Big fundraising source for Mac's Mission coming to end

In April 2011, Rochelle Steffen rescued a pit bull puppy, not knowing she would start a legacy with Mac's Mission. But that mission will be getting more difficult when a major source of donations ends next month.

The Jackson-based organization helps animals that have suffered abuse, have been seriously injured or were born with a genetic defect, according to the Mac's Mission mission statement on its website. "Most shelters and rescues do not have the time or resources to provide specialized care and, unfortunately, many animals are euthanized as a result," the website states.

Mac's Mission runs on donations, and one of the largest sources of money has been through Amazon's AmazonSmile program. In the five years Mac's Mission has used AmazonSmile, it has received more than $40,000 from customers choosing the organization as their Smile, Steffen said.

Amazon will be ending the program in February, causing many small charities, including Mac's Mission, to lose needed funding.

Steffen said they loved AmazonSmile as it has helped Mac's Mission for so long, and it's a really bad time for the plug to be pulled.

Narwhal, on Tuesday, Jan. 24, at Mac's Mission in Jackson. The golden retriever took internet by storm in November 2019 when he was born with an extra tail on his head, which garnered him the nickname of "unicorn puppy". Mac's Mission was able to adopt him and keep an eye on his medical needs.Alyssa Lunsford

Narwhal, on Tuesday, Jan. 24, at Mac's Mission in Jackson. The golden retriever took internet by storm in November 2019 when he was born with an extra tail on his head, which garnered him the nickname of "unicorn puppy". Mac's Mission was able to adopt him and keep an eye on his medical needs.Alyssa Lunsford

"The letter [Amazon released said] that AmazonSmile wants to help big causes. But they don't understand, maybe they do, it is gonna potentially kill a lot of small causes that their customers select to support," Steffen said. "They are taking it away from the customers' ability to choose, and they are kind of changing it so they get to decide who, where and when the money goes to."

According to Steffen, Mac's Mission received around $3,000 every quarter from Amazon customers through the program. Steffen said the checks were huge for them because the shelter has some dogs that cost $3,000 to heal and fix — surgeries, MRIs and echocardiograms cost a lot of money.

Mac's Mission started when Steffen and her best friend rescued Mac in the south side of Cape Girardeau. They had seen a cardboard sign for pit bull puppies and were determined to rescue one, having just lost a pit bull because of medical issues.

When they rescued Mac, he was 3 months old and weighed 4 pounds — at that age, he should have weighed around 25 pounds, Steffen said. He didn't have much hair because of mange,and took a long time to get healthy. But Steffen then discovered there were problems with Mac's back legs, which required multiple surgeries.

Steffen was an art student at Southeast Missouri State University and started screen-printing designs to help pay for Mac's surgeries. After his surgeries were paid for, Steffen wanted to pay it forward to other dogs. In 2014, Steffen decided to make Mac's Mission a not-for-profit organization because of the amount of donations she was getting.

"I was getting donations and I wanted to be more trustworthy to people, because all the people I knew were just giving me money," Steffen said. "I wanted them to see that I was actually doing what I was saying I was doing with it, and it allowed people to trust better and to donate."

Mac's Mission gets dogs that are going to die, and with donations low, sometimes they have to say no, knowing they may be the last hope for those dogs.

"We take the worst of the worst, and specialize in special, for all breeds," Steffen said.

The cost of the animals at Mac's Mission can be as low as $400 for a healthy litter of puppies, to upward of $12,000, depending on the severity of the animals' illness or injury.

One of those $12,000 dogs was Moose, who came to them with all of her legs, her jaw and her pelvis broken, and had to have multiple surgeries to get well.

Moose was adopted by a woman who recently sent a photo to Steffen of Moose getting a "pup cup" while sitting in the seat of a car.

Steffen said seeing dogs be adopted after such a long commitment and many medical issues gets Mac's Mission workers really excited.

Mac's Mission has two salary workers and four other employees who do the daily dog care. Steffen said they also adore their volunteers and have a simple volunteer program.

The adoption fee of one of Mac's special friends is $200.

Along with rescuing dogs, Mac's Mission has rescued reptiles, horses, donkeys, chickens, tortoises and a few cats. Steffen said they have even rescued five or six animals from as far away as Aruba and Mexico.

Mac died in 2021 only five days before he would have turned 10. Steffen said he was the ringleader and the reason the legacy is still here.

Anyone interested in donating or learning more about Mac's Mission may visit www.macsmission.org or www.facebook.com/macthepitbull.