Dakin Receives Grant Support from John T. and Jane A. Wiederhold Foundation

Dakin’s ongoing mission to serve pets and people in our community was enhanced by a recent $124,000 grant from the John T. and Jane A. Wiederhold Foundation, a supporting organization of the Northwest CT Community Foundation.

The Programmatic Sustainability and Capacity Building grant will fund three key initiatives for Dakin over the course of the next year:

• Spay/neuter surgery for the most vulnerable cats and kittens in the community
• Consulting support for the development of Dakin’s next three-year strategic plan
• Equipment for the Pet Health Center (PHC) that will build program capacity including a new veterinary technician internship

The Wiederhold Foundation was especially interested in helping support Dakin’s spay/neuter efforts, as more and more animals are arriving in shelters, while adoption rates have slowed considerably on both a local and national level. Thanks to the Foundation, being able to provide spay/neuter surgery for vulnerable cats and kittens that would be unable to access it otherwise allows Dakin to continue to play a key role in curbing the homeless cat/kitten population.

This fall, Dakin will undertake the creation of a new three-year strategic plan that will assess current programming and community needs to establish organizational goals and priorities for the next few years. The plan will support our mission to offer effective, innovative services that improve the lives of animals in need, and keep them with the people who care about them. It will also reflect our core values of integrity, compassion and innovation.

The PHC, now in its second full year of operation, has become a valuable community resource for pet care, and can, with the help of the Wiederhold Foundation, acquire more veterinary equipment and expand its services. It’s especially rewarding to be able to implement a new veterinary technician internship to provide assistance to someone entering the field, which has been hard hit by significant shortages of both veterinarians and veterinary technicians.

“The John T. and Jane A. Wiederhold Foundation has been a long-time, generous supporter of Dakin,” noted Dakin’s Executive Director Meg Talbert. “We appreciate the foundation’s thoughtful approach to grantmaking and their commitment to animal welfare. This grant will support Dakin’s sustainability and help us to continue to have a meaningful and positive impact on pets and their families.”