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Is this an animal shelter? A: No. Solutions for People Created with Animals is an organization which provides services to people and pets. We are unique in Arkansas in that we are the only organization at the moment which provides these types of services to the communities of Northern Arkansas and Southern Missouri. The services provided have been designed to fit the needs of pet owners who find themsleves in a crisis situation with their pets where the pet(s) may suffer or the owner be forced to give them up. The programs work with the owners to make sure this does not happen. Our goal is to see less dogs and cats be surrendered to animal shelters by finding alternatives and offering options to those pet owners in need. Other services such as the Service Dog Training / Placement program and the Animal Assisted Therapy program are designed to provide low-cost alternatives to those who may benefit from those types of services. I have heard you've changed names 4 times, what's up with that? A: Name changes are nothing new to non-profit organizations as they grow and develop into the group they will be. As the basic mission changes, the name needs to reflect the new mission and goals. Ours is no different. Since we began in the spring of 2002, our organization has undergone many growing pains as new programs developed, as other new ideas became realities, and as our own needs expanded along with the services we provide to you and the communities we serve. A group's name must first tell you something about what the group does. That is why, as what we do evolves and changes, so does our name. Like you, we hope this is the last time. Can we guarantee that? Sorry, no we cannot. No matter the name, it is still the same group of dedicated people here working hard to provide the services we already do, as well as looking for yet more ways we can be of help to those in need within our communities. Have you set yourself up against animal shelters? A: Not in any way. Our mission of keeping loved pets from ever seeing the inside of an animal shelter or being placed into new families in new homes, is in fact meant to help shelters in our area that are overwhelmed with the numbers of dogs and cats that they must deal with each year. Each of these shelters is almost permanently financially in dire straits just trying to keep the doors open. We understand first hand exactly what that's like. If our programs and services can help by seeing that at least a couple of hundred pets never get there each year, we believe we have also performed a needed service for these other organizations. We hope they feel the same way. If we are ever in need of dogs for the Service Dog Training / Placement program, we will in fact be calling on local area animal shelters to help us fill the void. They have their place and their job to do, we have ours. By working together we hope to be able to provide still more efficient overall services to the communities we live in. With their cooperation, we will see this also become a reality in our area. Our restructuring also opens the door for cooperation now between our organizations. Before there has always been petty jealousies and an underlying sense of each group needing or wanting to take over the way each other does business. This is no longer the case between us and any other animal welfare group. Our mission has grown to be totally different than theirs. This is the same for Human Services organizations and programs in this area. The services we provide are ones that they do not and do not want to, so there is no need for faux competition or inter-agency rivalries. We are all free at this point to make new alliances which can only mean a better tomorrow for not only our communities but also for our organizations as well. We invite all organizations both pets and human related services to join with us to bring the idea of social services to a new level. One worthy of the people and animals we all want to help. We would truly like to see a survey done where Arkansas is listed # 1 for a change. What are my donations used for? A: Depending on how you donate (cash or non-cash, to a specific program or just a general donation,) at least 85% of your donation will go to the purpose you have requested it be used for. This is compared to less than 30% of each dollar donated to some of the well known organizations that advertise they are "nationwide". For instance, with the new IRS laws regarding transparency in non-profits, it has become public knowledge that over 70 cents of each dollar donated to organizations like the HSUS or the ASPCA, are used only to make another dollar. Sadly, the majority of your donation to these types of organizations are used for the promotional items you never asked for but receive in the mail anyway. In those mailings, they omit telling you that in reality less than 1% makes its way back down to your own small local organization in the way of grants by these large multi-million dollar organizations, while the rest is used to promote their own agendas through lobbying federal and state governments on issues such as making hunting illegal everywhere, (nothing to do with dogs and cats being kept at your local animal shelter, as they would have you believe). At the SPCA, we guarantee that at least 85% of every dollar donated to our general fund goes directly to support the services we provide to the public. We are up-front in saying that the majority of money received through donations go to support programs in our own local area. If you choose to donate to a specific program, such as the Service Pets for Vets, again, at least 85 cents of each dollar donated goes to help us provide for a disabled veteran while they are here training with their new service dog, or for the care and support of the dog itself while it is in training to serve the disabled vet. Donations to our Disaster Relief Team go to purchase supplies we will need when we are called to go somewhere in the state after a disaster strikes to set up a temporary pet organization to assist displaced pets and their owners until they can get back on their feet. Etcetera. So, what happens to the other 15%? Things