The San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SF/SPCA) believes that animals, as living creatures, have value beyond economic measurement, and are entitled to legal, moral, and ethical consideration and protection. The Society's mission is to act as an advocate on behalf of animals and as an enforcer of their rights; to provide for the well-being of the community's animals who are abandoned, injured, subject to unfair or cruel treatment, or otherwise in need; to cultivate in the people of the community an awareness of the animals whose world we share; to promote a bond of mutual assistance between people and animals; and to instill respect for the appreciation of all living things. In this episode The Visionaries crew travels to San Francisco to visit the SF/SPCA's on site programs and to venture into the field with the Society's staff as they work in the community. On location at the Society's state-of-the-art facility, the crew visits with staff and volunteers as they work to get the shelter's dogs and cats adopted. As a part of the SF/SPCA's no-kill policy the Society works with thousands of treatable animals, including sick and injured cats and dogs. Every year, approximately 3,200 treatable animals are medically or behaviorally rehabilitated by the SF/SPCA before being placed in loving new homes. Also on site, SPCA staff members work in the Society's accredited animal hospital, entertain the dogs in the Doggie Daycare, offer a variety of animal behavior and training courses to the public, and educate children in the Society's summer camp program. Then, in the field, the crew travels with SF/SPCA staff as they work with the Society's network of volunteers committed to assisting and controlling the Bay Area's feral cat population. Through the SF/SPCA's Feral Cat Assistance Program over 6,000 cats have been spayed or neutered, improving their health and well being and preventing the birth of thousands of unwanted kittens. Also while in the field, the crew visits area hospitals with the Animal Assisted Therapy Program (AAT). This program brings the healing presence of animals to people in health care facilities citywide. Every year AAT volunteers visit more than 35,000 patients at 125 institutions, including hospices, retirement communities, and convalescent homes. For 130 years the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has served the animals and people of the Bay Area. Today the Society is recognized as the nation's most progressive and innovative humane organization. The SF/SPCA's work is dedicated to protecting and providing for communities' animals in need, fostering an awareness of their importance in our lives, and finding a loving lifelong home for every animal taken into its shelter.
