No More Homeless pets Jacksonville Florida

The mission of First Coast No More Homeless Pets (FCNMHP) is to end the killing of dogs and cats in shelters in our community, northeast Florida and the nation.

How We Do It

“For several years now I have followed with admiration the innovative life-saving work done by First Coast No More Homeless Pets in northeast Florida, and Best Friends Animal Society has been proud to support their programs. The reduction in shelter deaths in Jacksonville has been spectacular and an example to many other communities.”

– Gregory Castle, CEO of Best Friends Animal Society

We provide a multifaceted approach to pet overpopulation by combining free and low-cost spay/neuter, adoption initiatives, and innovative pet retention services. We work with local animal welfare groups and our community to reach those who need help keeping and caring for their pet.

Accomplishments

Since 2002, we have facilitated more than 170, 000 pet sterilizations in the First Coast area. We have seen an overall reduction in shelter pet intake, as well as a more than 90 percent decrease in the number of animals being euthanized.

In April 2009, FCNMHP opened a high-volume, high-quality spay/neuter clinic, located in the Joseph A. Strasser Animal Health and Welfare Building, to facilitate the needed increase in surgeries. The clinic is designed with the capacity for up to 200 daily sterilizations, making it one of the highest volume clinics in the country when at full capacity.

To help support our low-cost and free spay/neuter programs, we also provide affordable pet health care. We offer vaccinations, testing, microchipping, flea and heartworm preventive, dental cleanings, and other treatments in our veterinary clinic.

FCNMHP also opened the Jacksonville Pet Food Bank in March 2010, giving qualified low-income families pet food so that they may keep their pets in this challenging economy. More than 700, 000 pounds of food have been distributed to more than 7, 500 pets.

Our History

First Coast No More Homeless Pets began in 2001 when Rick DuCharme, Founder and Executive Director, developed the SpayJax program, in response to a request by the City of Jacksonville. Following SpayJax, SpayNassau was developed along with two other similar low-cost programs.

In 2006, our Trap-Neuter-Return program was developed to offer low-cost spay and neuter surgeries for feral, stray, outdoor, and community cats. In 2008, working with the City of Jacksonville, the Feral Freedom program was officially introduced as the first public/private collaboration in the nation to save all feral, stray, outdoor, and community cats that entered the city’s shelters. To date, the program has saved the lives of more than 22, 000 community cats.