Tombstone Small Animal Shelter

April 7th Arizona Gives Day

Frequently asked questions about donating to the Tombstone Small Animal No-Kill Shelter.

Who are we? Tombstone Small Animal Shelter (TSAS)is a 501(c)(3) non-profit no-kill animal shelter. We are run by volunteers and supported by donors.  Our donors, like you, are people that believe in the welfare of abandoned cats and dogs. Through no fault of their own, these pets find themselves at the shelter.  Most are scared and confused; many are also in need of medical attention.

What do we believe?  We believe that every pet that comes to us should be–and is–treated with respect, kindness and compassion.  We believe these pets need to have a safe, warm, dry bed; food; and, just as importantly, attention.  All of our volunteers are dedicated to these animals.

Where will your money be spent?  This year we are all facing major uncertainty with the COVID-19 situation.  With local stores and special events cancelled our monthly donations from tourists are non-existent.   Our supplies are very limited, volunteers are being asked to bring toilet paper, tissues, and disposable gloves. We are using wash cloths that can be washed instead of paper towels and our adoptions are fewer than normal.  Our shelter is full with more pets waiting to come in. And soon we will be facing kitten season.  Last year was an unprecedented year for kittens 95 under the age of 5 months with several born at the shelter. This means pets are staying with us longer and more supplies for cleaning, food and cat litter are needed. We are still open by appointment and 2-4pm on Saturdays. This year your donation of any size is extremely important. 

Examples of what we can/have accomplished: 

Ruby.  Ruby was found under the porch in an abandoned home with a litter of pups.  She was thin and scared. Ruby was also a handful since she was energetic, friendly and full of life.  Luckily Ruby did not need more medical then the normal medical care: being spayed and receiving routine vaccinations. After her pups were adopted, Ruby was left wondering what was going to happen.  Ruby is a Bull Terrier, a breed banned in certain local areas like military posts and some housing rentals.  Ruby was adopted twice and came back, through no fault of her own.  After about a year at the shelter, Ruby was finally adopted to a family with a small child.  Several months later pictures came to us showing Ruby as a happy, well adjusted dog, playing with kids and other dogs in her forever home.

Christopher.  Christopher was a kitten who was blind since birth.  He is now a happy cat who can negotiate stairs and jump on couches in his forever home.

Miss Daisy.  Miss Daisy, a 4 year old street dog from Mexico who lived in a gas station, was injured by a car.  She never received medical attention, so she walked with a limp. Now she lives a comfortable, happy life in her forever home and plays with the neighbor’s dog.

All of these pets now have wonderful homes.  TSAS does not shy away from accepting pets in need just because of their breed or because of medical issues which can be addressed. Pets stay with us for as long as they need until a forever home can be found.  On rare occasions, if we feel it is in best interest of the animal, a pet may be transferred to a rescue.

What kinds of expenses do we have?

Tombstone Small Animal Shelter, like all no-kill animal facilities, needs funds for more than just medical expenses. Unlike some shelters, however, TSAS is not a county or city owned facility.  It survives in its ability to carry out its mission as a no-kill shelter through applications for grants, creative fund raising sponsored by our local merchants and donations from caring people just like you. 

Just like a home, sometimes structural repairs need to be made to the facility itself.  Last year, repairs needed to be made to TSAS’ 20 year old septic system—including updating plumbing and drainage.  The year before, the electrical system at TSAS needed to be upgraded to accommodate two washers and dryers necessary to keep bedding and towels clean and sanitary as well as the necessary heating and cooling required in the high desert area of Tombstone.  Funds are required for food and general cleaning supplies, when donations of these items do not keep up with the demand.  Maintaining the shelter in tip top condition is crucial to the health and welfare of the pets that come to stay with us. 

We are a very small facility and space is limited, but with your kind help and tax deductible financial support we can make sure all cats and dogs coming to us receive the best care we can provide in a clean and well maintained environment. You can schedule or make donations on line at www.azgives.org/tombstonesmallanimalshelter or by mailing donations to P.O. Box 1085, Tombstone, AZ  85638.  In the “Town Too Tough to Die,” it is important that we make sure our no-kill shelter remains open as a safe place for our fur residents!

Message to the Public

March 20, 2020

At this time of uncertainty Tombstone Small Animal Shelter would like you to know that we are full to capacity with cats and dogs available for adoption and more waiting to come in.  We will continue to be  open by appointment for adoptions and open to the public on Saturdays 2-4 pm. There are no offsite adoptions until further notice.  We will let you know if/when that should change.  If you are interested in adoption or need more information regarding the shelter or its pets CALL 520-457-2545.  We answer all messages. (no text please).

