My name is Vera Lauren and I volunteer for SSNAAPE. I sharing my experience to enlighten folks of something even I was unaware of. Today, my husband, Walt and I,  took another feral cat to be neutered. That makes 9 cats over a two year period. In an effort to keep our community from being overrun by feral cats, I continue to trap and neuter and I thank you in advance if you are doing the same in your neighborhood. If you hate cats, all the more reason to do your share. If no one did this we would soon be overrun by millions of cats. For example, if a cat has two litters per year, that one cat and its offspring will produce more than 11 million cats in nine years.  (If you missed my post on how quickly unneutered cats multiple, for your convenience, I pasted it toward the end of this post.) Today, we took another feral cat to be neutered. That makes 7 cats over a two year period. As you ,can imagine, this is getting expensive. And placing these strays has been difficult, for some reason, even though every one of them has turned out to be very sweet. After calling a local sanctuary who was overwhelmed and other rescues, thank God, I discovered the Fallbrook rescue organization, SSNAAPE, who has since paid all the medical expenses for many of these cats. A huge thank you to SSNAAPE; especially to founder Mary Ann Bouse, and Marlene Ballinger. If ever you are considering a charitable donation, please remember SSNAAPE. This organization has not only helped our community, I am also touched by the many other tasks SSNAAPE does on behalf of animals and people. For example, too often the elderly can no longer afford to feed their beloved pets or care for them properly. SSNAAPE will buy the food and help in every way they can and even go beyond what one would expect. I know this first hand because SSNAAPE is one of the rescue organizations I volunteer for. I will share a situation that occurred several months ago that exemplifies SSNAAPEâs commitment level. Another volunteer and I were going on a routine call to pick up and then deliver 3 dogs to a groomer. When we arrived, things were worse than described. The rather large dogs were frightened and the elderly woman was unable to wrangle her pets. All the dogs stunk, were matted, and badly in need of care. Quickly, we determined it would be better to bathe and groom the dogs ourselves; especially since we both have training. Also, the yard was a health hazard to the elderly woman and the dogs because it was full of feces, which we cleaned. By the time we left, the freshly bathed dogs were running around in a poop free yard and seemed happy. SSNAAPE continues to check on this situation and we also left the owner with contacts for support and practical suggestions for upkeep. Please check out SSNAAPEâs website to see more of what these incredible folks do.  www.ssnaape.org. SSNAAPE is an acronym for: Senior Special Needs Animal Assistance Project Endeavor. (760) 728-0249 and (760) 451-8961. Donations can be made through PayPal or mail to: SSNAAPE, PO Box 1317, Fallbrook, CA 92088 Background: SSNAAPE was founded in Fallbrook and is active here, and in surrounding San Diego communities. In September 2006, Mary Ann Bouse founded SSNAAPE after much support and encouragement from friends and family. (Previous to this Mary Ann relied solely on her own resources to have pets and strays spayed and neutered as well as providing necessary medical help.) With the support of her friends, annual yard sales and donations enabled the organization to help those in need. The word of SSNAAPEâs assistance to pet guardians was slowly being circulated. In March 2011, a yard sale was held raising enough funds to bring a Spay and Neuter mobile clinic to our area. The clinic, held on April 30, 2011, benefited 32 animals –cats and dogs. (Since, SSNAAPE has helped hundreds of animals.) It was at that time Marlene Ballinger joined the organization and has since promoted SSNAAPE throughout Fallbrook and surrounding communities. Marlene has increased our efforts by bringing in new members and sparking community interest. As well as being a life-long animal rescuer, Marlene brings expertise from her years in Costa Rica where she organized a spay/neuter clinic.
