Animal Welfare Professionals

At Mutt-Made Miracles, I've seen something incredible happen when people gather with a common goal: rescue dogs not only find homes-they bring people together.

We're a small but mighty nonprofit based in Albuquerque, and we organize joyful, pet-friendly adoption events that feel more like community festivals than fundraisers. We connect local shelters, small businesses, and everyday people to create a network that makes real change possible-for animals and for the humans who care about them.

But here's what I'm wondering, and what I'd love your input on:

👉 Can grassroots community connections really drive long-term impact in rescue work?

I believe the answer is yes. Our events teach families about adoption and responsible pet care in real-time, show small businesses the power of giving back, and help local shelters expand their reach without draining their already-tight resources. It's education-just not the kind that comes with textbooks.

So here's where you come in:

🗨️ Let's open this up-

• Have you ever been part of a grassroots effort that created lasting change?

• What are some creative ways you've seen (or would love to see) education happen outside traditional settings?

• How do you think nonprofits like ours can strengthen these networks even more? 

I'm excited to share ideas and learn from what's working in your corner of the world.

Because at the end of the day, it's not just about rescuing dogs-it's about rescuing connection, kindness, and community too. 🐶❤️

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Let's make this a conversation.

Sami Rippe

Executive Director 

Mutt-Made Miracles

#CommunityPartnerships*
#MarketingandSocialMedia

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Sami Rippe
Executive Director
Mutt-Made Miracles
NM
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Following this and hoping to find some info.. we are talking about starting a community driven TNR program, teaching our community how to take care of community cats and reduce population, trying to find funding for this has been tough!

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Jennifer Witkowski
Owner
Miles To Go Kitten Rehab
NC
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Jennifer, 

 We started a TNR program at our shelter in 2016. We are actually hosting a TNR celebration in August to celebrate TNRing our 10,000th cat on April 24th 2025! The program was started in 2016 and MAN did it have some bumps along the way but the last half of the almost decade has become so smooth. Local cat lovers formed a 501c3, The Grand Prairie Cat Crew and they assist all the colony care takers and help with orphaned babies as much as we did as the municipal shelter for GP. We loan out traps to our residents, they trap the cats and because we are so understaffed, we've had to change how the program was run through the years and for the most part the citizens adapt to the changes and continue to help us out. For example ASO's used to pick up the traps from their yards if there were cats, bring them back to the shelter to be set up until the next surgery day then they would take them back to where they were picked up and release them. It was eating up a lot of time and wasn't conducive when we deal with true emergencies daily within our city. Now our citizens trap the cats, and bring them to us. Most pick up but we still do release them back to where they were trapped when necessary. It has freed up our officers to do more intense/emergent calls and our citizens feel so involved and proud of their efforts. When I started 11 years ago our live release rates for cats was 3%. Anything feral was euthanized, anything FIV/FelV was also euthanized even if friendly. Now our live release for cats is NEVER under 98% and we NEVER euthanize for space with cats, it's only for medical cases beyond saving. We also put all FIV and FeLV positive cats up for adoption and have had a 100% success rate on getting them adopted out. They definitely spend longer with us than a negative cat but ultimately always end up adopted :) 

We started with a 75k grant from Petco and used that to outsource all spay/neuter until several years later we built our own surgery suite in the shelter and now all the TNR cats are done through our surgerical clinic. Some care takers still decide to go to other locations like TCAP (Texas Coalition for Animal Protection) where they do 12 -15 free TNR cats a day at each of their locations. 

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Angellee Vincent
Volunteer & Events Coordinator
Grand Prairie Animal Services
Grand Prairie, TX
www.gptx.org/paws
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-11-2025 10:34 AM
From: Jennifer Witkowski
Subject: 🐾 Can Community Really Be the Key to Rescue? (We Think So. Let's Talk About It.

Following this and hoping to find some info.. we are talking about starting a community driven TNR program, teaching our community how to take care of community cats and reduce population, trying to find funding for this has been tough!

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Jennifer Witkowski
Owner
Miles To Go Kitten Rehab
NC
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I've seen community-driven efforts make a real difference when people feel involved, not just asked for support. Simple things like pop-up booths at local events or teaming up with libraries and youth groups can go a long way in spreading awareness.

Building real relationships across different parts of the community seems key-rescue work gets stronger when it's not done alone.

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laura bairdd
Office Clerck
American Red Cross
SC
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