Alley Cat Advocates was founded in 1999. Karen and Hoyt spent a year creating a strong infrastructure for the organization and the first surgery was performed in October, 2000.
During the first month of operation, the group performed twelve surgeries. Karen and Hoyt managed the group from their home, fielding four or five phone calls each week. Slowly, the program began to expand.
In 2005, they realized that many of the cats who had been spayed or neutered, ear-tipped and vaccinated through the Alley Cat Advocates program were being picked up and euthanized by Metro Animal Services. Not only did this seem to be a waste of time and resources, Karen and Hoyt also felt that the community wanted, and the animals deserved, a better outcome.
Karen began working closely with the staff at Metro Animal Services. She listened to, and supported, those employees who performed the work mandated by MAS policies…efficiently and effectively killing animals…and she became familiar with the issues these employees dealt with on a daily basis.
In 2007, Metro Animal Services hired a new director, Dr. Gilles Meloche. Bringing a new perspective to the agency, Dr. Meloche became a remarkable agent of change, seeking out progressive alternatives and programs designed to help the animals in our community. Dr. Meloche also suggested that Alley Cat Advocates and Metro Animal Services apply for a Petsmart Charities grant to “practice and illustrate the effectiveness of a Trap-Neuter-Return program in targeted zip codes.” The two organizations were awarded a two-year grant of $75,000 in 2010.