like fuel and maintenance for the vehicles, office supplies, etc. Other things that the organization cannot operate without. How much of my donation goes to pay employees or staff? A: None. No one working at the organization recieves compensation for doing so. We do occassionally have what is called "subsidized employees". These are people hired through the Experience Works or Work Force programs, and those people are paid by their specific Employment or Job Training Agency. If I adopt at one of your Public Pet Fairs, who gets the money? A: We do. Charges for adoptions of pets at one of our locally sponsored Public Pet Fairs go to support the upkeep on the equipment and materials used at the pet fair first. Anything left over will be used to provide for the various programs the organization offers to the communities in this area. Does this organization use a fundraising consultant? A: No. Fundraising Consultants consistently keep about 56% of all donations made to an organization they represent. We believe this is a serious misuse of the trust placed in us by those who choose to help us through donations. Are your services really doing any good? A: We are very happy with the progress of our Human Services programs. Starting the program in 2009, our Companion Animals Program (CAPs) helped to be sure that 3 elderly people on very low incomes did not have to consider the possiblity of giving up their beloved companion pet by providing monthly food for their dog or cat. In 2010, the program tripled as we have expanded the reach of the program to 9 folks enrolled and receiving assistance. The program has also assisted each of these folks by paying to have their pets spayed and neutered as well as made sure they receive annual vaccinations. This is a free program for participants. The Emergency Pet Services program has been very effective in providing care for over a dozen people, and nearly 50 pets. Each of these pet owners were going in for surgery or had some other type of temporary personal crisis in their lives. They had no one to look after their pets during the time they would not be able to physically care for them themselves. Each of the pets were in danger of winding up in an animal shelter and being placed with new families in new homes. The pets were housed and cared for here at our own shelter complex until the owners were able to reclaim them and again care for them themselves. This program has also helped battered women who were forced to leave with their pets through referrals made by Serenity Inc. in Mt. Home. This is also a free program for participants. The Service Dog Training / Placement program, from November 2009 to April 2010, placed 5 dogs with handicapped individuals and currently has 4 puppies in training at this time. These are dogs that were, for the majority, throw-aways, dogs an owner no longer wanted and discarded. Now these great dogs are living productive lives helping a person who can benefit from their assistance in many different daily chores and tasks, and are dogs whose new homes and owners cherish and love them as all dogs deserve to be. We expect to be able to place at least 5 more dogs before the year ends. All in all, we feel this shows a need for these programs, and believe they have been very successful to date. We continue to anticipate growth in each program and higher demand as the services become more well known throughout the areas we serve. We realize that these are not great numbers but we do not live in an overly populated area, our programs are still new and some people are still afraid of them because they are. But, with each person helped by one of our programs, that is just that many more pets that have not wound up in an animal shelter and that never saw their owners again. Remember too, that folks enrolled in the Emergency Pet Services program rarely only have one pet. One person had 5 dogs which because of us, she was able to get back and keep after her back surgery, but that if it were not because of us, she would have been forced to give them up. Yes, our programs are working. We are very proud of the things these programs have been able to do for our community and of the fact that no other organization, whether it be people or pet related, does this type of assistance to people who want and need it. Anything that can be done to reduce the number of dogs and cats that wind up in an animal shelter anywhere, is a worthwhile program and one that should be supported by every pet lover that knows about it. Do you work with any other charity organizations? A: The SPCA wants to work with anyone who will work with us. By this we mean, non-profit or not, we are always ready to assist other organizations, both animal welfare or human programs related to make our communities better through combined services and education. We do currently assist a few other organziations in this area and in the state. We are always on the lookout for new opportunities to work with other organizations to develop inter-agency agreements which will result in better services and a better use of area resources by and for everyone. We are always on the lookout to show other organizations the benefits of working together where they may never have even thought of affiliating with an animal organization. The programs you have, mainly the Service Dogs has potential to grow pretty big, do you have other big projects in mind? A: We are always discussing amongst ourselves and at our monthly Board meetings how we can do still more. Both small and large scale projects are considered and basic ideas and plans laid out for each to be worked on as we have the resources. Our two largest projects on the table currently are: First, a Therapy Horse program which will be built here at the facility and which will help young people who are disabled by birth or circumstance to regain control of bodily motion and muscle control through the use of horseback riding. This project is probably three to five years away, but beginning stages and planning are underway. Second, is our Animal Assited Therapy program. This program will be directed under the guidelines of the Delta Society and will utilize trained human/animal teams which will be available to