Zoory News, a Zoory.com blog

With contributions on a continued decline, the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri in Cape Girardeau is asking several governmental bodies to ratchet up their level of funding to the organization that took in nearly 4,000 animals last year. In the past few months, board members have made appeals to city leaders in Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Chaffee and the Cape Girardeau County Commission. Their message was straightforward -- the organization is struggling with its bottom line. "We are stable, but money has never been easy," board member Charlotte Craig said. "We've always had to work hard to keep the doors open, as does every shelter." Now, the local Humane Society is proposing what it describes as a "Fair Share" program, which calls on the communities that have contracts with it to pay half of the actual cost that is spent on housing, food, medical care, vaccinations, cleaning, manpower and, in some cases, euthanization. Craig, who is also the director of the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center, said the actual cost per animal is $90.25. Actual costs for the local Humane Society in 2011 were $360,000 in a year that saw 3,989 animal intakes. That number includes runaways, strays and abandoned pets.

for more information: http://www.semissourian.com/story/1848991.html