Sarah Swanty initially started the Fort Collins Cat Rescue Spay Neuter Clinic back in 2006 with her friend in a strip mall off Mulberry Street. Eventually the co-founder of Animal House, Ali Eccelston, reached out to Swanty because she was thinking of leaving the organization. This happened in 2018 and the two thought they would better serve the community by combining the shelters into one. Swanty said this process of working to merge the separate organizations took about 18 months. In 2020 they became Animal Friends Alliance.
“By pooling our resources and coming together we would be able to help more animals,” says Swanty.
Joining the two under one name is only one piece of the many pawed puzzle that is Animal Friends Alliance. Currently there are two active campuses in Fort Collins, one on Mulberry Street and the other one on Taft Hill Avenue, which can be confusing because they both operate as shelters - Mulberry being for cats and Taft Hill for dogs. The plan to consolidate both facilities under a single roof inspired the name for their current fundraising campaign, “Bringing Paws Together.” Construction is underway to expand the Taft Hill facility to house both frisky felines and cunning canines, which will help make the organization more efficient, says Swanty. She is amazed at all the good they accomplished working out of a strip mall built in the 1970s. That good is measured by more than 2600 cats and kittens finding their forever homes through a space that would otherwise house a nail salon or an independent accountant.
“When we have a facility that was built for the sole purpose of putting animals into loving homes - it’s awesome to think what we can do in that scenario,” Swanty says of the possibilities the new building will hold.
They didn’t expect the merger to begin so soon but it seems an angel-hearted and anonymous donor gave them motivation to start by offering a $600,000 donation. The goal to finish construction was Spring of 2022 but there were some unforeseen delays. They’ve had to expand the septic system, add a fire access road, a sprinkler system, and expand the retention pond. However, Swanty mentioned that this stoppage is actually a blessing in disguise,”we’ve had more time to fundraise.” The initial cost of the project was $2 million but the goal post moved to $2.8 million. Although they have exceeded the initial goal, this extra year’s worth of time will help them reach the new one.
As the sheltering operations move to the Taft Hill campus, their Mulberry location will continue to operate by housing their community pet programs. These programs are designed to help people keep their pets. Programs like the pet food pantry give support to people who need it, offering a three month supply of food to community members and if they need more after that period they have to show proof of need such as being on Medicaid or WIC. Animal Friends Alliance also has a veterinary clinic, offering low-cost care to those who need help.
The community cat program, which is also run out of the Mulberry facility, helps to serve the population of stray and feral cats. Swanty says this usually starts with someone feeding a stray cat that wanders into their neighborhood. Before long, there are too many to handle. This is where Animal Friends Alliance steps in. Someone is sent out to assess the situation then humane traps are set to catch the felines. Adult cats are spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and provided any necessary veterinary care. The unsocialized adults are usually put back where they were found as long as someone is there to feed them. The kittens and the friendly adults are put into the foster program so that they can find a loving home.
Just last year Swanty said they helped over one thousand community cats, “its one of the many programs we’ve added over the years as we try to not treat the symptoms of the animal welfare issue in our nation but actually get to the roots of the problem.”
Another initiative that serves the community cats is the Working Cat Program. Sometimes someone takes care of a colony of cats for a long time, but when they pass away what happens to the animals? Since most of these cats are not social and cannot be adopted into the life of a family pet they have the opportunity to earn their keep as a working cat! This usually means working in a barn, garden centers, workshops, or warehouses to help control rodent populations that may be detrimental to the business. This is not only beneficial to the cats but also avoids the use of harmful chemicals that can be toxic to children and other pets.
Swanty says as the community cat programs continue to be successful bringing in kittens and friendly adult cats the need for more shelter space will increase, “this [building] will give us more space to comfortably house cats and increase the number of animals that we can save.”
To help save those animals the organization needs support from the community. Not only through financial means but through volunteering, fostering, in kind donations, and being included in events like the non-profit night at Pour Brothers Tavern, or by simply spreading the word about them, “we don’t exist without the community’s support - period.” The new building is slated to open its doors by the end of October or early in November, so there is still time for the community to show their support.
If you would like to find out more about Animal Friends Alliance you can visit their website at www.savinganimalstoday.org