FFOCAS Animal Shelter Fund
Frederick County Animal Control & Pet Adoption Center (FCAC) will be undergoing a major renovation and expansion beginning in 2023. We established our Animal Shelter Fund, managed by The Community Foundation of Frederick County, to ensure that the renovated shelter is the best it can be, maximizing lifesaving by reducing stress and disease transmission and making the shelter a hub for pet parents in the community. Donations made to this fund will be used only for the new shelter, not for our other programs. Donate specifically for the new shelter here!
Brooke’s Medical Assistance Program
Through Brooke’s Medical Assistance Program, we provide financial assistance to help FCAC treat animals who arrive at the shelter ill or injured. Shelter animals need everything from dental extractions to emergency abdominal surgery. Medical procedures like these and many others save lives, reduce pain and discomfort, and reduce initial veterinary expenses for adopters. This program has a special focus on senior pets, with our work aided by generous grants we have received from the Grey Muzzle Organization and Doris Day Animal Foundation
Project Hope
Project Hope aims to help struggling pet owners, including those who are considering giving up their pets. We help pet owners navigate local resources that may enable them to resolve problems and keep their pets or rehome their pets safely with expert help. When those options don’t work, we help pet owners decide whether surrendering a pet to the shelter is the best or only option. For more information on Project Hope, click here.
Cats with Character
FFOCAS collaborates with FCAC and the volunteer-run Barn Cat Buddies program to help kittens and cats at FCAC who need medical or behavioral TLC that cannot be properly addressed at the shelter. We place the cats and kittens in foster homes, with medical care provided by our veterinary partners. Once ready, we place the kitties for adoption or transfer them to another local rescue organization. Our Cats with Character include seniors and special needs kitties as well as those who just needed a soft place to land while “between homes.”
If you would like to learn about our cats available for adoption, click here.
Additional Programs
In addition to our four main programs, we help FCAC by covering the following costs:
When requested by FCAC, we purchase supplies for the shelter that are not covered by the county budget. These supplies include primarily those that provide enrichment or comfort for shelter residents, such as scratch pads for cats and Kuranda beds for dogs.
Occasionally, FCAC asks us to cover the cost of a session with a trainer or behavior consultant in hopes of helping a shelter pet who is struggling with the stressful shelter environment.
Some shelter pets would make lovely family pets but are not able to remain in the shelter until their adoption, typically because they require medical or behavioral TLC that the shelter cannot provide. To facilitate placement with a rescue organization, FFOCAS often covers certain costs, such as the “pull fee” (the fee the shelter is required to charge rescues to recoup the costs of vet care received at the shelter) or a portion of the cost of specialized veterinary care or reward-based training/behavior modification.
