YOU ARE THE LIFELINE

Dear Supporters, As we all know, 2021 was a difficult year for everyone, but we always start the new year off with an optimistic outlook. We are all so ready for COVID to move into the history books and it now seems to be morphing into the category of a manageable disease that will be around for years to come. I am very happy to report that Pawmetto Lifeline never closed its doors or suspended its services during the entire pandemic and served an amazing number of companion pets throughout the year. In the fundraising arena for the year, we closed out below our goals. We were again prohibited from holding our Bark to the Park event in Saluda Shoals Park and instead held walks in neighborhoods across the Midlands. Also, the Fur Ball Moonlight Gala was conducted as a safe event with fewer guests than normal. These are our two major fundraising events and they both failed to meet our fundraising goals; consequently, we are short for the year. We look forward to 2022 being an excellent year! In South Carolina we are experiencing an extreme shortage of veterinarians, and this is having an impact on Pawmetto Lifeline. At our facility we are operating with four fewer vets than normal, and we have been restricted to operating only two of our four Care-A-Vans each weekend due to the vet shortage. The Care-A-Vans are currently only able to see an average of 500 animals per weekend, where we would typically treat 1000 companion pets. Long term, this does not portend good things for our state as the number of Rabies cases, Heartworm + cases, etc. are going to increase as will the suffering of pets. This financially impacts our organization because we are forced to treat fewer pets. We definitely offer affordable vet care, but when treating a greater number of animals, we are able to earn funds to offset our annual cost. These funds generate nearly 40% of our annual income. We have met with our Governor and legislature and are advocating for changes to address this issue utilizing vet techs and tele-medicine so that animals do not needlessly suffer. Our budget for 2022 is $7,000,000. This is all raised from individuals and companies, both large and small. We do receive some grants, but I want to stress we receive no government funding from Richland and Lexington Counties for our operations. We cannot thank you enough for your generosity during 2021 because we certainly needed the help. The solution is greater public involvement and donations.

“Pawmetto Lifeline never closed its doors or suspended its services during the entire pandemic and served an amazing number of companion pets throughout the year. ”

Make a 100% tax deductible donation to Pawmetto Lifeline at bit.ly/PLDonate.

Jack Sloan