Macomb County Animal Control Gets Grant For Medical Treatment

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, MI — The Macomb County Animal Control has received $5,360 through the Animal Welfare Fund. Chief Animal Control Officer Jeff Randazzo said the money will be used for medical purposes for the animals and training for the cruelty investigators training for the officers. The Macomb County Animal Control currently looks after 87 animals; 61 dogs and 24 cats, many of which are up for adoption.

The grant money comes from the Animal Industry Division of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, which distributes thousands of donated dollars to animal shelters in Michigan. Since 2010, the Animal Welfare Fund, provided for by tax check-off monies from Michigan taxpayers, has distributed more than $1,092,000 to 152 facilities, according to a press release from MDARD. The funds go directly to registered shelters to increase the number of adoptions through spay and neuter programs, improve staff knowledge of proper animal care through educational programs and training, and assist shelters with unreimbursed costs of care for animals housed for legal investigations.

“Thanks to the generous support of Michiganders, local shelters across Michigan have more opportunities to make a positive impact in their community,” state veterinarian James Averill, said in the announcement. “For example, one shelter used these funds to decrease euthanasia rates from 80 percent to zero by increasing animal adoptability by having them sterilized, which also decreased the numbers of unwanted litters in the community.”

This year, MDARD received 46 applications totaling more than $372,500 in requests. The Clinton Township-based shelter was one of 21 shelters throughout the state to received nearly $125,000 in funding:

• Alcona Humane Society: $1,127
• Alpena County Animal Control: $10,000
• Arenac County Animal Control: $6,900
• Calhoun County Animal Shelter: $10,000
• Cheboygan County Humane Society: $9,990
• Clare County Animal Shelter: $9,885
• Genesee County Animal Control: $10,000
• Gratiot County Animal Shelter: $1,500
• Hazel Park Animal Control: $5,000
• Humane Society of Genesee County: $4,952
• Ingham County Animal Control: $5,000
• Livingston County Animal Control: $2,791
• Mackinac County Animal Shelter: $4,000
• Macomb County Animal Control: $5,360
• Newaygo County Animal Shelter: $720
• Roscommon County Animal Control Shelter: $8,000
• Sanilac County Animal Control Shelter: $310
• Sanilac County Humane Society, Inc.: $9,000
• Taylor Animal Shelter: $464
• Upper Peninsula Animal Welfare Shelter, Inc.: $10,000
• Van Buren County Animal Control: $10,000

For more information on the animal shelter program or how to apply for a grant, visit http://www.michigan.gov/animalshelters.

Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images