Jo Ann Ford balances Morris the cat as he leans over to his friend, Millie the beagle, held by George Ford Saturday, November 22. Saving animals like Morris and Millie by raising funds for the Mackinac County Animal Shelter has been the passion of the Fords for more than five years. County Commissioners are recognizing the efforts of Mr. and Mrs. Ford and other volunteers at a reception Tuesday, December 2. Not long after George Ford volunteerer to walk dogs at the Mackinac County Animal Shelter in St. Ignace, he saw a need and acted on it. With the help of his wife, Jo Ann, and other volunteers, he set out to make the building more hospitable to visitors and animals and increase the number of pet adoptions.

"Now we consider this a half-way house," said Mr. Ford of the shelter.

"It's a temporary happy home," added Mrs. Ford of the animals, "until they get a happy one."

In February 2004, the Fords founded Mackinac Animal Aid Association (MAAA), a nonprofit organization that raises funds to help keep the animals comfortable and healthy while seeking permanent homes for them. Since its inception, MAAA has raised approximately $160,000 through donations and 13 fundraising events, including producing a calendar, selling hot dogs at community events, and organizing Bark in The Park.

The driving force behind the organization, shelter improvements, volunteer hours, and educational programs has been the Fords, say Mackinac County commissioners, who plan to honor their contributions at a special reception Tuesday, December 2, at 6:30 p.m. Commissioners also will recognize the work of fundraising volunteers Ginger and Andy Valentine, Judy Gross, Ronald Cotton, Molly Sweeney, Donna DesJardins, Linda and Linc Smith, and Nancy and Hank Michaels.

The public is invited to attend Tuesday's reception, which will take place on the third floor of the county courthouse in St. Ignace during a commission meeting. Beverages and light snacks will be provided personally by commissioners.

"It is quite a service they have done," said Commission Chair Dawn Nelson. "Of all the fundraising I've seen in the county, I've never seen it to this degree."

"It is for the betterment of the community," she added.

"Without their fundraising contribution, it would have cost this county probably another $50,000 a year," said Calvin "Bucky" McPhee, who, with Mike Patrick, is a commission liaison to the shelter.

Recognizing the Fords' work is long overdue, Mr. Patrick said.

"Those two are unprecedented in dedicating their sole purpose to protecting animals," he said.

The county will spend approximately $34,000 for shelter operations in 2008.

MAAA supports the shelter, although it has no specific responsibilities at the county facility. Mrs. Valentine is the shelter manager and is responsible for the day-to-day care of the animals and shelter operations. Wendy Frosland is the county's animal control officer.

The money raised by the Fords and other volunteers has been used to meet the medical needs of the animals and purchase food and cat litter. Except for the purchase of food, all money raised is spent locally, said Mr. Ford.

The funds also have contributed to building improvements and paid for adoption advertising.

Their greatest success, said Mr. Ford, is finding homes for the animals. Photographs of the animals in newspaper advertising and posters is the factor that has made the difference.

"Because of the ads, we are a nokill shelter," said Mr. Ford.

Although no records exist, before the advertising program, he estimates homes were found for about 25% of the animals at the shelter. The remaining 75%, he said, eventually were euthanized.

Today, the shelter operates with a no-kill policy, said Mr. Ford. Animals only are euthanized when medical care will no longer help a suffering animal or it is too mean to offer for adoption, often the result of abuse.

Two years is the longest an animal has remained at the shelter, and the dog who stayed that long was eventually adopted at a parade in St. Ignace. Before marching down State Street with the dog, Mr. Ford remembers putting a jacket on the shelter's two-year resident that read, "Adopt Me." Visitors who happened to be eating at a local restaurant and watching the parade saw the dog, left their food, caught up with Mr. Ford, and adopted the dog that day.

It's a story he enjoys telling and it demonstrates changes in the adoption rate at the shelter as the group seeks new ways to introduce animals to the public.

About 300 animals pass through the shelter each year. Of those, said Mr. Ford, approximately 200 are adopted. The remaining animals are reclaimed by their owners.

