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Special Animals Need Lots Of Help And Care At Placer County SPCA

PLACER COUNTY (CBS13) — The Placer County SPCA has been inundated with animals who need medical care, and the nonprofit just can't afford it.

"This is yet just another example of a cat that comes in either abandoned or surrendered to us," said SPCA director Leilani Fratis. "We are looking at over $10,000 in medical care."

Tiki, the small blond dog, is among the growing number of recent sick or injured pets.

"It's quite possible the condition Tiki has is called a liver shunt," she said, "It can actually cost $2,000-$3,000 to surgically repair."

Some are brought in as strays and others by owners who can't afford the expensive veterinarian care.

"It has to be removed in order for Pepe to live a good life," she said pointing to a growth the size of a large orange.

Fratis said years ago these animals would likely have been euthanized. Now, medical advances have allowed them to save more, but at a high cost.

"It would hate to have to say no simply because of a price tag. I don't want to be faced with that, but I'm really uncomfortable right now with what we're seeing," she said.

Now they try to save as many as possible.

"Pepe is a great dog. How can you say no to Pepe?" she added.

Overall there have been fewer donations and higher expenses. This year they've spent nearly $200,000, and donations didn't even cover half, forcing them to dip into their general fund.

"Our veterinarians are providing a discount of about 50 percent or more, so depending that could be $20,000 to $30,000," she said.

Their hope is that pets like Tiki, Wolfe, and Pepe can get the care they need despite the cost and live healthy tail wagging lives.

Luckily there's a Guardian Angels program to help pay for some of these costs.

The animals featured in this piece are not on the SPCA's website, so if you want to donate to their care, you can just give the nonprofit the name or description of that pet.
http://placerspca.org/angels/

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