28/09/2024
It is with a heavy heart that SCAWC announces the temporary hold on our Paws from Paradise program. This program has saved 230 shelter pets this year by flying them off St. Croix and on to our non-kill partner shelters in the states. Not only did the Paws from Paradise program save the lives of 230 animals, it created the much-needed space to house the next 230 unwanted and abandoned pets, who came through our shelter doors.
This unfunded program costs SCAWC between $5,000 - $10,000 each month, which the St. Croix Animal Welfare Center can no longer afford. Each month, we have been stretched to the limit in attempt to pay for medical supplies, food, housing, WAPA, staff, and other basic survival costs. In such a tight economy, we have been unable to raise enough money to maintain both the Paws from Paradise program, and to keep our shelter and low-cost clinic doors open. We can still help send shelter pets on commercial flights with volunteer pet escorts, but we need help to cover those carry-on fees.
Why was this program so important? There simply aren't enough homes on St. Croix for all of the pets in need. Many people in our community rent their homes and it is rare to find a landlord that allows pets. This roadblock makes the challenge of finding local adopters even more difficult. In order to save more lives, we need to fly shelter pets off of St. Croix, to a larger population of potential state-side adopters.
Without this program, our shelter may find itself in a desperate situation, forcing a choice between inhumane hording animals or euthanizing adoptable animals to create space. Our entire team mourns the loss of this program. We all saw it as a bright ray of hope. Whenever our shelter was filled to capacity, we knew the next Paws from Paradise cargo flight would provide a little breathing room.
It is our full intention to bring this program back as soon as we can finically cover the costs. We will continue to aggressively fundraise for the Paws from Paradise program, because we truly believe in the importance of this program. Please, help us. You can make a donation to specifically fund Paws from Paradise by selecting it as an option in the drop-down menu on our donate page, or donate towards general operation which helps cover the day-to-day needs of housing, feeding, and providing medical care to all the animals that stream through our doors every day. You can make your tax-deductible donation on our website here: stcroixawc.org/donate.
