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PETA SNiP truck

Another blustery morning in Northside Community Park!

Friday’s clinic utilized PETA’s SNiP (“Spay and Neuter Immediately, Please”) truck, the exterior of which features illustrations by “Mutts” cartoonist Patrick McDonnell and is adorned with a message from Los Angeles Lakers forward Ron Artest and his pitbull pal, John Henry: “It’s a slam dunk: Have your dog spayed or neutered.” Eight people did just that!

Teddy

Teddy’s person, Teresa, is moving, so he will go to live with her mom…with the stipulation that Teddy is first neutered.

Luna

Also getting help from her person’s parents is Luna. Her human “mom” is deployed, so she is living with her “grandparents” right now. Luna is a Chow mix who was adopted from a local shelter.

Other dogs coming for surgery were Princess and Sophie, Chloe, Priska, Nacho, and Goldie. Elizabeth Venneri, Goldie’s person, said, “We want Goldie spayed because we don’t want puppies.  There are too many stray dogs and too many animals are killed in the shelters.”

Cats were also well represented, with sixteen being spayed/neutered at Friday’s clinic.

Spooby

Diane Nowoclien brought her cat, Spooby, to be neutered, “so he dies not impregnate the other strays in the neighborhood.”

Cathy Mathias brought Jake to be neutered. She has been working to control the feral cat population in her neighborhood through spay/neuter.

Jake

Jake was the offspring of one of Cathy’s ferals. As she socialized him for adoption, he stole her heart and is now a permanent resident at her home.

Baby Girl

Cynthia Hinson heard about us when she saw a flyer at her place of employment. She decided to take advantage of our service in her community and brought Baby Girl to be spayed.

Jamie Bravzello, who brought Tigger to be neutered, heard about us from her aunt, who works for the Norfolk SPCA.

As always, we thank the wonderful people and pets participating in our program. We are thankful, too, for permission to use Northside Park.

Too see more pictures from Friday’s clinic, please visit us on Facebook.

November 5, 2010 Clinic

Today was our first cold weather clinic. We’ve gone from summer morning mugginess to the dawn dampness and chill of autumn.

The morning began with a feline fugitive! Gizmo Brady popped out of his carrier and quickly ran under a truck. Just as quickly, his person retrieved him and hurried him on to the clinic bus.

Jessie

As with many of our clinic participants, Robert Masters found himself in the situation of caring for a cat with no home. Jessie showed up one day, making friends with Robert’s resident cat and looking for food. Robert slowly won Jessie’s trust and wants to be sure his new feline friend is healthy and safe.

A Casper kitty

Cheryl Casper took in a feral momma cat and her kittens and has been spaying/neutering the brood as she is able to catch them. Today she brought Target, Cleopatra, and Natalie for surgery.

Emily Johnson has also been caring for some of the stray cats in her neighborhood. Today she brought Summer, whom she found as a pregnant stray early in the summer, and Kitty.

Rosco

Rosco was rescued from the trash (literally) when Jesse Chandler spotted a woman throwing away kittens. This cutie has a good life now, thanks to Jesse.

Gunner

Though we had more cats in attendance, six dogs were spayed/neutered. The first to arrive was Gunner, a handsome American Staffordshire Terrier.

Abby came with Debra Martell. Abby was a little nervous with all of the unfamiliar people and pets around, so we couldn’t get a good picture to do this pretty girl justice.

Bounce

Showing little dog love were Kim Luzo with Brooklyn, Ann Adams with Missy, and Valerie Abbot with Bounce.

Randy & Kitty

As the sun finally came out, Randy Denton and his Pit Bull mix, Kitty, arrived. Kitty came to Randy pregnant, and he wants to be sure she does not have another litter. Randy happened to see us at our last location and signed up for an appointment for this clinic.

Thank you to our patient (especially in the cold!) people and pets who are helping reduce companion animal overpopulation through spay/neuter.

October 8, 2010 Clinic

We were happy to see returning participants Kelly Dillow and Donna Stevens. Kelly had previously brought Darla, a stray she found tied to a truck, to one of our summer clinics.

Polly

Today Kelly brought Polly, one of her resident cats, to be be spayed.