The following stats are from the Humane Society:
Statistics on how quickly unneutered animals multiple For example, if a cat has two litters per year, that one cat and its offspring will produce more than 11 million cats in nine years. Two litters per year, with 2.8 surviving kittens per litter,can total: Â 1 year, 1 cat:———12 2 years:—————-67 3 years:—————-376 4 years:—————-2,107 5 years:—————-11,801 6 years:—————-66,088 7 years:—————-370,092 8 years:—————-2,072,514 9 years:—————-11,606,077 More than 11 million cats ! Â Given these statistics, the only way to break this chain is by altering our animals. But if thatâs not reason enough, there are many reasons why spaying and neutering is a good idea. Go to http://www.hsus.org. for more information. Â Many people know to avoid puppy mills and âbackyardâ breeders. But many kind individuals fall prey to the picket-fence appeal of so-called âresponsibleâ breeders and fail to recognize that no matter how kindly a breeder treats his or her animals, as long as dogs and cats are dying in animal shelters and pounds because of a lack of homes, no breeding can be considered âresponsible.â All breeders fuel the animal overpopulation crisis, and every time someone purchases a puppy or a kitten instead of adopting from an animal shelter, homeless animals lose their chance of finding a homeâand will be euthanized. Many breeders donât require every puppy or kitten to be spayed or neutered prior to purchase, so the animals they sell can soon have litters of their own, creating even more animals to fill homes that could have gone to animals from sheltersâor who will end up in animal shelters or so-called âno-killâ animal warehouses themselves. Simply put, for every puppy or kitten who is deliberately produced by any breeder, an animal in an animal shelter dies. Producing animals for sale is a greedy and callous business in a world in which there is a critical and chronic shortage of good homes for dogs, cats, and other animals, and the only âresponsible breedersâ are those who, upon learning about how they contribute to the overpopulation crisis, spay or neuter their animals and get out of the business altogether. Breeding Trouble Producing more animalsâeither to make money or to obtain a certain âlookâ or characteristicâis also harmful to the animals who are produced by breeding. Dogs and cats donât care whether their physical appearance conforms to a judgeâs standards, yet they are the ones who suffer the consequences of humansâ manipulation. Inbreeding causes painful and life-threatening genetic defects in âpurebredâ dogs and cats, including crippling hip dysplasia, blindness, deafness, heart defects, skin problems, and epilepsy. Distorting animals for specific physical features also causes severe health problems. The short, pushed-up noses of bulldogs and pugs, for example, can make exercise and even normal breathing difficult for these animals. Dachshundsâ long spinal columns often cause back problems, including disc disease. Adoption: The Only Compassionate Option There is no excuse for breeding animals or for supporting breeders. If you love animals and are ready to care for a cat or a dog for the rest of the animalâs life, please adopt from your local animal shelter, where there are dogs and cats galoreâtails wagging and hearts filled with hope, looking out through the cage bars, just waiting to find someone to love. Shelters receive new animals every day, so if you donât find the perfect companion to match your lifestyle on your first visit, keep checking back. When you find your new animal companion, youâll be glad that you chose to save a lifeâand made a new best friend as well. If you know anyone who is considering purchasing an animal instead of adopting from an animal shelter, please share this article with them, and please consider making a donation today to support PETAâs vital work to save lives. Â Almost all of us grew up eating meat, wearing leather, and going to circuses and zoos. Many of us bought our beloved âpetsâ at pet shops, had guinea pigs, and kept beautiful birds in cages. We wore wool and silk, ate McDonaldâs burgers, and fished. We never considered the impact of these actions on the animals involved. For whatever reason, you are now asking the question: Why should animals have rights? In his book Animal Liberation, Peter Singer states that the basic principle of equality does not require equal or identical treatment; it requires equal consideration. This is an important distinction when talking about animal rights. People often ask if animals should have rights, and quite simply, the answer is âYes!â Animals surely deserve to live their lives free from suffering and exploitation. Jeremy Bentham, the founder of the reforming utilitarian school of moral philosophy, stated that when deciding on a beingâs rights, âThe question is not âCan they reason?â nor âCan they talk?â but âCan they suffer?ââ In that passage, Bentham points to the capacity for suffering as the vital characteristic that gives a being the right to equal consideration. The capacity for suffering is not just another characteristic like the capacity for language or higher mathematics. All animals have the ability to suffer in the same way and to the same degree that humans do. They feel pain, pleasure, fear, frustration, loneliness, and motherly love. Whenever we consider doing something that would interfere with their needs, we are morally obligated to take them into account. Supporters of animal rights believe that animals have an inherent worthâa value completely separate from their usefulness to humans. We believe that every creature with a will to live has a right to live free from pain and suffering. Animal rights is not just a philosophyâit is a social movement that challenges societyâs traditional view that all nonhuman animals exist solely for human use. As PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk has said, âWhen it comes to pain, love, joy, loneliness, and fear, a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy. Each one values his or her life and fights the knife.â Only prejudice allows us to deny others the rights that we expect to have for ourselves. Whether itâs based on race, gender, sexual orientation, or species, prejudice is morally unacceptable. If you wouldnât eat a dog, why eat a pig? Dogs and pigs have the same capacity to feel pain, but it is prejudice based on species that allows us to think of one animal as a companion and the other as dinner.