Ten years and still going strong!  Who would have thought that 5 animal lovers coming together in 2000 to form Heaven Can Wait and do a few adoptions here and there would lead to where we are now?   The strides we have made as an organization and the obstacles we have overcome truly amaze me.

Every year in the Las Vegas area roughly 30,000 animals are euthanized at our local shelters.  As a community this is not something we can stand-by and accept.  Heaven Can Wait has been proactive in forming coalitions and with our newly formed close-working relationships with all of the local animal control entities, along with the previous cooperation of other animal rescue groups, has enabled us to move forward in the fight to reduce this staggering number.  A 5-Year Action Plan was developed from the time spent sharing ideas at our coalition meetings which gave rise to the key points vital to lowering the shelters impound/euthanasia rates.  This plan went into effect on January 1st and covers everything from cultural issues concerning spay/neuter and implementing educational programs to enacting legislation which supports responsible pet ownership and dealing with feral cat colonies.  Similar approaches have been used in other cities facing the same problem and have been a key component of turning things around.  Because of the recent passing of mandatory/regulated sterilization ordinances in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, and Clark County, we are now well on our way in the right direction.

In other important news, on June 19, 2009, Heaven Can Wait took a giant leap in expanding our spay/neuter efforts by open our own clinic in Las Vegas near Eastern Ave & 95.  The clinic, which had been in the planning stages for the past few years, finally became a reality.  Its sole purpose is to target neighborhoods facing the greatest issues with animal overpopulation and to sterilize enough animals in the next 5-10 years to combat the rampant impound and euthanasia rates at our local shelters.  With the extra space and ability to schedule more surgeries at the new clinic, Heaven Can Wait was able to sterilize an amazing 9,331 cats & dogs in 2009.  While this is a record number for our organization and most certainly helps to lessen the impact of new, unwanted litters, it is merely a drop in the bucket toward giving the animals already in the system hope for a better life outside the shelter.  Heaven Can Wait’s goal for 2010 is to reach over 12,000 sterilizations!

We have also not forgotten our other programs and are expanding our efforts to focus even more on community outreach.  Angels for Animals, an afterschool program teaching children responsible pet ownership, will be featured more prominently in the coming year and Tails to Tail, our children’s literacy program, is poised to return even better than before.  Our other staple programs: Pups on Parole, It’s the Pits, Ground Zero, and the Feral Cat Clinic continue to grow stronger and are a valuable resource to those in our neighborhoods facing many different types of hardships.  Heaven Can Wait was formed to help the animals, but we are also fortunate to be able to use these programs to extend that help to their owners as well.

I would also like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all of those associated with our group.  As you all know times are now very tough, and Heaven Can Wait would never be what we are today without the dedication and support of our volunteers, donators, fosters and employees.  The quality of people we get makes us, in my opinion [I know I’m biased] the best animal rescue group in the country.  Remember, we are only ten years young, and we already have a spay/neuter facility and many wonderful programs.  And the numbers speak for themselves: over 44,000 spay/neuters & over 7,500 adoptions so far!  We could never have reached these numbers without having all of your support.  Each and every one of you is so important.  This is a community problem and therefore we need a community to solve it.

The past has been great to us.  Even though we will always have great challenges ahead, we should all be so grateful on what we have been able to accomplish so far.  That being said, the future, although certainly challenging, has never been brighter for the animals.  I do see the day [and sooner than later] that the euthanasia death rate in the shelters will start going down.  I truly believe in the work our organization does and with all of you supporting HCWS, that day will most certainly come.

I am truly excited at the possibilities I see in the next few years.  I invite you to come along for the ride and bring your furry friend with you, too.

Sincerely,
Harold Vosko
Heaven Can Wait Society President
hvosko@hcws.org