Chatter

Donna brought Chatter to be spayed this time. Like Mama and Sage, who were spayed at the last clinic, Chatter was taken in by Donna after being abandoned. Chatter was pregnant, but all of her babies died. Donna wants to be sure she doesn’t get pregnant again.

Precious

Similarly, Precious was found abandoned and pregnant at Gloria Holt’s sister’s house. Gloria took in Precious and found homes for her babies. Gloria had just found a home for the last kitten when Precious went into heat, and she wants to be sure there are no more kittens (so do we!).

“No more kittens” is a common – and excellent – reason for having a cat spayed or neutered, but there are other benefits to these surgeries as well.

Hasani

Hasani and Kiki (both males) Picard have been spraying, so their people brought them to be neutered. Most male cats will cease spraying once neutered; they will also be less likely to fight.

Stripes

Stripes and her friend Princess came with Christine Payne. In addition to not wanting either cat to get pregnant, Christine does not want them going into heat anymore.

Many people find behaviors like spraying and going into heat bothersome. Spaying and neutering are simple solutions to these behavioral issues.

Kobe

Sabrina Forrest was convinced that altering her dog Kobe was the right thing to do after learning about the health benefits of neutering. Her aunt referred her to our clinic.

Casper

Kobe made a friend in Casper, whose family does not want to breed him or take a chance that unwanted puppies might happen.

Jasmine

Also noting that she did not want unwanted puppies was Rona Gray, who brought her little girl Jasmine to be spayed.

Bella

Bella’s people had a simple reply to the question of why she was being spayed – all of their animals are fixed. Short and to the point, we like that answer!

Milo

Milo Glasscock’s person also had a simple answer to the question of spaying/neutering: “It’s the responsible thing to do.” Milo came with his feline friend Otis.

As always, we want to thank all of the patient people and pets who participated in the October 8, 2010 clinic.

While there are many motivations for spaying and neutering, every surgery plays a role in reducing companion animal overpopulation.

If you are looking for your own companion animal, please consider adoption from a local rescue group or shelter. Many breed specific rescues will adopt out-of-area, so be sure to give them a look, too.

September 17, 2010 Clinic

After two cancellations, our September clinic (originally scheduled for August 20) finally happened!

The August 20 clinic had to be canceled at the last minute because the veterinarian was sick. After a round of early morning calls to very patient and understanding participants, we rescheduled the clinic for September, 3 … And then came Earl, Hurricane Earl that is. With safety in mind, the clinic had to be canceled and rescheduled again!

Princess

September 17 turned out to be a lovely fall morning, with nearly all of our original participants from August 20 in attendance.

Time for Princess to check-in

The first to arrive was Barry Dixon and his beautiful German Shepherd, Princess.

Also arriving bright and early were Donna Stevens are her cats Sage and Momma. Donna took both cats in when each became homeless. We’re very glad to be able to help those who are helping the many stray and abandoned cats in this area.

Momma

While many clinic participants bring their own pets, there are also a number of people like Donna who take care of homeless pets. Abandoned cats is a common theme, especially during the summer.

Missy

Heather Lynn brought her cat, Missy to be spayed, as well as Snookie, a neighborhood stray kitten who has been hanging around Heather’s house.

Snookie

Target area residents (Oakdale Farms/Denby Park/Southern Shopping Center): Be like Heather! Feeding stray cats, while kind, does them no good in the long run if they are not spayed and neutered. If you are caring for a cat that is not technically “yours” but is friendly and could find a home, please have that cat spayed or neutered at one of our clinics.

Taz, Michelle, & Sylvester

Also helping neighborhood cats were Michelle Keith, who brought Taz and Sylvester, and Susannah Watson, who brought Duffy, Cleopatra, and BW.

Duffy, Cleopatra, & BW

Though cats compromised the majority of clinic patients, Princess was joined by other dogs of all shapes and sizes.

Cowboy

American Bulldog mix and all-around handsome guy, Cowboy, came with his family.

Calamity Jane

We also met Calamity Jane, a boxer. Her people have been following us on Facebook. Thanks!

Representing the puny pooches out there was Cindy Shaw, who came with her person Linda Shaw.

Luna

Companion cats included Luna, with Tana Wright, and Little Bit, with Andrea Menture.

We don’t have pictures for everyone, but we want to be sure to thank all of the wonderful people and pets who joined us September 17.