San Diego, October 30, 2018 – SNAP announced today that a $5,000 grant has been received from Maddie’s Fund®, a national family foundation established by Dave and Cheryl Duffield to revolutionize the status and well-being of companion animals. The funding will increase spay/neuter clinics under TRIBAL-SNAP, a program implemented in 2017 to decrease the birth-rate of wild dogs common to Native-American reservations. Procedures are performed on location inside SNAPs Neuter Scooter surgical bus by a credentialed veterinary team.

SNAP became aware of the problem after several members from local tribes reached out for help, and the County of San Diego Department of Animal Services shared that a tribal member was trapping stray dogs to get them fixed.  This prompted an urgent call to the Native-America Humane Society who brought in the Indian Health Council; facilitating a collaboration between the three organizations.

TRIBAL-SNAP has been met with great enthusiasm by the tribal community, who had nowhere else to turn to help the undomesticated strays struggling to survive or receive pet care for their own animals, to prevent, or stop, further contribution to the wild dog population.  A few tribal members have even become partners by encouraging others on the reservation to spay and neuter or catching strays with whatever means possible. As an example, a member of the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians had tried unsuccessfully to catch a female dog who stayed by her property because she was getting fed. The dog already had two litters and she was determined to prevent a third by withholding food the night before a clinic.  She succeeded by wrapping a pair of pajama bottoms around the dog while she was distracted by the food set out that morning. The dog was finally spayed that day and still lives nearby, but without the burden of babies.

SNAP also serves the Los Coyotes Band of Mission Indians San Diego County, Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians, Pala Band of Mission Indians, Pauma Band of Mission Indians, Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians, San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, and Santa Ysabel Band of Diegueño Mission Indians.  Clinics are held quarterly on a rotational basis, and #ThanksToMaddie, more clinics can be scheduled. “SNAP would like to publicly thank Maddie’s Fund for recognizing the value of this partnership and how it is humanely reducing the number of wild dogs in these communities,” said Dorell Sackett, SNAP Executive Director.