Over the past decade, Delaware has altered more than 40,000 pets and vaccinated over 31,000 animals against rabies through a single coordinated program. They’ve achieved a 90% save rate across their shelter system. How? By creating a centralized Office of Animal Welfare that coordinates everything from lost pets to cruelty investigations to subsidized spay neuter programs.
Host Penny Ellison interviews Joanna Miller, Deputy Director of Delaware’s Office of Animal Welfare, and Melody Purdy, the Spay and Neuter Program Coordinator. They reveal how Delaware consolidated fragmented animal services under one state office—and why this model is working so well that other states are starting to follow.
In this episode, we explore:
- Why Delaware created a centralized Office of Animal Welfare in 2013
- What animal welfare looked like before—and the problems they were trying to solve
- All the functions now grouped under one office: shelter regulation, animal control, cruelty enforcement, disaster response, and spay/neuter programs
- How a $3 rabies vaccination surcharge funds accessible spay/neuter services
- The pet food manufacturer’s fee that generates over $1 million annually for animal welfare
- How Delaware’s voucher program serves low-income pet owners—and why owned pets are the top priority
- The grant program that funds spay/neuter for homeless animals and TNR programs
- Why having one central point of contact eliminates confusion for the community and increases returns to owner
- How this model enables cooperation between animal control officers, shelters, and rescues
- The challenges of funding animal services through nonprofits versus state programs
- Why advocates in other states should consider pushing for similar centralized offices
Joanna and Melody share practical details about funding mechanisms, eligibility requirements, and how the program has grown from $350,000 to $1.5 million annually.
Key Takeaway: Centralizing animal welfare services under one state office creates efficiency, eliminates confusion, ensures consistent funding, and enables true collaboration across agencies. Delaware’s model proves that comprehensive, coordinated animal welfare programs work—and other states can replicate them.
Resources mentioned
- Delaware Spay Neuter Program: spayneuterdelaware.com
- Contact Joanna and Melody with questions: podcast@animaladvocacyacademy.com
- Podcast show notes, transcripts and previous episodes: animaladvocacyacademy.com/podcast
Joanna and Melody have offered to speak with advocates interested in bringing this model to their own states. Send your questions and we’ll get them answered!
Transcript
Penny Ellison:
Welcome back to the Animal Advocate. Over the past decade, Delaware has sterilized more than 40,000 pets and vaccinated over 31,000 animals against rabies. Through a single coordinated program, they’ve achieved a 90% save rate across their shelter system. How? By doing something most states haven’t done, creating a centralized Office of Animal Welfare that coordinates everything from lost pets to cruelty investigations to subsidized spay neuter programs.
Welcome to the Animal Advocate, where we arm animal lovers with the information and inspiration you need to become effective advocates. I’m your host, Penny Ellison, and I’ve taught animal law and advocacy at the University of Pennsylvania since 2006. If you’ve ever thought someone should do something about that, I’m here to guide you on your journey to being that someone. You can find us on the web at animaladvocacyacademy.com and that’s where you’ll find show notes and resources, and you can send us your comments on episodes and ideas for topics you’d like to hear on future shows.So on to today’s topic.
Today I’m joined by two leaders from Delaware’s Office of Animal Welfare, Joanna Miller, who serves as Deputy Director and is a licensed veterinary technician, and Melody Purdy, the Spay and Neuter Program Coordinator. Delaware established its Office of Animal Welfare in 2013 to consolidate and coordinate all companion animal programs in the state. Instead of having animal services scattered across multiple agencies and jurisdictions, everything operates under one coordinated office. Lost pets, animal control, cruelty investigations, and subsidized spay neuter programs all work together.
Delaware’s model of centralizing all companion animal programs at the state level under the Division of Public Health remains relatively unique. What makes Delaware’s approach particularly effective is that subsidized spay neuter program. The program serves both low income pet owners who might otherwise be unable to afford these services and provides grants to shelters and rescues to subsidize spay neuter for homeless animals, including trap neuter return programs for community cats.
This two-pronged approach, helping people keep their pets while also addressing shelter populations, is exactly the kind of upstream thinking we’ve been talking about on this podcast. Joanna and Melody are going to walk us through how this system works, what challenges they faced, and most importantly, how advocates in other states can learn from Delaware’s model to push for similar programs in their own communities. So let’s get started. Welcome Joanna and Melody to the Animal Advocate.