Please do not call us to surrender your pets at this time.  We have limited space and supplies. We will all get through these stressful times and we want everyone to stay safe.  Thank you for your understanding and patience.

TSAS 2020 Annual Fund Raising Newsletter

The 2020 Newsletter  is here,  2019 was an amazing year and 2020 promises to be even more so.  Thank you in advance  for your donation, without your generosity we could not be the great shelter that we are today!  For your convenience we have a “Donate” button on this web page.

Tombstone Small Animal Shelter

2020 Annual Fundraiser  Newsletter

 Send a Donation Today!        “non-profit, no-kill”*
Website: www.tombstoneanimalshelter.org

Email:  tombstoneshelter4animals@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/tombstonesmallanimalshelter

Open most Saturdays 2-4pm

or by appointment 7 days a week – call 520-457-2545

Location – 1037 S. Landin Park Way, 

Mailing Address: PO Box 1085, Tombstone, AZ 85638

www.petfinder.com       www.adoptapet.com            www.rescueme.org
Lenny’s Story

One night a small black pit-pull was abandoned at the shelter gate during closed hours.  He was in a sorry state.  His fur and skin were in poor condition.  His scrotum had a baseball-sized tumor.  His teeth needed work. The micro chip helped us discover his name (Lenny) and his age (14 years), but no owner information.  His tumor was removed; thankfully, it was benign.  His dental work included removal of two teeth.  Lenny was neutered, given shots and fed nutritious food.  A shelter volunteer adopted him. But Lenny was an escape artist. While on the loose, Sierra Vista Animal Control picked him up.  They somehow were able to find his original owner who lived in Tucson.  He had been missing several years.  He was returned to them and the family had a very happy reunion!

The Tombstone Small Animal Shelter is a non-profit, no kill shelter.We are dedicated to finding homes for unwanted and abandoned animals in the Tombstone area and educating the public in the benefits of spaying and neutering.  We proudly comply with national no-kill standards.  We don’t euthanize except when injury, disease or temperament makes other options impossible.  All animals are spayed or neutered and vaccinated before leaving the shelter.  Animals are never given or sold for research.

TSAS would like to thank all our supporters for the generous donations!

Frieda and Fernanda’s Story

Frieda and Fernanda are sisters.  They were discovered in a bad hoarding situation.  It took weeks to capture them because they were so badly frightened.  They were bonded; therefore needed to be adopted together.  The first time they were adopted out, they were returned for being too shy and unaffectionate.  During their second shelter stay, volunteers helped them get over their shyness.  They became quite loving.  Finally after eight months of being cooped up at the shelter, a wonderful woman from Show Low, AZ saw them on our website.  She drove down that weekend and adopted them.  They finally have a forever home!

A Donation in Honor of Someone is a Wonderful Gift!

A donation to the Tombstone Small Animal Shelter is a wonderful gift for many special occasions:  In memory of a loved one, a birthday gift for a pet lover, to recognize an accomplishment, for any reason really – or “just because.”

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 We’re Thankful for our wonderful grant providers:

Ryan Meile Animal Welfare Endowment Grant

The Arizona Community Foundation

Petco Grant

——————————————————————————————————————–Please Sign-up for our Rewards Programs!!!

FRYS COMMUNITY REWARDS –www.FrysCommunityRewards.com

Amazon Smile –  www.smile.amazon.com

——————————————————————————————————————–Stories: If you have a story to share, of pets you have adopted from TSAS please post it to our Facebook page at: wwwfacebook.com/tombstonesmallanimalshelter

or send it by email (with a picture) to:

  tombstoneshelter4animals@gmail .com

It will be put on our website at: tombstoneanimalshelter.org

A SAD TALE OF MAIN COON CATS

A Tombstone woman passed away, leaving behind eight cats.  For two years she’d been unable to care for them properly.  Six were Maine Coon cats and two were Domestic Short Hairs.  Unfortunately, one  Maine Coon cat and one Short Hair were in such poor health they did not survive.  The cats were between eight and ten years old and almost all needed dental work.  The long hair of the Maine Coon cats was horribly matted.They were brought up to date on their shots, fed lots of good food, and mats were removed.  The Domestic Short Hair was quickly adopted.  Two Maine Coon cats were adopted together, but the new owners returned them after two months because they weren’t social enough for them.  Eventually all six were adopted to forever homes!