go to area hospitals and nursing homes, while working with doctors, nurses, psychologists, counselors and other health professionals to provide animal assited therapy to everyone from heart patients to children who suffer from ADHD or OBD. The medical field worldwide is proving more and more the benefits of using animals in both physical and mental therapy. We hope to be able to provide teams to those who need them as they need them through a certified program designed to be ready as the need arises in our area. This program may actually be as close as only 6 months or so away. As you can see, the limits of putting animals and people together in working relationships is nearly non-existent. Our staff is indeed qualified to offer these services as we can get each program up and running. As the only organization of our kind in the state, it only makes sense that we will continue to grow and expand as we can to offer more to all those we can. How did you become affiliated with the state? A: Initiative. When a tornado hit close to home, we responded to help the displaced pets and the pet owners to reunite after they had been tragically separated. During this experience, we realized we were the only animal organization out of nearly a dozen in our area to do so. We began to check out other areas of the state and realized our small area was not alone in this serious lack of services to communitities, pet owners and their pets during times of disaster. We began to certify through FEMA to learn all we could about this real threat to pets and the families that love them. As we did so, we began receiving invitations to attend various meetings and seminars held by other disaster response teams throughout the state, and asked by each one what we would do in this instance or that. Attending as many of these as we could, these other organizations and state entities were encouraged to see someone finally step up to the plate for pets and their owners. We were called with no notice to set up a temporary pet shelter at Fort Chaffe (over 150 miles away) to assist Gustav Hurricane evacuees who had brought their pets with them. We responded within 6 hours. After that, every animal related organization in the state that is involved with disaster response/relief has asked us to be on their committees and teams as each of these deal with specific areas of animal welfare that do not include household pets. Thus it began and so it continues as we are totally responsible for developing household pet procedures in several areas of the state as well as creating the Arkansas Pets in Disaster Unit to respond anywhere, anytime we are needed. Do you accept non-cash donations? A: Yes, we do. New or Used items that can allow us to spend needed resources and cash on other things the organziation needs are truly appreciated. These items are also tax-deductible and receipts are available for the Fair Market Value (FMV) of the items donated. Please contact the corporate office to ask us about donating your non-cash items. We do not accept all items, items we cannot use, we will instead try to refer you to another group or organization which can use them more. Can I donate a vehicle? A: Yes. Please click here for information on donating vehicles of any type. Can I donate a puppy or a dog to the Service Dog program? A: Sometimes. Please understand we cannot accept every puppy or dog that is offerred or that we are asked to take. Dogs that do not have the right stuff to become a Service Dog cannot be accepted. If you would like to donate a puppy or dog, contact the corporate office. We will set up a time to come to you and test the dog. If it passes the initial testing, we will be happy to add it to our program. In such cases, if we are already full to overflowing as is most times the case, we may need to ask you to foster the puppy or dog for us until we can get it worked into the small shelter we operate here at the facility, or into another foster home used by us specifically for this purpose. Can I donate a Therapy dog or cat? A: Sorry, No. We do have the room to house these extra animals. You may, if you wish and qualify, join our Therapy Animal Program which allows you to train along with your dog or cat to be a therapuetic team. Once completed, you can then go with us to Animal Assisted Therapy sessions around the area. Call us for more info if you're intersested! Do you accept credit and debit cards? A: Yes. You can always donate through our website by clicking on any "Donate" button or link you may see. These are linked to a special company we use which provides a secure server for this purpose. This way, you and us both know your donations are safe and will get to us. We are also prepared to accept your credit/debit card in person either at the corporate office or at any Pet Fair or other special event you may see us at. Credit/Debit cards may be used for adoption fees, purchases, or donations. Donations using a credit/debit card may also be made over the phone by calling the corporate office. Are my donations tax deductible? A: Indeed they are. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, We are certified by the IRS to give tax receipts for donations. Any non-cash donations are given a receipt for the FMR (Fair Market Value) of the item(s). What happens to my personal information? A: The only thing we use your personal information for is to send you a Thank You note and add you to our Christmas card list. If you are a monthly sponsor, a single donation tax receipt is normally sent out at the end of the year for your total donations to make it easier on you and your bookeeper, unless you prefer to have them every month. If you pay by credit card through our online Network for Good account, either 1 time or monthly, we never even see your card number, and the reason we are comfortable affiliating with Network for Good is that they take security very seriously, yours and ours. The SPCA does not share or sell any donor's information with any other entity, personal or business for any reason (with the exception of a legal subpoena issued by a court). Can I specify how I want my donation to be used? A: Certainly. We will be happy to earmark your specific donations to whatever