Voices of Change Animal League (VOCAL)
Our Mission
VOCAL is not your typical animal welfare organization. Made up of our board, staff, and volunteers, VOCAL was founded by passionate animal advocates who wanted to bring an end to the homeless pet problem in our community. This means working with the community and other organizations to help Marion County, FL become a No-Kill county. From the beginning, our goals and mission have been based solely on the needs of the Marion County area. We looked directly at the statistics at our county shelter when formulating our business plan. We believe the problems must be solved first at home.
The needs in Marion County can only be met through prevention. With the enormous numbers of animals being born into homelessness, the problem is just too large to simply adopt our way out. We knew when outlining our goals, that low-cost spay and neuter services must be available to every citizen in our county in order to cut down on the number of unwanted animals being born in our community.
As we have been fundraising to build our clinic, our organization has grown with passionate volunteers and foster parents. Our original intention was not to rescue animals until our clinic was built, but our dedicated foster parents saw an immediate need and wanted to help. We do not currently have a shelter to house the homeless pets, so we rely solely on an amazing group of people who open their homes to animals in need. All of the pets that are available through our foster and adoption programs come from Marion County Animal Services or Marion County citizens. We are often the last call for these animals, and pride ourselves on taking in dogs and cats that are often overlooked or considered “less adoptable.”
All in all, VOCAL’s fundamentals are community-led, positive, and purposeful. We are different because we are focused on solving problems and coming up with solutions rather than continuing and accepting the current circumstances of homeless pets in Marion County. We started our mission with a goal to make our entire county a no-kill county. Although we have not reached this yet, we know it is entirely possible to achieve our goal not only in Marion County but, down the road, in communities beyond our county line. All things are possible with cooperation from the community, from other animal welfare organizations, and of course, with the passion, teamwork, and creativity we value and strive for here at VOCAL every day.
Please join us on our mission, and make a difference for the homeless pets in our community today.
Adoption Policy
Have you found a pet that you like on our adoption page and now you are wondering how to adopt from VOCAL? Every Wednesday and Saturday we have open adoption hours from 10 am – 2 pm at our facility. Our trained adoption counselors are available to meet with you and help you meet your new best friend.
Want to get a head start? You can submit an application online to get the ball rolling! The application requires no commitment from you, if you decide later on the animal is not the right fit. The application simply allows us to start the process with you. While we do have set adoption hours on Wednesday and Saturday, we can also schedule adoption meet and greets by appointment to accommodate your schedule.
As an organization founded by animal advocates, we truly see the animals in our care as family members. With this in mind, consider for a moment the thought processes you would go through if you were re-homing one of your beloved pets. You probably just thought of several questions you would want answered (for both the pet and the future owners sake) and considered a few steps you would take to ensure it was a great match! We believe you would expect any organization handling the adoptions of dogs and cats to have a process that is both thorough yet as expedient as possible. Below we have outlined what you can expect from our adoption process.
WEEKLY WALK-IN ADOPTION HOURS
WEDNESDAYS & SATURDAYS 10 AM - 2 PM
STEP 1
Adoption Counselors receive and review the applications.
STEP 2
Adoption Counselors discuss details of the application with the applicant and answer any questions the applicant may have.
STEP 3
If the applicant and the Adoption Counselor agree that the animal and their home sound like it could be a potential match, a meet and greet is conducted or scheduled.
STEP 4
If the pet and the applicant seem to be the perfect match, the animal has found its new home and the adoption is complete!
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day hours Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday 10-2 Thursday - Friday - Saturday 10-2 Sunday -
