10/22/2026
We believe it's always important to share details about our personal experience with the animal welfare crisis that we currently face in our own communities and within the organization of Ambassadors for God's Creatures itself.
I will start by saying it does not feel like animal rescue is getting any better or easier, even with over 10,500 spay/neuter surgeries completed and well over 17,000 free vaccines administered to animals that would otherwise go without any preventative care, we are still seeing the devastating effects of irresponsible pet ownership, animal neglect and abuse.
Factors that are discouraging include the cost for vet care and supplies which has increased significantly in recent years, there are fewer surgery appointments available, less funding to pay for the surgery appointments and there is an endless line of people asking for free services, for us to rehome their pets, take in stray kittens, as well as financial assistance for their pets vet care. We are sworn at, attacked on social media and criticized for not doing enough when we actually are doing enough AND and far more than most realize.
In June we agreed to impound the animals from a home in Chesterfield where there had been blatant neglect of the cats and dogs in the home. We took in 28 animals and as I prepared a list of all the vetting and care for these animals that we, along with the Madison County Humane Society, Indiana paid, the cost was $32,988. That cost will continue to rise because several of the animals are still in our care and the court date for the owner has been rescheduled for January. Regardless of that, that is a lot of money to care for what a responsible pet owner should have taken care of, but rather created an environment where cats were in**ed and have lifelong deformities and health issues because of it, and we became responsible to help these animals. Don't get me wrong, I would do it all over again and rescue those sweet animals from the hell they lived in. My point is the money that Ambassadors and MCHS had to raise to take care of someone elses' neglect.
This post is not about getting on a soap box and declaring that we need stricter animal welfare laws to address people like this. To be honest, we don't have the energy for this battle, on top of what we already do. I simply wish the laws were enforced. Period.
In our view, so many view and treat animals like personal property, and like trash, when they no longer want their pet they discard them. Many resort to taking them to the shelter, dump them in the county, leave them behind when they move or let them wander off to fend for themself. Responsible pet ownership today is lacking. How do you fix that?
Ambassadors offers FREE vaccines and pet food, low cost spay/neuter surgeries that include the appointment and transportation. We offer discounted preventatives and pet food in our thrift shop. Our spay and neuter surgeries alone, each and every month, range from $10,000 to $13,000. The foster-to-adopt program we have, that is not part of our core services, costs us about $4,000/month to support. We have payroll expenses, as well, because there is no way we could rely on volunteers to carry out our services and programming. Sadly, volunteers have been more scarce over the years.
Discouraging and disheartening as it is we are still in an animal welfare crisis and I don't see that improving any time soon. We rescue and care for the animals that no one wants. Speaking for myself I have 18 cats (7 are FeLV positive and one is paralyzed/incontinent), and I also have two dogs, one of which is incontinent and wears diapers. She was dumped by a backyard breeder because of the gentetic imperfections they themself created, and when they couldn't sell her and make the money they wanted, they dumped her on the porch of a rescue in the middle of a very cold winter night. I would not have this many animals if I were not in this field. These are difficult to adopt animals that no one wants. I love all of them and this is not a complaint by any means, it's just the reality of what we deal with daily. When you are in rescue you WILL accumulate animals. There are NOT enough homes for the flood of animals in need.
I will end with saying that we are here for the long haul. I wanted to make this post so people are aware of what we deal and the cost to operate our organization. Ambassadors will continue to do everything we can to alleviate animal suffering, neglect and abuse. We want to help pet owners care for their pets and keep them healthy, as well as out of the shelter environment. We really want to make a dent in the vast number of cat colonies throughout the counties we serve and decrease the population and suffering associated with their plight. Like all other rescues and shelters, we are always-always in need of financial support to carry out our mission and stay in business. Either donating to or shopping in Mitzy's Thrift Shop is a great way to support us. We appreciate any and all support. Monetary donations in any amount help tremendously. You can send checks to us at PO Box 31, Pendleton 46064, donate through PayPal at [email protected], or click the donate button on our FB page.
Thank you for reading this post, for supporting us and for offering the encouragement we need to keep pressing forward. The animals need us most of all. All of our services are listed in the flyer.
