What is SSP? Saving Shelter Pets, Inc (SSP) is a nonprofit, volunteer-based organization dedicated to saving pets on death row and approaching the problem of pet overpopulation. For more information, please see our Mission Statement. Who is SSP? SSP is made up of a Board of Directors, several committees, and a small number of dedicated volunteers. Please see the "Who We Are" link on our website for more information. Is SSP a licensed rescue? No, we are not a licensed rescue group. We are an animal welfare organization that facilitates rescue efforts by working in conjunction with licensed rescues, veterinarians, boarding facilities, professional transporters, and no-kill shelters. Is SSP a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit? Yes, SSP is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We are also listed with GuideStar.org Where is SSP located? We do not have a physical location. We are an online-based organization with volunteers across the country. If you're saving animals from Georgia, why is your mailing address in Indiana? The president of the organization, Jamie Vijayaraghavan, lives in Indiana so that is where the PO box is located. Why is your organization incorporated in Indiana? The president of the organization, Jamie Vijayaraghavan, lives in Indiana so when this organization began, it was incorporated through the Indiana Secretary of State (on January 25, 2006). Why focus on animals in Georgia? Pet overpopulation in Georgia is a problem of epidemic proportions. Because of the enormous amount of homeless animals, many of them only have a few days to be adopted our rescued before they are euthanized. Many animals are not spayed or neutered, thus contributing to the ongoing problem of overpopulation. We would like to help the animals of Georgia through rescue efforts and spay/neuter programs. Eventually, SSP would like to expand into other regions as well – but for now, our resources are limited. How does SSP select which animals to rescue? The key to selecting which animals to save is knowing that they have somewhere to go. We cannot pull a dog or cat with no plan in place – we have to know that there is a rescue willing to take them in. We also need to have people on the ground who can do the legwork in pulling the dog or cat and taking it to the vet, boarding facility, etc for us. Where do you transport the cats and dogs that you save? All of our cats and dogs are transported to prescreened, no-kill rescues and shelters (mainly in the Northeast). We have a very thorough screening process to ensure that these animals are going to good rescues and will be adopted to wonderful forever homes. Each rescue we work with has to complete a detailed application form for us, including information about their adoption contract & process, their no-kill policy, their spay & neuter policy, and a list of several references (from vets, area rescues, shelters, etc). We have volunteers across the country who have also visited these rescues in person to verify.. We recheck each rescue's references and information routinely. Why does it cost so much to sponsor a dog? Our sponsorship fees vary depending on the dog and location, but it covers full vetting, temporary boarding, and transport to no-kill rescues in the Northeast. Vetting costs include DHLPP, rabies, bordatella, fecal exam, deworming, rabies vax, heartworm test, Frontline, a health certificate, and usually spay/neuter (see below for more info on s/n). We board our dogs for a week or two prior to transport so we can make sure they are healthy. If they are not fit to travel, then we seek additional treatment for them and board them until they are healthy (all this additional vetting & boarding is not covered by the sponsorships we request). $180-250 to "sponsor" a dog is really pretty cheap considering all the vetting & boarding costs involved. Why is the cost different for different dogs? Our costs vary for each dog depending on a number of things. Different vets and boarding facilities charge different amounts, so the cost varies slightly depending on which facilities we use for each rescue effort. Some dogs may have previously been spayed or neutered, so the sponsorship for that dog will be lower. Some dogs have been sponsored for a small amount directly through the shelter, so that money is transferred to us, and we will adjust the donations we're asking for accordingly. Families and/or litters of puppies are a bit more expensive to sponsor because we only have a few facilities willing to quarantine puppies (due to the risk of parvo). These facilities are quite pricey; therefore, we need to request a larger sponsorship amount in these cases. Why do you request sponsorship money upfront before pulling a dog? We collect donations prior to pulling a dog because we need to pay the dogs' vetting, boarding, and transport bills. If we do not have full sponsorship raised for the dogs before pulling them, then people tend to move onto the next "urgent" dog and we are stuck with $1,000s in bills that we cannot pay. Unfortunately, it takes money to save a dog, and we need to know we have it before we can commit. So the receiving rescues get free, fully vetted dogs which they then charge an adoption fee for? Although SSP pays for all expenses involved with vetting, boarding, and transporting the animals to safety, most rescues will reimburse us for a portion of the expense. However, no rescue will ever be denied dogs solely because they cannot reimburse anything since our mission is to send animals to safe havens. The "profit" these rescues receive from adoption fees enables them to care for even more animals. Sometimes the only way to get the bigger dogs placed is to send them at no cost. All rescues have their own "unplaceable" dogs they rescue from local shelters. What is your policy on spay and neuter? SSP strongly believes that spay & neuter is the solution to the pet overpopulation problem. For this reason, SSP has all animals spayed/neutered before they are transported to their rescues. However, if an animal is too young at the time of transport, the receiving rescue takes full responsibility to follow up on spay/neuter. NOTE: We only choose to work with receiving rescues who share our strong belief in the importance of spay/neuter. Do you adopt to private individuals? Since we are not a licensed rescue, we do not have the resources to thoroughly screen private adopters or do home checks, so we are not involved with adoptions whatsoever. We send all of our animals to no-kill rescues where they can properly screen potential forever homes. What other fundraising is done in addition to collecting donations? How is this money used? SSP works hard to find different fundraising avenues. We have participated in various festivals, affiliate programs such as Amazon & iGive, and other unique fund raisers such as calendar sales, book sales, and holiday fund raisers. The money raised through these avenues is divided among our Rescue & Transport program, Puppy Promises program, Bernies Buddies heartworm fund, Spay/Neuter program, and adminstration costs (such as web hosting, stamps, etc).