Thieves Take Van Of Dog-Spaying Nonprofit

[NOTE 4.1.15: The trailer has been found. A security guard at a Golden Valley apartment complex spotted the trailer, noticed it didn't have a permit to be parked there and had to towed to an impound lot. Jennifer Mayerle reports that Michelle Klatt said police told her the trailer appears full; she will verify once she has done inventory.]

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - A Twin Cities non-profit dedicated to spaying and neutering pit bulls and Rottweilers hopes you can help.

The trailer used for the "Get Your Fix" program was stolen over the weekend and, with it, $4,000 to $6,000 worth of supplies.

A Rotta Love Plus's development director, Michelle Klatt, was devastated to learn their trailer had been stolen from their Golden Valley parking lot over the weekend.

"What somebody must have done is taken that lock and a sledge hammer, some sort of hammer, and pounded on it," Klatt said.

The non-profit finds homes for Rottweilers and pit bulls, like her dog Emmerson. And it strives to reduce the euthanasia number by offering a free spay/neuter for dog owners through a program called Get Your Fix. Inside the trailer were enough supplies for the year.

Klatt listed off what was taken: "The tables and tents to set up our stations, the microchips to microchip up to 200 dogs, needles and syringes to vaccinate up to 1,000 dogs this year, collars and leashes."

Donations over the past few years allowed the organization to buy the trailer a year and a half ago. Klatt said it's helped them to make a dent in the problem.

"Lots of people want to do right by their dogs," Klatt said. "They want to vet their dogs, but it's hard, it's expensive, so here we'll offer it to you."

She said the volunteer-run organization doesn't have extra funds to replace the trailer or the supplies, but they'd like to continue the program.

"I guess the kicker of it is it wasn't just A Rotta Love Plus's -- it was the community's," Klatt said. "Everything we had in there was going to be given back to the community, so essentially they've stolen from the community."

The loss, including the trailer, totals roughly $10,000. The next Get Your Fix event was scheduled for June in North Minneapolis. Events run monthly through October.

A Rotta Love Plus knows it's unlikely the trailer will be found intact, so they are asking for donations to keep the program running.