SMOKEY’S STORY

Smokey was raised by a woman in Colorado.  She gave him to her son and grand kids who moved to Tombstone.  However, the wife didn’t want him, so he was brought to the shelter.  Poor Smokey suffered from separation anxiety.  He howled and howled if a volunteer did not stay with him.  His original owner in Colorado was located,  she wanted him back but had no way to get him there.  A fund-raising effort began — Operation Smokey Goes Home.  A volunteer offered to drive him back using the funds for gas.  Smokey was ecstatic when he realized he was home once again.  What a happy homecoming that was!!

We need your donations. Please make out a check today! 

 Positive results from social media aka Facebook A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who clicked on our “Donate” button on Facebook.  And kudos to those who created birthday fundraisers, other fundraisers, and shared fundraisers.  Social Media aka Facebook helped with many adoptions.  Please “like” our Facebook page and “follow” it for information on available pets, adoptions, lost/found pets, and Happy Tail Stories from adopters. “Share” our page so our information gets out to more people.  This page is “public” so those of you that aren’t on Facebook can also see it.  If you need more information on a pet, please CALL, do not text.  We answer all voice messages.  We truly appreciate everyone who “Likes, follows, and shares” our pets and information. 
Highlights for the year 2019

• Worked with the City of Tombstone to complete repairs to the septic system
• Participated in Special Week-end Events in Tombstone
• Participated in Arizona Gives and Giving Tuesday fundraising
• With $8500 from the Ryan Meile grant we moved one outside kennel gate, had fencing repaired, replaced multiple keys and locks with a safer single key system, and spent remaining funds on veterinary expenses
• Returned 27 dogs , 5 cats to their owners (many with the help of FB)
• Brought in a record 95 kittens under the age of 5 months
• Had 9 kittens born at the shelter or in foster care
• Adopted out 137 dogs and 152 cats (289 total adoptions)  – Largest amount of adoptions in the history of the shelter
• Spayed/neutered 194 cats and dogs before adoption
• Posted statics to Shelter Animals Count
• Updated information on Guidestar.org for 2019 Gold Level in Transparency 

Thank You

Thank you everyone that helped raise funds during #Giving Tuesday. Between the sharing and funds raised through facebook and the checks directly sent to the shelter we exceeded our goal. We raised over $2600.

#GivingTuesday Dec 3rd

Dear  TSAS Supporters;

The success of the  Tombstone Small Animal Shelter has been made possible due to this amazingly generous community of supporters/adopters who believe in what we do.  From now until Dec 31st we are fundraising for funds to help with medical bills for our shelter pets, our goal is $2000. We need your help.  This has been a record breaking year for pet adoptions.  But that also means a record breaking year for medical expenses.

How can you help?
As a supporter of Tombstone Small Animal Shelter, we need your help. 

• Create a Facebook fundraiser using the “start a Fundraiser link below” and share it with your friends on #GivingTuesday. Creating a fundraiser is easy and we welcome fundraisers with any goal amount. Facebook charges no fees on donations, so all of the money raised will go towards our goal. Start a Fundraiser

•  If you prefer not to do your own fundraiser you can donate to or share our Page fundraiser by copying the link below and pasting to your social media. Sharing is a proven way to help. https://www.facebook.com/fund/TombstoneSmallAnimalShelter/

OR

• If you would rather mail a check directly to the shelter that is also acceptable our mailing address is:
  •  P.O. Box 1085, Tombstone, AZ 85638

OR

There is a Network for Good donate button on this page your can use.

Where will the money raised will go?
All money raised with go towards medical expenses for our shelter pets. Every $1 raised  goes towards the health of the pets we serve before they go to their new  forever homes.  Facebook is contributing up to a $7 Million match to US nonprofits for #GivingTuesday 2019. Starting  8:00am EST (5am PST) on December 3, 2019 the match will go live, matching dollar for dollar on a first come first serve basis until it hits $7 million matched.

Thank you for your support.

Thank you to Ryan Meile Foundation for 2019 Grant

Tombstone Small Animal Shelter would like to thank the Ryan Meile Foundation for Animal Welfare , Administered by the Arizona Community Foundation for the generous grant of $8500.  This grant was awarded to the shelter to be used for needed repairs to fencing and gates in the outside play yards.  For new updated  uniform locks for all enclosures. And the ever accumulating medical expenses. The Ryan Meile Foundation has been a huge supporter of the shelter helping to keep the shelter a safe  and comfortable place for our pet guests.

Adoption Price increase

Starting July 1st  the adoption fee will be $60 for all adoptions.

This includes – spay/neuter, deworming, age appropriate vaccinations, micro chip for dogs, and testing for feline leukemia/aids for cats.  It also includes any medical that is needed for the pets to go to their new home. i.e. dental and any other necessary surgeries.

The shelter is not funded by any city or government agency.  Therefore all operating expenses come from donations and/or grants and adoption fees.