02/01/2021
The Senior Dog Sanctuary faced many of its own hurdles in 2020, just as many of you in our community have faced. The pandemic forced us to cancel every in-person fundraiser for the year, which makes up the large majority of our budget. Several adjustments and revisions have been made to our volunteer and adoption processes to keep everyone safe and healthy. Our hearts broke with the loss of each pup, whether here at the Sanctuary or one who passed with their adoptive parents at home. And of course, the loss of our beloved founder and Executive Director, Val Lynch, rocked us to our core.
Despite that, there were so many glimmers of sunshine through the rain! We won the Best In Shelter Competition and received a $30,000 boost - all thanks to your consistent votes! We exceeded our Giving Tuesday goal by over $10,000, raising almost another $30,000, including our generous matching donor!!! We made it through 2020 and we're still here; that's a feat unto itself! And despite all the bad, we had a record number of dog intakes and adoptions in 2020! Each year, with your support, we grow and are grateful to help so many senior pups in need.
Senior Dog Sanctuary by the numbers:
Adoptions ~
2016 - 66
2017 - 102
2018 - 120
2019 - 168
2020 - 226
Dogs Taken In ~
2016 - 97
2017 - 104
2018 - 132
2019 - 171
2020 - 212
Of those, 144 dogs were pulled from shelters, opening up space for another dog in need and saving a senior pup who may have otherwise been overlooked or euthanized.
On average, SDS spends $3,000 for each dog in our care. We reached a record-breaking $636,000 in expenses for the 212 dogs we took in for 2020. How did we do this? Through the help of our community of fosters, volunteers, staff, Board, veterinary partners, and rescue partners. With the assistance of our adopters, who one after another, opened their hearts and homes to senior "special needs" pups. The support of donors, sponsors, those who have shared our posts, told their friends about the Sanctuary, or participated in our new online fundraising events is something we are immensely grateful for. We appreciate our village, our community of support - we could not do this without each of you!
Wishing you all a happy 2021, full of love, laughter, health, family, prosperity, and of course the love of an old dog! Thank you!