DATE: Thursday, July 24, 1997               TAG: 9707240006

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B10  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Editorial

                                            LENGTH:   35 lines

SPCA DIG DEEP

The Virginia Beach SPCA needs help.

Not only did the shelter's air-conditioning system break down on the Fourth of July weekend, leaving animal lovers there with a $15,000 repair bill, but shelter officials say they find themselves with 1,200 more animals so far this year than they had budgeted for.

It's a double whammy that has SPCA officials asking their core group of 8,000 contributors to get out their checkbooks once again.

The SPCA is a worthy cause. Not only is the Virginia Beach SPCA the only local shelter that accepts every single animal presented, but it finds foster homes for animals in special hardship cases. For instance, battered women who have taken refuge in Samaritan House have been able to count on the SPCA to find temporary homes for their pets. Homeless families, too, have been able to keep their pets when the SPCA found temporary homes for their animals until they were settled.

Over the past four years, the number of animals arriving at the shelter dropped. SPCA officials were thrilled. They believed their spay and neuter program was finally paying off in fewer unwanted animals. That trend reversed dramatically this year as animals from jurisdictions throughout Hampton Roads found their way in droves to the shelter on Holland Road.

With an annual budget of $559,701 - and almost every penny coming from individual donations - the SPCA truly depends on the kindness of strangers to stay afloat.

To help the SPCA out of this financial quagmire, you may call the shelter at 427-0070. Better yet, go in person. You might be tempted to adopt a four-legged companion.

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