The California-based Maddie's Fund, founded by People Soft guru David Duffield and guided by Richard Avanzino, the visionary former president of the San Francisco SPCA, awards millions of dollars through multi-year grants to animal welfare coalitions to end killing of healthy and treatable shelter animals at no cost to taxpayers. Since its founding in 1999, the Fund has gifted over 54 million dollars to humane organizations in 22 states, including an estimated 19 million dollars to California-based charities, educational institutions and animal shelters. Thousands of lives have been saved thanks to Maddie's Fund grants.

Avanzino clearly addresses the Maddie's Fund policy on funding government mandates in his statement, "Maddie's Fund does NOT provide funding for government programs, including state and local animal care and control mandates. This policy applies to mandatory spay/neuter laws, as well as to other requirements imposed by federal, state, and local legislation." As a government mandated spay/neuter law, CA AB1634 will effectively deny California communities Maddie's Fund grants.

California's pets have benefited tremendously from Maddie's Fund community grants.

* Over 7.9 million dollars in funds to the CVMA Feral Cat Altering Program since 2001. This program subsidized the altering of over 100,000 cats who might otherwise have been destroyed.

* Almost 500 thousand dollars to a collaborative project in Lodi which lowered euthanasia rates over 46% in two years.

* Supplied almost 1 million dollars to found the UC Davis Shelter Medicine Program, the first such program in the nation for training veterinarians in the complexities of animal shelter medicine.

These innovative programs are just a few examples of Maddie's Fund grants in California. The loss of future funds to finance such wonderful and effective programs will be a serious blow indeed.

For months, opponents of Assembly Bill 1634 have been crying out that the unintended consequences of passage of such an overreaching law could be disastrous for animals in the state. The loss of Maddie's Fund to California will be catastrophic.

To learn more about Maddie's Fund, their mission, and the programs they have funded, please visit their website at www.maddiesfund.org.

For further information, please contact: Diane Amble (650) 296-2169 Brat Zinsmaster (707) 486-7226