Courtesy photo

FOSCA News:

The central mission of Friends of Shelter and Companion Animals (FOSCA) —reducing the population of homeless companion animals — is not limited to just Los Alamos. In fact, FOSCA provides support for a number of spay/neuter initiatives throughout New Mexico.

For example, FOSCA provides spay/neuter grants to nearby partner rescue organizations such as Felines and Friends and Dew Paws. It also supports two Pueblo Outreach programs that facilitate spay/neuter services in north central New Mexico Pueblos. Additionally, FOSCA has, for many years, supported a spay/neuter initiative on the Navajo Reservation organized by McKinley County Rescue.

FOSCA is committed to keeping companion animals and their people together. It  provides a medical assistance grant to the Street Homeless Animal Project (SHAP) in Santa Fe, a hands-on effort to ensure that these pets are healthy, fed, vaccinated, and able to stay with their person. Often these pets are the only faithful companion their homeless owner has to offer friendship and comfort in their life.

FOSCA has even, in the past, partnered with a veterinarian in the Four Corners area to provide heartworm testing and prevention, ensuring a better chance at good health for a canine companion living in an area of high risk for this disease.

FOSCA also provides an operational grant to Dogbreath Express, a rescue organization that transports shelter dogs at high risk for euthanasia due to overcrowding to rescue partners in nearby states like Colorado that have a high demand for adoptable dogs. Because partners are carefully selected based on their passion, fiscal responsibility, and demonstrated success in rescuing companion animals, the return on the investment is very high. Partners are invaluable to the communities they serve. We are proud to be able to assist them.

In order to maintain our financial support of these efforts, FOSCA relies on the generosity of the Los Alamos community. To help, visit www.lafos.org, or Like FOSCA on Facebook. Those wishing to donate can use PayPal or send a check to Friends of the Shelter, PO Box 455, Los Alamos, NM, 87544. The public also can designate Los Alamos Friends of the Shelter as their charity of choice at Smith’s Community Rewards Program or through Amazon Smile. LANL employees may choose to designate donations to FOSCA in the LANL Employee Giving Campaign.