East Providence Animal Organization Gets $34K Grant

EAST PROVIDENCE, RI — An animal welfare organization in East Providence was awarded $34,000 from the Rhode Island Foundation.

The grant went to the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Society President Wayne Kezirian said the grant will support its Serving Animals in Need & Training Those Who Protect Them program. The program provides illness and minor emergency care for pets of owners with low incomes, stages vaccination clinics for low income pet owners and trains municipal animal control officers.

"Due to the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the people we serve are facing increased financial strain and housing uncertainty," Kezirian said. "This much needed assistance, which will allow us to increase the amount of low-cost veterinary care we provide for pet owners who cannot afford necessary veterinary care for their pets and to bring low-cost vaccination clinics into our neighborhoods, will allow more Rhode Islanders to keep and properly care for their pets during this difficult time."

• Potter League for Animals, Middletown: $100,000
• Audubon Society of Rhode Island, Smithfield: $7,500
• The Rhode Island Natural History Survey, South Kingstown: $10,000
• CoyoteSmarts, Middletown: $5,000
• East Greenwich Animal Protection League: $6,000
• Animal Rescue Rhode Island, South Kingstown: $19,500
• Friends of Animals In Need, North Kingstown: $15,000
• The Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: $34,000
• West Place Animal Sanctuary, Tiverton: $25,000
• Wildlife Rehabilitators Association of Rhode Island, North Kingstown: $28,000.