Saving all adoptable animals—that's the goal of Mission Orange.

The four major animal shelters in Sacramento -- the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Sacramento Animal Cares Services, the Animal Care and Regulations Center and Happy Tails Pet Sanctuary -- hope to make a difference in animal welfare by joining forces in "Mission Orange." Also known as a community initiative, Mission Orange aims to increase the live release rate, or percentage of animals that leave the shelter system alive through adoption or return to owner, and earn a prestigious grant from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

"We are combining all of our resources in order to increase the live release rate," said Penny Ciastro, Animal Care Services manager.

The mission was introduced to Sacramento in January and will kick into gear in 2010, according to Chris Andis, communication and media officer for the County of Sacramento Municipal Services Agency.

"We were selected because we were already working together as a group on many issues, including passing the licensing ordinance and our partnership with the SSPCA, who is going to be operating the new spay/neuter clinic when it opens early next year," Andis said.

According to the ASPCA, the bulk of the grants program supports Mission Orange partnerships across the country and funds a number of services, including spay/neuter and adoption programs.Grants range in value from $500 to $5,000.

"The programs should get going in 2010," Andis said. "We will be creating a special website with the mission, goals and actual statistics so people can see how we are doing. This first year we are gathering, analyzing and preparing and creating strategies and programs to reach our goals."

Each Sacramento shelter has its own goals based on the particular needs of the shelter. The Animal Care Regulations Center is focusing on resolving the aggressive pit bull issue and getting more adult cats adopted.

"We also want to reduce the numbers of animals coming into shelters," Andis said.

Lesley Kirrene, director of public relations for the SPCA, said cooperation between shelters and the community spreads resources and benefits the animals.

The ASPCA, a small New York-based animal shelter that receives the largest amount of donations in the nation, has been spearheading Mission Orange since 1866.

And it has pulled in other animal organizations with the same goals.

"We are equal partners in the grant and the program," said Happy Tails director Kay House. "The greater Sacramento area has done a terrible job of educating, encouraging and enforcing spay and neuter."

After the articles about the four shelters were posted on Sacramento Press with photos of some of the adoptable animals, 20 animals from the SPCA, eight animals from the County Animal Care and Regulation Center and eight animals from Happy Tails Pet Sanctuary have been adopted. The shelters have expressed thanks to the readers of The Sacramento Press for their support.