Operation Kindness – the original and largest no-kill shelter in North Texas – will begin celebrating their 40th anniversary in 2016, with more than 4,500 homeless animals adopted in 2015 and the highest in the shelter’s history.
“For the fourth consecutive year, adoption numbers have continued to increase – this year we were able to find homes for 4,519 animals,” says Jim Hanophy, CEO of Operation Kindness. “Our continued success throughout the years is due to the loyal support of our hardworking volunteers and community partners. Additionally, our corporate and community education programs and annual social events have allowed us to increase awareness of our mission, contributing to our success.”
Adoption numbers continued to grow in 2015 with the introduction of new community programs, including:
- Foster Talent Agent Training – a volunteer foster program designed to provide adoptable animals with a “human wingman” to find their perfect match.
- Kindness, Inc. – a corporate leadership program designed to encourage teamwork, philanthropy and career development in the business sector.
- Kindness Klubhouse – a satellite adoption center for off-site adoptions of Operation Kindness’ most precious kittens, puppies, cats and dogs, located at 13394 Preston Road.
- Happy Tails Society – dedicated friends provide a monthly gift to help pay for the medical care, medicine, food, shelter, nurturing and behavior training the pets need to have a second chance at life.
For each animal that is adopted, Operation Kindness is then able to save another animal’s life. Animals of all sizes, breeds, colors and ages are available for a small adoption fee – which includes vaccinations, worming, testing, microchipping, collar and ID tag. Adoption fees are $135 for cats/kittens and $185 for dogs/puppies.
Adoption fees also help cover other costs of caring for the animals – food, medicine, tests, spay/neuter surgery, other surgeries, medical procedures, rehabilitation and recovery. This year Operation Kindness performed 5,163 surgeries; 13,169 exams; 1,587 spays and 1,541 neuters; providing more than $83,000 worth of medicine and serving 328,000 meals.
Operation Kindness is unlike other nonprofits and does not receive funding from the government, instead relying solely on funds from donations, grants and adoption fees to care for homeless animals. As Operation Kindness continues to expand their services to save more lives, their expenses grow as well.