The Animal Rights Alliance Inc. (T.A.R.A.)

T.A.R.A. is a 501(c)3 non profit organization addressing pet overpopulation through low-cost spay/neuter services and vaccine clinics

The Animal Rights Alliance, Inc., was founded in 1984 by Rose and Stephen Tardif to help stray and abandoned animals. They started out by trapping and finding homes for cats and dogs. They also helped others find homes for unwanted cats and dogs, and made sure all were spayed and neutered prior to adoption. It was time-consuming and painstaking. They finally came to the realization that their efforts made a difference for a few, but were not addressing the more serious problem of pet overpopulation. While they were saving one or two at a time, thousands were reproducing. It was like filling a pail of water with a hole in its bottom! Upon further analysis, they came to the fact that there are only two ways to curtail pet overpopulation; one is to raise the death rate and the other is to lower the birth rate. They opted for the latter. Determined to find a way to increase spaying and neutering and make it affordable for everyone in need, they networked with others, formed alliances with local veterinarians, and even spent years negotiating with county governments in order to implement a spay/neuter program that would work effectively and cost efficiently. One day, the opportunity to purchase a mobile clinic presented itself, and they took the leap and the risk to follow their dream. On March 26th 2002, T.A.R.A. rolled out its mobile spay/neuter clinic focused on cats for the first time. T.A.R.A. spayed and neutered ten females and nine males on that day. The task involved many learning curves, but with the help of experienced veterinarians and a proficient staff, their program grew by leaps and bounds. Now, our organization's low-cost, high-volume, high-quality feline mobile spay/neuter clinic has entered its 21st year of operation. In addition, we also opened a stationary state-of-the-art spay/neuter clinic focused on dogs in April 2014. The T.A.R.A. stationary clinic is located in Middletown, New York. Presently, T.A.R.A. has exceeded 177,000 surgeries since 2002! The clinic can and has performed over 60 spays and neuters on a given day, but 40 to 60 is generally the norm. It is, for T.A.R.A., an outstanding accomplishment and beyond its highest expectations. TARA wishes to thank all those in the tri-state area and, especially, the Hudson Valley, for their vigorous and generous support which enabled us to obtain a new, state-of-the-art mobile clinic in September, 2011. Our new clinic is able to accommodate more cats comfortably, while providing our staff with the space and mobility they require to function more efficiently. We would also like to extend a special 'Thank You' to the ASPCA, Marian's Dream, PetSmart Charities, and Petco Love. Without all of you, this would not have happened. On April 15th 2014, T.A.R.A. opened the doors to its state-of-the-art, stationary clinic for dogs at 60 Enterprise Place in Middletown, New York. Opening day we spayed and neutered 13 dogs and since then, our numbers have been steadily growing. To date we have spayed or neutered over 33,500 dogs! Our success is attributable to a bequest and a grant from the ASPCA in New York. In addition, we have started a weekly vaccine clinic at the stationary clinic for cats and dogs that already have been spayed/neutered. We can now provide affordable prices for vaccines and other services to the general public and, especially, for those of lower income

Mission — Our mission is to reduce the number of stray, abandoned, and unwanted cats and dogs from coming into a system that cannot hold them. This will stop the killing and create more good homes