"We like knowing that we've made a difference in their lives," said Mrs. Ford of the shelter animals. "We have changed an outcome. They're getting a second chance they wouldn't have gotten before and they all deserve at least to get another chance."

Since MAAA began fundraising for the shelter, all animals there, approximately 1,000, have been spayed or neutered. The policy, which also is a state law, has made a difference.

"I think we're starting to see the results of that, too," Mr. Ford said. "We don't have the cats roaming in town as we used to have five years ago."

Now, based on a comment made by a local pet owner, the group is experimenting with a financial support program for spaying or neutering. MAAA has begun offering help to residents who are unable to pay up front for the cost of the operation for a pet they already have. The group pays the approximately $90 veterinarian fee, which includes an examination and shots, and the pet owner repays the group an agreedupon amount each month. No interest is charged.

The program is in the testing phase, and if successful, the group hopes it will set an example for other animal support groups around the country. They also hope it will lead to grants that would cover the cost of the spay or neuter operation until residents pay their bills in full. Major pet care companies, said Mrs. Ford, always are looking for innovative ways to encourage spaying or neutering, which would make the program eligible for grants.

"I would like to see it work," she added.

Each animal entering the shelter receives a medical examination, is vaccinated, and dewormed. The average cost to MAAA for the care of an animal is $240. The majority of it is not covered by the adoption fees of $60 for a dog and $40 for a cat.

During their stay, the animals are fed, walked, and played with by workers and volunteers. In addition to the care of the animals, another MAAA goal has been to make the shelter a pleasant place to visit by eliminating odors.

"It was very important for us to make sure that when people come into the shelter, it doesn't smell like a shelter," said Mr. Ford.

Changing litter twice a day and disinfecting litter boxes and food dishes is routine.

Since February 2004, under the Fords' efforts, MAAA has worked with the county to make improvements to the animal shelter building. Sharing the costs with the county, 16 cat cages were added. Before that, the cats roamed freely about the building, which created an odor problem, recalls Mr. Ford, as following natural instincts, unspayed male cats sprayed walls and furniture. Porous concrete floors were covered with easy-care flooring. The furnace was replaced and custom storage cabinets were built. The cat isolation room, where all cats are first housed, was remodeled to include a counter, cabinets, cages, and a sink. The inside of the building has been painted twice.

Through contributions from area businesses and individual donations for supplies, labor, and fees, dog kennel doors were replaced, stones were added outside to eliminate a mud problem, a work table were purchased, as was agility equipment used at Bark in the Park. Collection boxes were bought and placed around town.

The community also has donated toys, bedding, litter, blankets, towels, collars, leashes, and cleaning supplies.

For a few years, MAAA received food from a national corporation. Now the agency must pay for it, although MAAA is charged a wholesale cost from the factory.

Money to pay for food is appreciated at the shelter, although donated food is not, said Mr. Ford. When MAAA first began supporting the shelter, he remembers, many of the animals had intestinal problems, which later were attributed to the constant change in food products. Putting the animals on a diet of the same brand quickly eliminated the issues.

In the last year, there has been an increase in abandoned animals as some families no longer can afford to care for the animals, said Mrs. Ford. Currently, the cat section of the shelter is full.

The couple, who retired and moved to the area in 1999, always have had shelter-adopted pets. They now have five cats and three dogs of their own.

The shelter now is an approved place for LaSalle High School students to earn community service hours. Students who have 120 community service hours are entitled to wear a white cord at graduation.

Also this year, MAAA is spon- soring a book program at the St. Ignace Elementary School. First and second grade students are receiving two books about being kind to animals. The Fords would like to offer educational programs by talking to students about the shelter and animal care.

The group now is getting plans and costs together to approach the county commission seeking approval to build an addition on the shelter. If commissioners approve the construction, MAAA will begin its fundraising program for a cat exercise room. Shelter dogs already have an exercise area.

The cat room project is estimated to cost about $10,000 and would include a window-lined, seven-foot by 24-foot year-around room. The addition would blend with the outside of the shelter, said Mr. Ford.

The group will use a $5,000 grant from Petco, won in a raffle by Mrs. Ford in October, to pay for cat trees and climbing posts to fill the planned room.