Joanna Miller:
Thanks for having us here today.
Penny Ellison
I am excited to talk to you guys about the Delaware Office of Animal welfare, because most states don’t have one. I don’t think Pennsylvania certainly doesn’t. But I just connected with a woman in Vermont who’s there first director of Animal Welfare. So I’m hoping that it’s a growing trend. So can you tell me why Delaware established an office of Animal Welfare? Like what concerns were they trying to address?
Joanna Miller
Yeah, so back in early 2013, there were some concerns about how animals were being treated in shelters. So a lot of the stakeholders in the area put their heads together and said, you know, how can we fix this problem? So the General Assembly actually formed a stakeholder task force and they were able to develop legislation and create our office. So a 2013 is, is when our office actually was created.
Penny Ellison
Can you tell me what animal welfare was like in Delaware before they formed that task force and what really motivated them?
Joanna Miller
Absolutely can. I was working in the veterinary field. So I was in and out of shelters back then teaching some classes. And you could really see the difference from now and then. You know, animals, when they came into the shelters, they weren’t treated the same as they are now. They didn’t receive the veterinary care that they receive now. And it was a little bit more biased. Anything with a blocky head really wasn’t making it to that adoption floor. So we weren’t seeing, you know, the chance that they’re given today the behavioral advantages that they have now.
Penny Ellison
They were euthanizing most of the dogs that looked like pit mixes?
Joanna Miller
Yes.
Melody Purdy
And not all the shelters, not all of them.
Penny Ellison
But they were concerned about euthanasia rates.
Joanna Miller
Correct. This was before no kill was around.
Penny Ellison
So can you tell me what all functions now are grouped within the Office of Animal Welfare?
Joanna Miller
Sure, I’d be happy to. So one of the main things that we do is we regulate the shelters in the state. So we have a law called the shelter standards law that every shelter needs to follow. We do annual shelter inspections. We do inspections. If there’s any, you know, complaints from constituents, we’ll follow up on them. We run a pretty big healthy spay neuter program, as you know. We also have Delaware Animal Rescue, in case we have any natural disasters that come into our state, we’re prepared to handle them by setting up shelter. Those are co located shelters with people and pets. We also have a rabies remittance program which Mel will talk about, which is part of our spay neuter program. Those are some examples that we have within our animal welfare program.
Penny Ellison
Okay. And I’m not sure you mentioned this, but do you also enforce the animal cruelty laws?
Joanna Miller
We do, yes. So that would be our Delaware Animal Services.
Penny Ellison
Okay, that’s. I wasn’t sure of that. So animal control is also under you?
Joanna Miller
It is in the Office of Animal Welfare. Yes.
Penny Ellison
Because that’s sort of the big difference is all of those services in Pennsylvania, and I think probably most states, they’re fragmented and municipalities do animal control. And if you witness cruelty, you might be able to call your police, but they’ll probably refer you to, in Pennsylvania a Humane Society Police Officer that’s sworn in your county that might work for, for any one of a number of nonprofits. So I think from the public’s perspective, it’s not always clear where to go to get help for all of these issues. So that’s why I think that’s such a great advantage to have one place to say, let me call the Office of Animal Welfare and see what I’m supposed to do in this situation.
Joanna Miller
Yeah, and I’m actually glad you said that because. one big problem ten years ago is no one knew where to call. I’ve lost my pet or I’m seeing animal cruelty. They didn’t know where to go. That has really improved in our state because if you have a stray pet, pet, everybody knows where they need to go to look for them. If they need a report, we have a dispatch center you can call. We’ll give you any information. Stray pet, lost pet, animal cruelty. So it’s a one stop shop now.
Joanna Miller
So people know where to go in the state, which has been a huge advantage.
Penny Ellison:
That’s amazing. I bet that results in a lot more returns to owner.
Joanna Miller:
Absolutely.
Penny Ellison:
So you mentioned spay/neuter, which is of course one of my areas of interest is trying to get more accessible spay/neuter services to try to lift the burden off shelters. Because it’s my perception, and you can correct me if I’m wrong, that there is a lot of need and interest out there for people that would be willing to spay or neuter their pet, but they either financially or transportation wise or some other …they have some barrier to accessing those services. So tell me how that spay/neuter program works in Delaware and how you reach low income people.
