Animal Care Sanctuary is a no kill shelter with clinics located in East Smithfield and Wellsboro, PA. It strives to rescue, rehabilitate and adopt companion animals, provide continuing support for the people who care for them, and to advance the highest standards in animal welfare.  Before receiving a grant from the BISSELL Pet Foundation, veterinarians would perform the procedures in a dimly lit kitchen of a farmhouse with worn out clippers. The lighting was inadequate, causing the room to get extremely hot and the vet often got headaches from the extreme heat and poor lighting. This made spay/neuter surgeries last longer and with the decrease in efficiency, less animals were being spayed/neutered in a day. The BISSELL Pet Foundation grant enabled the purchase of a surgical spot light and cordless clippers for surgeries and veterinary care, and the sanctuary has expanded their services more often throughout the week. This allows more animals to be served. Animal Care Sanctuary was able to perform 611 spay/neuter surgeries and 432 clinic appointments with their new equipment!

One of the first animals spayed with the benefit of the new equipment was a little tailless cat named Pixie. The spay surgery was a great accomplishment for both Pixie and the sanctuary. Pixie was adopted by a woman named Diane, who has fostered many litters from the sanctuary before. She is always the first to adopt a senior or special needs cat and give them the life they deserve, so Pixie was in good hands. Unfortunately, Diane was diagnosed with lung cancer shortly after adopting Pixie, and the Animal Care Sanctuary team was at her side as she had been for them so many times before when a new litter was brought in to the sanctuary. They drove her to and from appointments, and she comes in to the sanctuary often for her “feline therapy.” Despite her setbacks, Diane has provided Pixie with a loving home, and Pixie was provided a second chance thanks to Animal Care Sanctuary and the help of the BISSELL Pet Foundation.