SpayHR, the free/low cost mobile spay/neuter program sponsored by ART, recently reached the impressive milestone of 1,000 altered animals.
“The goal of the program is to help keep animals out of local shelters by preventing unwanted litters,” said Sarah Crawford, chairwoman of the SpayHR program. “By providing this service, we are helping to reduce the euthanasia rates in area shelters.” The program began in 2010 when ART formed a committee that used Animal Control data to pinpoint hotspots for stray animals in the city. The clinics are held twice a month.
Pet owners call ahead to set up an appointment for their animals, drop their pets off at the site, then return later to pick them up and learn about post surgery care.
“We have gotten a great response from the program,” Sarah said. “The people we have helped are very content and happy with the process as well as the services we offer.”
The SpayHR program aims to keep records and track results to show local jurisdictions what an impact spaying/neutering can have on the numbers of stray animals that roam the streets and end up in shelters.
“Our main goal is to bring down euthanasia rates; we also want to encourage citizens to be responsible with their pets. If we can decrease the number of animals in shelters, we can save the local governments money. A lot of money is spent on Animal Control that wouldn’t be needed if more animals were altered,” noted Sarah.
Education is also an important component of SpayHR. “The more we’re in the neighborhoods, the more we talk to people, the bigger we realize the problem is,” Sarah commented. “With the help of these clinics, we are able to educate people about why spaying/neutering is important. We are able to show these pet owners that they are making a difference by having their pets altered.”
With continued support from donors, this valuable program can continue to make an impact on the number of animals at area shelters. To learn more or to donate to the program, please visitwww.SpayHR.com.