Ohio Animal Companion


 

About

Who we are

Ohio Animal Companion was formed in 2010 with the mission to reduce the number of homeless pets in the state of Ohio and foster appreciation for all animals by educating the public on lifelong responsible pet ownership, promoting the efforts of area rescues and shelters, and encouraging humane interaction with wildlife.

What we do

According to the Humane Society of the United States, animal shelters in the United States care for an estimated 6-8 million dogs and cats every year. Of those animals, approximately 3-4 million are euthanized. Unfortunately, there is no universally adopted standard for tracking shelter statistics at this time. We can only assume that the situation for dogs and cats in Ohio mirrors that of the nation.

Not all of these animals are homeless to begin with. Many are owner surrenders--animals that had homes, but are being given up for a variety of reasons--or owned pets picked up by animal control without proper identification. By focusing on public outreach and education, our goal is to keep these animals out of the shelters and in their homes for life.

Many times people take their pets to the shelter as a last resort due to a behavior problem with the animal or life change with the human. Our goal is to provide pet owners with the resources and information they need--information on low cost spaying/neutering or other direct assistance programs for those unexpected tough financial times, information on how to handle common behavior problems, information on how to have proper ID on their pets so if they get lost and picked up by animal control they are more likely to find their way back home. In some cases, even just basic information on how to care for their pets, or whether even having a pet is the right decision for them at this point in their lives. We want people to have realistic expectations about owning a pet so that they can make a lifelong commitment to that animal.

The other side of the story is the low adoption rates from rescues and shelters. According to the ASPCA, only about 10 to 20 percent of cats and dogs are adopted from shelters. The majority of pets are obtained from acquaintances and family members. We want to change that number by promoting the adoption of animals from rescues and shelters and debunking common myths about shelter pets (that they have a lot of "baggage" and behavior issues, they cost more, they are not well, etc.) and by providing a showcase of area adoptable animals.

How we do it

We believe a key focus is to provide the information in a positive and upbeat way through a variety of channels. We are currently building up the information on our website and have a social media presence through Facebook and Twitter. We produce a monthly electronic newsletter and are planning a quarterly print publication as well. We will have a presence at area community and animal-related events. We recognize that finger-pointing and making people feel "bad" about their relationship with animals will not have the intended effect. Because of this, we want our information to be fun and entertaining as well as informative.

We also believe that collaboration is paramount to our success. We will not solve this problem unless we join forces with other like-minded individuals and organizations. We are already partnering with area rescues and shelters to showcase their adoptable animals and events and with area businesses that want to make a difference. We invite you to join us as well.

Mission: The mission of Ohio Animal Companion is to reduce the number of homeless pets in the state of Ohio and foster appreciation for all animals by educating the public on lifelong responsible pet ownership, promoting the efforts of area rescues and shelters, and encouraging humane interaction with wildlife.
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