Melody Purdy:
So the program was designed to make spay/neuter accessible for pet owners who otherwise could not afford it, and then also to support rescues working with homeless animals. So when the Office of Animal Welfare was established in 2013, one of its key responsibilities became managing this program. The program actually had already existed and was handled by Department of Agriculture before then. It was small, but it was transferred over to the Office of Animal Welfare. The program works by funding the surgeries for dogs and cats. And we focus on owned and low income Delaware residents and homeless animals taken in by local shelters and rescues and also community cats through TNR programs as well.
Penny Ellison:
Everything you guys are saying is telling me that Delaware pays for a lot of things that other states don’t pay for, like enforcement of the cruelty laws. You know, in Pennsylvania, those officers are employed by nonprofit organizations that have to raise the money to pay them and buy the vehicles and all of that stuff. And in Delaware, that’s all part of your office and that’s taken care of. They’re state employees. And when you just said about spay/neuter. So the state is also taking on the responsibility to provide spay/neuter services for owned animals and to shelters so that they don’t have to incur that expense to spay and neuter the animals that they take in. That’s amazing. Tell me how many pets that you’re serving through that program and has it been increasing lately? I know that shelter intake has been increasing. With the economic factors that are out there now. Do you see a lot of demand for the services?
Melody Purdy:
Yes, we do. So we’ve had an increase in revenue in the past few years because the spay/neuter fund, it’s funded through three components.
Penny Ellison:
You know, revenue. Talk about that. Yes. Because I want to make sure that advocates know where does this money come from and how might we do it in our state?
Melody Purdy:
Because that kind of really reflects where the numbers have gone in the past few years. We receive a rabies vaccination surcharge. It’s a $3 surcharge that’s applied to rabies vaccinations that are administered to cats and dogs in Delaware.
Penny Ellison:
So any vet that gives a rabies shot then sends the $3 to the spay/neuter fund.
Melody Purdy:
Yep. So each month, any. Any rabies that’s given those are collected each month and they’re turned into our offices.
Penny Ellison:
That’s great because you have to keep track of rabies vaccines anyway for public health purposes.
Melody Purdy:
Yep. So we get the reporting for that and then we get their surcharge fees in addition to.
Joanna Miller:
And I would just add to that. That cost is actually coming from the client. The veterinarian is not paying that $3. That $3 is added to their rabies vaccine. And then the veterinarian collects that money at the end of the month and sends it in. So the veterinarian’s not paying that themselves.
Penny Ellison:
So it’s pet owners and pet lovers who are helping finance this spay and neuter services for people who can’t afford it.
Joanna Miller:
That makes it a little bit easier for them when they want to know why.
Melody Purdy:
Yeah, and it is nice. I mean, they do have the administrative burden of sending in that money, but they can, you know, they just run a report, total those up, and then send them in each month. So we also receive pet food registration fees. So which companies that are selling pet food in Delaware, they have to pay a fee on each brand of food distributed within the state each year. So that’s our new source of funding, Jo. I think it’s about three years ago now. We’ve run about our third year of funding, and it’s been increasing each year.
Penny Ellison:
Do you know how much they pay per brand now?
Melody Purdy:
It’s a hundred dollars, right?
Penny Ellison:
Per brand. So, yeah.
Melody Purdy:
So each year they pay $100 per brand.
Penny Ellison:
That doesn’t seem terribly burdensome.
Melody Purdy:
Yeah, money’s collected by our Department of Agriculture, and they give us a portion of that… of the dog and cat food sales comes to us. So that contributes a majority of our funding at this time for the Spay Neater program is through that. And then thirdly, we have an animal welfare license plate that we sell, and then we. We receive a portion of those funds each month as well. So before pet food fees were collected, our revenue was steady at about $350,000 a year. But over the last three years, our revenue has increased each year. So we’ve grown to around $1.5 million annually, which is new for us.
Melody Purdy:
So of that, we typically set aside $350,000 for owned pet vouchers only because that’s what we’re seeing the demand is right now. But owned pets, are our number one priority. So we can shift additional funds over that way if increase in demand grows. So the program’s always…that part of the program is a top priority. Then we look at what’s left, and then we decide how much are we going to give to nonprofits.
Penny Ellison:
So let’s break that down. So you’re saying your number one priority is owned pets, and that’s done through a voucher program. So if I live in Delaware, how do I go about getting a voucher for owned pets?
