Sacramento Area Animal Coalition (SAAC)

BUILDING A "NO-KILL" REGION: A TOWN HALL MEETING WITH RICHARD AVANZINO

June 9, 1999 -- Sacramento Area Animal Coalition (SAAC), a newly-formed animal welfare association is sponsoring a Town Hall Meeting on Thursday, June 17, 1999 at 7:00P.M. at Sacramento's City Hall in the City Council Chambers, located on the 2nd Floor of 915 I Street. This meeting is SAAC's first big effort to focus the community on its goal of revolutionizing the status and well-being of companion animals in the Sacramento region. With an ambitious goal of making Sacramento a "no-kill" city by the year 2005, we're inviting all interested parties to attend. For more information, visit our web site at www.sacanimal.org or call the contact shown above.

What does "no-kill" mean? Why do we want to create a "no-kill" region in Sacramento? How can we accomplish this goal? Where will get the money to do it? These are some of the questions we will be asking Richard Avanzino, visionary and former leader of the San Francisco SPCA. He is the architect of the world's first "no-kill" city, San Francisco, and is now trying to extend his mission to the rest of the country.

Known as a brash pioneer among animal protectors, Avanzino is launching his most ambitious project ever: to make every shelter in the country "no-kill" within 10 years. To fund this vision, he was given $200 million from the owners of PeopleSoft, a $5.5 billion Silicon Valley software firm, to establish "Maddie's Fund," a new grant-making foundation.

In the Sacramento region, shelters are killing between 30,000 and 40,000 dogs and cats per year, and although all of these are not adoptable companion animals, most of them are. SAAC members are looking for ways to change the mindset of our community and to find innovative ways to save as many of these adoptable animals as possible. With the help and direction of Rich Avanzino and Maddie's Fund, becoming a "no-kill" community "is not only doable, it's not even hard," according to Avanzino.

SAAC will work to help our community meet the goals of Maddie's Fund, which include:

finding suitable homes for every one of Sacramento's adoptable dogs and cats;
spaying and neutering 10 animals for every one adopted; and
educating pet owners and children about the joys of pet companionship and pet care, and the importance of taking steps to avoid dog and cat overpopulation.

We encourage and invite all media participation. Please call for more information or visit our website, www.sacanimal.org.

###