Farmingville, NY – Supervisor Mark Lesko and Councilwoman Jane Bonner have announced that the Help the Animals Fund, the Town’s independent 501 (c)(3) charitable organization, has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the PETCO Foundation to spay and neuter feral cats and provide services for a Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) program.

“I thank the PETCO Foundation for this generous grant so we can continue to humanely control the population of feral cats in the Town,” said Supervisor Mark Lesko, “Dori Scofield and the staff at the Animal Shelter do a great job by educating residents and generating awareness about the importance of spaying and neutering and this grant will help them take care of many more animals.”

Councilwoman Jane Bonner, who serves as Town Council Liaison to the Animal Shelter said, “When I set up the Help the Animals Fund, we anticipated that public/private partnerships would provide a large part of the funding. I would like to thank Animal Shelter Director Dori Scofield for her efforts in writing the grant application.”

Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) is a humane method of trapping feral animal (mainly cats) using humane traps, then neutering them, and releasing them back to the same environment. In many cases, the animals are also screened and vaccinated for diseases like rabies. The animals are then marked to identify them as spayed or neutered. TNR is considered a humane form of animal control and has been found to be effective in reducing feral cat populations.

The Brookhaven Town Animal Shelter has been very progressive in launching programs to increase adoption rates and pet retention and get animals spayed and neutered, especially focusing on the large population of Pit Bulls and Pit Mixes at the Animal Shelter.

The Help the Animals Fund is an affiliate of the Town of Brookhaven Animal Shelter and Adoption Center. Their mission is to prevent cruelty to animals and to provide sick, neglected and injured stray animals at the Brookhaven Animal Shelter the much needed and deserved medical care that they would otherwise not receive. This fund is supported 100% by voluntary donations, which are tax deductible.

The Animal Shelter is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Sunday from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. It is located at 300 Horseblock Road in Brookhaven, New York, 11719. For more information, call the Brookhaven Animal Shelter and Adoption Center at 631-286-4940 or visit www.brookhaven.org/animalshelter.

Division of Public Information * Office of the Supervisor
One Independence Hill • Farmingville • NY 11738 • Phone (631) 451-6595 • Fax (631) 451-6258