Melody Purdy:
The funding comes from in the form of vouchers, and these can be used at participating providers across the state of Delaware. Providers accept the vouchers and perform the surgeries, and then they’re reimbursed by the program. So if you’re a resident that’s interested in the program, you would either reach out to our department. We have a website, spainunitedelaware.com and all the information that you would need is on there if you needed to contact us by phone. If you’re ready to complete an application, there’s eligibility information on the website and you can apply right there. It’s just a quick embedded form on the website asking for your name, your information eligibility, which is just your assistance program that, that you belong to. If you can select one of those that make you eligible, then you get moved forward and you get approved for that voucher. You can apply up to five pets and then within 30 days it’s approved.
Melody Purdy:
And then you receive that by mail or by email, whatever you choose. And then you get that, take that voucher, you get an approval letter with instructions in the mail or by email, take that to a participating vet and then that’s it. That’s your transaction right there. As long as you have that in hand, you can get your services. And what that covers is going to be your surgery and your, you know, we cover specific complications that can be invoiced. It covers a rabies vaccination.
Penny Ellison:
Right. And yeah, I was hoping for just painkillers. It covers complications too?
Melody Purdy:
Yes, also painkillers!
Penny Ellison:
Yeah, that’s great. So you said you have, at this point you have $350,000 set aside for this owned program. You have to be a participant in some federal or state program in order to qualify for that. But then you get a list of participating vets and you go to. That’s, that’s amazing. You also mentioned. So you do that first and then you see what’s left over that you can assist shelters with. And then how does the shelter assistance work? Do they apply for grants?
Melody Purdy:
So we have a grant program that is an annual grant. So each year nonprofit animal welfare groups can apply through a competitive grant process. Interested applicants can apply every year for these grants up to $125,000 worth of spay neuter surgeries right now at this time.
Penny Ellison:
And that, that is for their animals, their in house animals, or also to do it for the community.
Melody Purdy:
That’s for homeless pets only. So you know which, which we do focus on outdoor cats, community cats. We meet with different shelters and rescues throughout the year just to collect feedback on where the focus needs to be, where the demand is. And you know, cats are community cats, tnr, feral cats, you know, have been a main focus for the past few years. So we’ve really dedicated a majority of the grant funding towards those purposes, but also just high impact clinics that can, that can do more, can use a lot more funding.
Penny Ellison:
And you keep track of the impact that those programs are having in terms of the number of surgeries that you’re funding?
Melody Purdy:
Yes, we do. So each year we have to create a report based on the previous year that just showcases what we’ve done for the year. And we also, over the years we’ve had to accommodate providers that participate in the program. So you may see differences in numbers because we’ve raised reimbursement rates one year or we’ve added additional services per animal. You know, we decided for homeless, for outdoor cats, community cats to cover, we might cover not only rabies, but also, you know, other vaccines and flea tick and things like that. So it’s the quality of care as well that really makes an impact for the rescues. And you know, that’s money that they’re not having to pay for out of their own pocket.
Penny Ellison:
100%. That’s what I keep thinking about while you’re talking is that everything you’re talking about is something that in most other states has to be fundraised for and it impacts the care that you can provide if you have to raise every single dollar. And certainly having more pets spayed and neutered helps the state, it helps the community, it helps the burden on the police and the shelters and everyone else. So I can see how you could make that case that it makes sense to have them fund it.
Melody Purdy:
Yeah, it does. And it’s a community effort for sure. And we all, even, you know, the nonprofits have been great and you know, being the office of animal welfare and we may have Delaware animal services officers in the field and if there’s a situation that comes up where there are there, you know, it’s a community cat, neighborhood issue, things like that. You know, we have rescues that are small, volunteer based rescues that step up and will, they’ll work with us because they’ve been granted money. And we kind of team up and make sure that we can all do something to help these communities or people that are calling in for help.
Penny Ellison:
Well, that’s another reason to have this central Office of Animal Welfare, because in other places all of the shelters and rescues tend to be like islands and there’s not as much cooperation like that. So having this central point of contact makes, makes all that cooperation possible. And then you can accomplish so much more when you’re efficient like that like the, you have the officers, but maybe they have the foster home to take in that cat and then you put your resources together and you can solve more problems.
Melody Purdy:
Yeah, exactly.
Penny Ellison:
So besides the spay/neuter program, do you have other favorite parts of your office that you’re super proud of? Jo?
