Please help us provide a stand-alone portable building to be donated to Columbia Animal Services to isolate and manage ringworm outbreaks. Ringworm is a completely harmless and non-fatal fungus that thrives in warm and moist environments (in other words, summer in Columbia!). It can take a minimum of 4 weeks to clear up and requires a rigorous course of treatment and cleaning regimen. CAS does not have a properly isolated space within their main building currently, and they have been struggling for years to manage large-scale outbreaks in a small, unventilated room. In a shelter setting, ringworm outbreaks can be devastating, taking up a tremendous amount of time, space, and resources to prevent the spread throughout the entire facility. And sadly, at most municipal shelters, the only practical way to effectively end an outbreak is by euthanizing infected animals. We want to help prevent that here, before our city’s amazing shelter staff are put into the position of having to make those difficult choices. Ringworm is completely treatable—with your help!

Animal Mission will make a 100% match on all contributions to this GoFundMe campaign, up to $9,500, meaning that every dollar pledged here will be doubled. If we can hit this goal together, we’ll be on the fast track to having a dedicated ringworm isolation facility up and running by the second week of August, and not a moment too soon.

We’ll be purchasing a portable 16’ x 24’ building, with plumbing, electrical, and HVAC. We will then need to fully outfit the interior with wall, ceiling, and floor coverings suitable for easy and frequent sanitizing. We’ll also need to provide the following equipment and supplies, all of which are dedicated to the Ringworm containment unit only:

 

Three compartment sink - DONE

Free-standing utility sink - DONE

Window AC unit  - DONATED

Metal kennels  - DONATED BY THE HUMANE SOCIETY

Blacklights

Woods Lamp

Stainless steel shelving - DONATED BY LOWES (WEST COLUMBIA)

Stainless steel tables

Slide cages (2)

Gloves (1)

Dry erase board for treatment tracking

Digital scale

Pull cart

Large trash can

Large container for litter storage

Storage container for dry food

Minifridge for medication - DONE

Bowls and dishes

Broom and dustpan - DONE

Mop and bucket

Misc supplies (gloves, toothbrushes, scrapers, cultures, cleaning products, etc)

Dehumidifier - DONATED BY LOWES (WEST COLUMBIA)

Air Purifier - DONATED

 

**Or if you're able to directly supply any of the items above, thank you! Please email us using the 'Contact' button below to let us know what you can donate! All items inside of the isolation facility must be non-porous (ie, stainless steel or other metal surfaces) so that they can be properly sanitized daily for the mechanical removal of ringworm spores.

Additionally, for her senior thesis, USC Honors College student and shelter volunteer Megan Siegfried will be helping to create treatment protocols and procedures.  Her project, entitled “Redefining Rehabilitative Measures of Feline Dermatophytosis in a Shelter Setting” will be focused on changing the stigma behind the word “ringworm,” both in shelters as well as in the community. She will also continue her ongoing volunteer work to help implement these guidelines for infection control that will improve outcomes at CAS in the future. Her project will provide suggestions on protocol for shelter staff and foster parents, and she has also offered to host education sessions for volunteers on proper ringworm mitigation. 

This is an ambitious project, but it's one that can’t wait. With an active ringworm outbreak making its way through the CAS’s kitten population right now, time is of the essence to get this building purchased and online before the situation worsens. Thank you for any amount you can contribute, large or small! Please share this campaign with anyone you know who might be able to help with a small donation or any of the needed items on the list above!

 

 

• Animal Mission is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of homeless animals in SC by offering vouchers for free and discounted spay/neuter operations for pets throughout the Midlands. Through controlling the population and increasing adoption rates, we can achieve 'No Kill' status for Columbia. Since 2006, Animal Mission has contributed more than $2.3 million for more than 52,000 spay/neuter procedures. We've also funded a variety of upgrades at the Columbia Animal Shelter, enhancing the stay and outcome for thousands of shelter pets as they await their forever homes