purpose you choose. If you want to sponsor a dog in training, that's definitely Ok with us. If you want to donate specifically to say, an Elderly Pet Owner's Program, we will truly appreciate and need that too. There are many ways which you can choose to place your donation. The "Human Services" page and each program page, have links to pop-ups that will tell you specifically where your money goes when you donate to a particular program. Can I see how my donations are being used? A: Please do! You are welcome to inspect and see the facility for yourself anytime. No appointments needed. Surprise visits are welcome. We'll be happy to show you ongoing projects, completed projects, and future projects. As well, our records are open for viewing by anyone at anytime the way a non-profit is supposed to be. If the one you're giving to now doesn't do all of this, you should be asking why not... How can I donate? A: Lots of ways! 1) We take donations in person, and depending on the size of the donation(s), we may be able to come to you to pick them up. You can call us at (870) 453-7249 if you have a large donation you would like us to pick up and we'll make arrangements to do so. 2) If you like, you can also donate online using your credit/debit card or checking account by clicking on any of the "Donate Now" buttons within this website. 100% Guaranteed Free, Safe & Secure. Credit/Debit card donations may also be set up on a recurring basis for you if you would like to make easy monthly donations to the SPCA. This can be done in either of two ways. By clicking here, you can set up a monthly reminder which will auto bill you every month. All you need to do from there is click on the link in the e-mail sent to you to make your donation. - or - you may also set up a auto pay monthly donation. Call the SPCA office at (870) 453-7249 for more information on auto pay donations. 3) We will also accept your check or money order, Please make it out to SPCA, and mail it to: North Arkansas Central SPCA, 51 Carmelkat Ln, Flippin, Ar 72634. 4) You may drop off - Needed Items - or make cash donations at the organization, any special event or Pet Fair or any SPCA Drop Point. 5) Arvest Bank - you can donate directly to our account at any Arvest Bank location. Simply let the cashier know you would like to make a donation to the North Arkansas Central SPCA. It's as easy as that! 6) Aluminum Cans! People are beginning to save their aluminum cans and give them to us when they have a bag or two saved up. You can donate your cans and other aluminum at our new organization complex, (we now have a special cage built for these out front by the parking area for easy access) or at any pet fair, special event, or drop point. We'll take it from there! Who can accept donations for the SPCA? A: The ONLY people authorized by the SPCA Board of Directors to ask for or receive cash or non-cash items, or personal information about you including your: name, mailing address, e-mail address, phone #, and/or credit card #, in regards to ANY transaction (donations, adoption fees, or purchases) made with the North Arkansas Central SPCA are: Charlie Campbell (Retired President & Founder) Cathy Smith (Board Member) Carol Rinker (Board Member) Karen Williams (Board Member) Holly Wolf (Board Member) Phyliss Weaver (Board Member) Mike Weaver (Board Member) Jenny Nelson, (Executive Director) Josh Cunha (Staff) Beth Levine (Staff) If anyone else should ask you for a donation attempting to be a representative of the North Arkansas Central SPCA, please get as much information from them as you can, and report it to our office either by phone at (870) 453-7249 or by email at as soon as possible. Anyone asking for donations and using our name other than the people listed above is commiting Fraud which is punishable by state and federal laws, and will be reported to local law enforcement agencies and prosecuted. -- Authorized Drop Points for SPCA are located at: In Flippin: Boonstra Mobile Homes Hwy 202 E between Summit and Flippin, 453-7176 Melody Dennis (Residence) 491 MC 7064 (Hwy 101) In Yellville: The Blossom Shop Across the street from Harp's. Someone form work approached me for an Employee Challenge. Are. they really collecting for you? A: We hope so, however, check with your employer first and ask them if they are aware of the person's activities. Also, call us and let us know the person's name and where you work. If we do not already know about them, we will find out.As much as we are pushing this type of donation program in every business throughout the communities we serve, we are aware of the potential for abuse of good people's trust. Never just give anyone a donation just because they say they're collecting for a certain group or organization. What is an Employee Challenge? A:This is when you or a person you work with commits to a monthly donation of just so much ($1 or $5 for instance). They then challenge all of the other employees they work with to match their donation. Many businesses have a program to automatically deduct the donation from everyone's check who participates and cuts us a check, but for those that do not, once a month, the person who issued the challenge collects the money from everyone on their list and they send us a check for the amount they collected. This is a fantastic way to make a small donation turn into a very meaningful one. If you would like to issue the challenge to your co-workers, please give us a call and we can help you with the details. it is always best too, to make sure you are on our list of legitimate challengers so there are no hassles from your co-workers or employers about where the money you collect really goes. I'd like to donate, but I don't have the time to drive all the way out to your facility... NOT A PROBLEM! "SPCA - Needed Items - Drop Points" You may drop donations of any kind off locally In Flippin: Boonstra Mobile Homes Hwy 202 E between Summit and Flippin, 453-7176 Melody Dennis (Residence) 491 MC 7064 (Hwy 101) In Yellville: The Blossom Shop Across the street from Harp's. Can you sponsor a Drop Point for SPCA? Contact Us and Let's Get Together! On behalf of all of our Best Friends in need. We truly Thank You Very Much for your help and support.