Joanna Miller:
I mean, I’m super excited to tell you about our new dog license plate that came out this year. That is pretty exciting. I could send you a picture of that if you’d like to see it. We gave it a makeover this year. We were very excited about that. So that is, I think, talk of the town and people are really purchasing that plate. I’m seeing it in the wild when I’m driving down the highway now, which is really exciting. And I try to take pictures when I see them out in the wild too, but that has been really exciting.
Joanna Miller:
The plate represents our state in a unique way. If you can picture this, it’s a, basically a dog park. There’s a tree in the background, there’s a golden retriever. That’s our second favorite or most popular dog in Delaware. We have our blocky headed dog also representing a cat and bunny, of course, one of my favorite animals. So they’re all on that plate and it just came out really nice and we’re really super proud of it.
Penny Ellison:
Great. We’ll definitely send it so we can, we can put it up on the, in the show.
Melody Purdy:
Yeah, it’s great. And honestly, the Office and everything that we do, it’s a combination of so many people coming together that makes this program amazing. I’m not saying it doesn’t have flaws or, you know, things that need to be updated, but when you, you step back and you look at the whole picture, I mean, it’s a community trying to help one another. We have, you know, vet staff, shelters, rescue volunteers, animal services officers, neighbors in Delaware just concerned with one another. And everybody’s investing, you know, in one thing and that’s animal welfare in our state. You know, we get calls, we get emails, text messages from individuals trying to help somebody by using the program. You know, vets call in because they are pulling strings, trying to get somebody that’s in front of them the assistance that they need.
Melody Purdy:
Shelter staff do the same because there’s so many people that can’t afford these surgeries. And we work over the phone to get them their information process asap. Rescues, like I said, that step in when we need solutions to cat issues and everybody provides a helping hand. And I mean, that is success. So we’ve Achieved it, I think, far behind, beyond in my eyes. And the rest is just figuring out the logistics. But I mean, if you have the need and the want and support in the community, I think, you know, anybody can do these types of programs.
Penny Ellison:
I couldn’t agree more. That is so amazing. If you are an animal lover in another state now that doesn’t have this kind of centralized services, I mean, you see the social media posts all the time. What am I supposed to do about this? Where do I report it? I can’t. You know, it’s just, it would just, I think, change the world for animals and communities. Like you say, they’re all pulling together behind this and they understand it and it just would, it would change the world for animals, I think.
Thank you guys both for joining me. Keep up the good work.
Penny Ellison:
Joanna, Melody, thank you so much for sharing Delaware’s story with us. What you’ve built is truly a model for the rest of the country and for everyone listening. I want you to know that both Joanna and Melody have generously offered to talk with advocates and who want to learn more about bringing a program like Delaware’s to their own state. They understand that systemic change requires sharing what works, and they talked to other people when they were getting their program started and they’re committed now to helping other communities succeed. If you have questions about how Delaware structured their office, how they secured funding, how they coordinate across different agencies, or any other aspect of their model, send those questions to us@podcastnimaladvocacyacademy.com I’ll put a link in the show notes to the laws, especially the ones around creating the funding for the spay neuter services. We’re going to get your questions answered and we might even bring Joanna and Melody back for a Q and A segment where they can provide specific guidance.
Penny Ellison:
You need to spearhead this effort in your state, because that’s what this podcast is all about, giving you the tools and the knowledge to move from compassion into action. Delaware has shown us that comprehensive, coordinated animal welfare programs aren’t just possible. They work. They reduce euthanasia, they keep families together with their pets, they address animal cruelty more effectively, they unite communities, and they create a more humane society for everyone.
If you’re ready to bring this model to your state, make sure you’re subscribed to the show so you don’t miss when we release our special private podcast series called The Four Cs of Legislative Advocacy for Animals, it’s going to be your roadmap for transforming your ideas into laws.
That’s it for today. The Animal Advocate Podcast t is brought to you by the Animal Advocacy Academy. You can find episodes and show notes@animaladvocacyacademy.com along with a link to our Facebook and LinkedIn pages where we discuss our podcasts, and we’d love to discuss your thoughts and experiences there. If you’re interested in learning more about protecting animals, subscribe to the show so you get every episode when it comes out. If you have any questions on this or any other topic related to animal law, email them to podcastnimaladvocacyacademy.com and we’ll make sure to get them answered. We’ll either email you back or feature them in a future episode, or both. And remember, compassion is great, but compassionate action is infinitely better. Until next week, Live with Compassion.
