” the program will target the most under-served areas of Greater Cincinnati, providing basic veterinary care for hundreds of dogs and cats whose owners otherwise cannot afford it.  Pets In Need is being funded initially through a $30,000 grant to UCAN from the Kenneth A. Scott Charitable Trust, a Key Bank Trust. 

“Now, more than ever, there is a need to help the pets of those who can barely afford to help themselves and their families,” said Dr. Zeke Zekoff, a local veterinarian in private practice who will serve as medical director of the program. A long-time advocate of veterinarians doing more to benefit the needy, Zekoff was the founder of the Freestore  Foodbank’s Pet Health Day program in 2002. That program, which offered two clinics a year to residents of Over-the-Rhine and surrounding neighborhoods, was discontinued when the Freestore reorganized its available space last year. 

Under the Pets In Need program, wellness care will be provided year-round for the pets of clients who are pre-qualified by the Freestore Foodbank based on income. Clients will be given vouchers enabling them to bring their pets to wellness clinics regularly held at the UCAN Nonprofit Spay Neuter Clinic, 1230 West 8^th Street in Queensgate. There, pets will be examined by veterinarians, given needed vaccinations and other basic preventative veterinary care - many for the first time in their lives.  The program also includes a Continued Care Fund to be used to refer pets requiring more extensive care to local veterinarians who register to accept referrals through the Pets In Need program.                                                                       

“Nothing like this has ever been done before in our community, “ said Ann R. Hill, UCAN executive director, “but with Pets In Need, the stars have aligned to unite three major partners and a generous funder, allowing Cincinnati to pioneer in helping companion animals who need care the most.” 

Hill said UCAN plans to hold about 20 clinics in the first year of the Pets In Need program, and in coming years hopes to expand the program to involve other social-welfare agencies in the Greater Cincinnati area.

 “Beyond providing basic veterinary services to those in need, this program gives us the opportunity to educate people about pet health care, nutrition and the benefits of spaying and neutering their pets, so the long-term benefits of Pets In Need could be huge,” Zekoff said. “I am delighted to partner with UCAN and the Freestore Foodbank in launching this important initiative.” 

UCAN, established in 2001 with the objective of reducing pet over-population, opened the region’s only non-profit spay/neuter clinic for cats and dogs in April 2007. Since then more than 21,000 animals have been fixed by UCAN’s staff of professional veterinarians, and UCAN has established working partnerships with more than 60 animal shelters, rescue groups and others in 32 counties of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.

For additional information on UCAN, visit www.ucancincinnati.org.