LANSING--Animal lovers may soon be able to know that dogs and cats in Michigan are being properly cared for with money from the new Animal Welfare Fund.

The fund would promote sterilization and adoption, raise awareness of state anticruelty laws and allocate money to programs that protect animals.

Funding would be given to animal control shelters, animal protection shelters and other organizations, said Alesha Gensler, legislative director for Sen. Valde Garcia, R-Howell.

Organizations would have to be approved for grants by a committee assembled by the Michigan Department of Agriculture, said Kristy Graszak, Michigan Humane Society (MHS) Animal Welfare Coordinator.

Garcia is the primary sponsor of the bill, which is co- sponsored by Sens. Jim Barcia, D-Bay City, and John Pappageorge, R- Troy.

The bill has preliminary approval by both the House and the Senate.

The option to donate would be one of three that may appear on income tax forms in the form of a check box.

“This is something that can be done pretty simply every year that will make a big difference,” Graszak said.

MHS, a main proponent of the legislation, has animal care centers in Detroit, Rochester Hills and Westland.

Brandon Dillon, chief of staff for Barcia, said this is a chance for animal lovers to know that their tax dollars are going directly toward something that they care about and not being diverted to other programs.

Nancy Gunnigle, spokesperson for the MHS, said there isn’t a central reporting system used to track animal cruelty cases in the state. However, she said that the MHS Cruelty Investigation Department handles more than 4,000 cases each year.

Gensler said that this legislation would hopefully create a reduction in the number of animals beaten and abused in the state.

Shelters currently put money into the sterilization process, she said, and providing funding will not eliminate the money they need to spend on this but will reduce it.

She added that this money could then be used to keep animals in shelters longer, which would increase their chances of adoption.

MHS encourages citizens to join their Legislative Action Network, which lobbies for animal welfare legislation in Michigan. Visit www.michiganhumane.org for more information.