When Brenda lost her beloved 16 year old dog last January, she turned to the Allen County SPCA for help finding a new family member.

She immediately fell for Roxbury. The dog not only made an instant connection with Brenda, but also with her son, who has autism. All of us expected a lifetime off happiness for them.

Roxy was the perfect addition to the family!

But this summer, tragedy struck. A house fire left Brenda and her son temporarily homeless, with no place for Roxy. The family was devastated and terrified to lose their four-legged companion.

Thanks to a grant from PetSmart Charities and our Compassion Foster Program, Roxy was able to stay with us here at the Allen County SPCA while her mom worked to rebuild her life.

In the meantime, our dedicated staff and volunteers gave Roxy all the love a pup could ask for! Brenda and her son visited regularly, always looking forward to the day they could bring Roxy home again.

With their home rebuilt, all they needed was a fence for Roxy. So a couple of weeks ago, several of our staff and volunteers took a Sunday to build the fence for her!

And just like that, this loving family was together again!

Click here to learn more about our Pet Promises and Compassion Foster programs.

Most of us get a little nervous the first day on the job, but not Boots!

Boots is excited to be the 500^th feline hired through the Allen County SPCA’s Working Cat Program!

Working Cats are felines that are not suitable for life inside of a house or are accustomed to the outdoor life.

An alternative to euthanasia, the Working Cat Program is designed for cats that have been deemed “un-adoptable” through traditional means.

In partnership with Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control (FWACC) and H.O.P.E. for Animals, this program matches cats with cat lovers who have a barn or other secure outdoor structure and are interested in adopting a “working” feline for their property.

Boots’ story began when she was brought to FWACC from her long-time community cat colony with a severe injury to her back leg.

FWACC offered to treat the injury, update Boots’ vaccines and return her to the colony if there was a way she could recover safely there.

Sadly, there wasn’t. She’d have to remain at FWACC until she was well again. But Boots’ leg would need time to recover, and safely returning her to the colony she knew after a month-long absence wouldn’t be possible.

When her leg was fully healed, FWACC knew they needed to find a solution for Boots. So, they reached out to us to see if a Working Cat placement was available. Luckily for Boots, a local family just happened to be hiring!

September 9, 2020, Boots and two other feline colleagues were taken to their new “office” and started work right away!

It’s a new day in Fort Wayne, and Boots’ story illustrates that purrrrfectly!

Today, our area’s animal welfare community is working hard to ensure that lifesaving alternatives and opportunities are available for hundreds of animals like Boots who don’t fit the traditional adoption mold.

Thanks to YOU and the hundreds of Working Cat “employers” who saw the value in these felines, today we celebrate Boots and her 499 feline colleagues who are safe, happy, healthy and gainfully employed!

Learn more about our Working Cat program, or to apply to employ a Working Cat of your own!