ACPR in danger of going under

OTHELLO — Adams County Pet Rescue is in danger of having to close its doors. Shelter staff said the agency’s expenses are increasing and outpacing their revenue by a significant amount, and they are calling for donations to help make up the difference.

“Just to finish the year … we need $200,000 to cover payroll and everything and we have 120-plus dogs,” ACPR Director Kyya Grant said. “Right now, we figure that's like $1,100 a year per dog, and we have dogs here from last fall that are still here.”

Grant said Adams County is increasing its contribution to the ACPR by $10,000 to $60,000 a year, but it won’t make much of a dent in operating costs.

“That's only, you know, two and a half pay periods,” Grant said.

ACPR’s main source of income is from adoptions and donations, Grant said. With adoptions down and inflation increasing costs, it puts the shelter in a difficult financial position.

“We're down adoptions quite a bit, by almost 100, about 110 or so, compared to last year, which is about $33,000, which is substantial,” Grant said. “Costs of everything are going up, and dog food costs. We try to get a lot donated overall.”

ACPR also contracts with the city of Othello to provide animal control services. Data from ACPR indicates the agency’s contracts with government agencies total about $113,000. Grant said ACPR is currently renegotiating the contract with the city, which may provide some additional revenue but certainly wouldn’t be enough to cover their expenses.

Grant said that the ACPR has tried without any luck to find additional funding avenues.

“We've looked at grants. We don't qualify for any. Usually, either our adoption rate is too big or we're not big enough,” Grant said. “We’re just in a category where it's very hard. We can get some money for spay and neuters, that kind of thing, but for operating expenses we haven't found any grants yet.”

Even if ACPR can continue operating through 2023, Grant said it will likely be in the same position next year and staff has been primarily focused on the short term. The $200,000 it’s looking to raise right now would only cover basic necessities to keep the doors open, not long-term updates to the facility.

“I don't see the economy changing, and that's the whole problem,” Grant said. “And it's not just our shelter. Grant County (Animal Outreach) is having problems, Tri-Cities (Animal Shelter), I mean, everybody.”

The issue is a regional concern.

“There are a lot of places in Eastern Washington that are having the same issue,” said ACPR Manager Anita Plancarte.

Grant said she doesn’t see the amount of animals coming into the shelter lessening any time soon. She also said about 95% of ACPR’s intake is from picking up strays, not surrenders.

“A lot of it is that with the dogs that we get in, they belong to someone,” Plancarte said. “But those people don't want to come look for them or they know that they're here but they don't want to pay to get them out, or they're just replaceable to them.”

Plancarte said even the more expensive dog breeds are often left in the shelter without anyone searching for them.

To combat its expenses, ACPR raised its adoption prices in 2023 to $375 for puppies and $325 for adult dogs.

“People think that’s a lot, but if you think about it, with the puppies you're getting a pup that at least has two vaccines already for the parvo, right, and it's already fixed, microchipped … so you're saving a bunch.”

Spaying a dog can cost anywhere from $250-$600, according to "Forbes Advisor." Neutering a dog runs from $200-$500. Both services may be available at discounts through various aid programs.

As with most nonprofits, Grant said ACPR needs volunteers, but the agency has several problems with bringing volunteers on board despite being understaffed. Staff have to worry about the potential of a volunteer bringing in parvo after nearly having to shut their doors earlier in the year during an outbreak at the shelter.

Additionally, ACPR Board member Tammy Foley said they often have people come in to volunteer. However, staff can’t spare the time to provide any sort of orientation to the operation.

“Actually what the shelter needs is a volunteer coordinator…we would like at some point to have a position like that,” said Foley. “We would also like to have the orientation for fosters because that would help a lot, to have more people who could be fosters.”

Foley said some of the education programs the ACPR works on are time-consuming for staff and volunteers.

“At the moment we're really busy…because of the animal abuse accident incidences that we've had and were going to the elementary school and we’re talking to the kids about the compassionate care of animals,” Foley said.

Despite the time commitment, Foley said the program has shown results.

“We've talked a lot about what do you do if you see another child or group of children mistreating an animal, and in every classroom without fail, the kids have said, ‘If I was there that wouldn't have happened, we would have stopped them.’”

Foley said the education programs have also informed children and parents of vaccination clinics hosted by the ACPR.

“If we could just encourage more people to spay and neuter,” Grant said. “That's been the age-old answer to the whole scheme of things, spay and neuter.”

ACPR’s GoFundMe has raised about $16,000 as of Tuesday.

Gabriel Davis may be reached at gdavis@columbiabasinherald.com. Download the Columbia Basin Herald app on iOS and Android.

Want to help ACPR?

Adams County Pet Rescue has the donation portals set up to enable the community to lend a hand:

GoFundMe: gofund.me/b6b63dfe

PayPal: bit.ly/ACPRPayPal

Venmo: @AdamsCountyPetRescue