Protectors of Animals Inc.

Our goals are to:
•Provide shelter and veterinary care to cats and dogs until they can be matched with responsible owners.
•Reduce the number of stray animals in Connecticut through spaying/neutering programs.
•Increase community awareness of the importance of spaying/neutering, as well as providing information about proper pet care throughout all stages of an animal's life - a critical component to ending animal overpopulation and homelessness.
•Humanely reduce the populations of community and feral (unsocialized) cats through the strategy of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR).

POA's strategies and programs are focus on rescue, foster care, adoption, TNR of feral cats, and spay/neuter. These include:
•Shelter/Foster Programs: POA currently operates a cat shelter and adoption center in East Hartford, CT and dog shelters in East Hampton and Wethersfield, CT. POA also maintains a foster home network for kittens.
•POA SPAY!: POA opened an affordable and accessible spay/neuter clinic for cats and dogs in January 2017. This clinic reduces cat and dog overpopulation, homelessness and suffering.
•SPAY Connecticut: POA is the state leader for the national organization United Spay Alliance and maintains a phone, email and web site (www.spayct.org) referral program for low-cost spay/neuter services, as well as a subsidy programs for financially challenged pet owners who utilize our clinic.
•Feral Cat Services (TNR): Volunteer trappers receive spay/neuter assistance for TNR and access to spay/neuter services. POA also provides financial assistance for TNR to community members through POA SPAY!.
•Placement Team: This program offers guidance on rehoming to individuals who can no longer keep their pets.
•It's Hip to Snip™ Transport Shuttle: POA utilizes a temperature-controlled van to transport shelter animals for surgeries and vaccinations, and meet and greets with dogs available for adoption.
•Community Education: POA provides education through social media, website, newsletters and at the time of adoption. Lectures are also provided to social and business groups on animal care and humane education materials have been created for use in schools.
•Food Banks: POA collects and distributes pet food and supplies to other area organizations who work with financial challenged owners.

POA's strategies and programs are focus on rescue, foster care, adoption, TNR of feral cats, and spay/neuter. These include:
•Shelter/Foster Programs: POA currently operates a cat shelter and adoption center in East Hartford, CT and dog shelters in East Hampton and Wethersfield, CT. POA also maintains a foster home network for kittens.
•POA SPAY!: POA opened an affordable and accessible spay/neuter clinic for cats and dogs in January 2017. This clinic reduces cat and dog overpopulation, homelessness and suffering.
•SPAY Connecticut: POA is the state leader for the national organization United Spay Alliance and maintains a phone, email and web site (www.spayct.org) referral program for low-cost spay/neuter services, as well as a subsidy programs for financially challenged pet owners who utilize our clinic.
•Feral Cat Services (TNR): Volunteer trappers receive spay/neuter assistance for TNR and access to spay/neuter services. POA also provides financial assistance for TNR to community members through POA SPAY!.
•Placement Team: This program offers guidance on rehoming to individuals who can no longer keep their pets.
•It's Hip to Snip™ Transport Shuttle: POA utilizes a temperature-controlled van to transport shelter animals for surgeries and vaccinations, and meet and greets with dogs available for adoption.
•Community Education: POA provides education through social media, website, newsletters and at the time of adoption. Lectures are also provided to social and business groups on animal care and humane education materials have been created for use in schools.
•Food Banks: POA collects and distributes pet food and supplies to other area organizations who work with financial challenged owners.

POA has rescued and placed almost 20,000 cats and 7,700 dogs. POA serves approximately 1,000 animals annually through our shelter operations and provides over 100 spay/neuter surgeries and 200 vaccination services weekly (4,500/9,000 annually) through our POA SPAY high-volume, low-cost spay/neuter clinic. POA also provides support for trap-neuter-return services for feral cats and subsidized spay/neuter surgeries for cats owned by low-income and financially challenged community members through our clinic.

POA celebrated its 46th year of helping Connecticut's animals in March of 2021. POA was awarded the Independent Charity Seal of Excellence for its ability to certify, document and demonstrate that it meets the highest standards of public accountability, programs and cost effectiveness. Of over 1,000,000 charities operating in the United States, fewer than 2,000 have been awarded this Seal. POA was also identified by Halo, Purely for Pets as a top-tier charity. In addition, POA was voted the best local charity in the CT Now Best of Hartford 2015 Readers' Poll.