Understanding the difference between a Privately Funded Animal Shelter and a Municipal Tax Payer Funded Animal Shelter
There is often a misconception with regards to Elk Country Animal Shelter and other privately funded shelters like us. While we do receive funds from Montmorency, Oscoda and Presque Isle County's; understanding the source and purpose for those funds is incredibly important. We are operating on a Contract with the above county's to house their Stray Dogs and any animals seized due to neglect or abuse while they conduct their investigation and pursue prosecution.
That is the extent of our funding from the County's we contract with.
We are not funded by Tax Payers. We are contracted to provide a service for the County's we contract with.
Municipal Tax Payer Funder Shelters may be mandated to only provide their services to the county in which they operate. Such as; animal control services are limited to the county in which the animal control or designated lawful authority (i.e. sheriffs department or police department) for that county. In other words; they operate within their Jurisdiction. Private Animal Shelters are not under such mandates. They are at their own discretion (typically based on space availability) with which what animals they might take in (owner surrenders), while Municipal shelters typically only take in from within their city/county.
Our Shelter
While we provide low cost spay/neuter, dental and vaccinations to the public-we provide that service to anyone and everyone who wishes to use said services. Understand that the funds we obtain from such services help to ensure we can continue to provide such services. We are an Animal Shelter with an added bonus of a low cost clinic. It is a service we are happy to provide, it is not one we are required to provide. Much like any regular Veterinary Clinic (as our spay/neuter clinic is open to all), we are under no mandate to accommodate any one county over another for the services we provide outside of our contracted services with the County's in which we serve. (Only exception: Specific events sponsored by donors who have dictated which counties those events cover i.e. Cat-urday being limited to Montmorency and Oscoda County's for Female Cats only). We offer these services on a first come, first serve basis. And we receive an overwhelming demand for such services, so we encourage you continue to call or if we cannot accommodate you in the timely manner you are hoping for, you're welcome to see the Additional Resources page for other organizations much like ourselves that offer such services to the general public on a limited space available basis. We provide you this information to help you find another resource to suit your needs, but that does not mean we guarantee their availability. They are all in the same position as we are, as there is an overwhelming demand across the entire state of Michigan. Understanding this will hopefully ease the confusion with regards to why you cannot seem to get an appointment with us. Timing is everything. We are currently playing catch up from a number of clinics we've had to cancel due to weather. So scheduling has been pushed back for anyone and everyone else beyond those whose appointments were cancelled.
Thank you for your understanding and patience.
Patience
We as a society have to learn to be patient and understanding with those we intend to do business with. Small clinics such as ourselves (with one Veterinarian who travels across the state to provide the services she provides) are easily overwhelmed by the demand for services. We would love nothing more than to accommodate each and every one of you as soon as possible, but we just cannot do so. This is why we provide an Additional Resources page that has a wealth of information at your fingertips because we, just as they, simply cannot keep up by ourselves. Help us help you by utilizing the information we provide you and also, ask them for any other organizations we might not have listed as well. We all must work together to overcome the overwhelming demand for services by branching out and seeking services where you can when those local to you cannot accomodate in the timeframe you are hoping.