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Getting your dog or cat spayed or neutered is a normal procedure for most pet owners. But when that is neglected, it could result in serious over-population — and that’s the problem the city of Welland is facing now.
Yes, cats and dogs are cute and make great companions. But in the city of Welland, there’s just way too many strays. And today, a specialized clinic opened to change all that.
The Welland and District Humane Society opened its doors to a spay and neuter clinic in downtown Welland, only the fourth non-privately owned clinic of it’s kind in Ontario. And they’re hoping it can close the door on a growing problem
Tammy Gaboury, Welland & District Humane Society: “Twenty-two hundred cats, in one year, into our facility. So we need to make a change, that number needs to go down.”
John Greer, Welland & District Humane Society: “We need to get these animals spayed or neutured and seen by veterinarians for their health and well being.”
The cost of the procedure however seems to be the main deterrent for many pet owners.
Tammy: “We have calls on a daily basis from people who want to have their animal spayed or neutured, they just can’t afford the prices that are offered out there.”
The cost of the procedure at a veterinary hospital can go up to 400 dollars. However, since the new spay and neuter clinic is a specialized centre that only does that one operation, they can offer it at a fraction of the price.
John: “Costs range between 65 to 125 dollars depending if it’s a cat or dog, the weight of the animal and whether it’s a spay or neuter.”
And in September, the humane society will be launching Ontario’s first mobile spay and neuter clinic that will roam the province.
John: “It is a complete mobile animal surgical hospital. And we’ll look to put it in places where again there is no veterinary care for those communitities that are remote.”
And for those in the Welland area who can’t get to the clinic, there’s the ‘neuter scooter’
Tammy: “We’ll be able to go into community centres where they don’t — people don’t drive and have anyway to get to our clinic and we can make that happen for them.”
All three of these initiatives are here because of a very generous grant of $350 thousand made by Pet Smart Charities of Canada.
Stephanie Kerr is with Pet Smart Charities: “The whole Welland community has embraced this clinic and we’re really excited to see the progress that they’ll be able to make here)
Tammy Horwak, Medical Director, spay and neuter clinic: “We will prevent huge problems in our community and not only animals from getting sick but our community from getting sick as well.”
They are planning on making a big dent in the amount of strays on the streets. The mobile unit they bought was from Kalamazoo, Michigan and once they launched it in 2005, they had 8,000 animals coming into their shelters. They dropped that to 3,000 in just four years.
