JANUARY 15, 2009 ISSUE
Watauga Humane Society Offers $30 Spay Deal
Registration Due by January 20
Jezebella is one of the lucky ones. She was a pregnant stray turned in to Animal Care and Control and was transferred to the no-kill Watauga Humane Society where she had her 12 puppies. Photo courtesy of Kathy CopleyWatauga Humane Society has an extraordinary offer for Watauga County residents: $30 to fix your female dogs or cats. The regular cost is $55 for female dogs and $50 for female cats.
Despite the best cooperation among Watauga County Animal Care and Control, Watauga Humane Society and High Country Friends for Life, more animals are turned in to Animal Care and Control than there are homes to adopt them. “The unfortunate outcome,” said Watauga County Chief Animal Care and Control Officer Steve Norris, “is that we have to put animals down when there is no one to adopt them and no place to shelter them until they are adopted. I wish it weren’t so, but in 2008 we had to put down 67 dogs and 307 cats. Those numbers are coming down, but they would come down faster if more people would fix their pets.
“There are so many good reasons to fix dogs, cats, strays and barn cats— including that they are less likely to fight, bite, spray or stray,” Norris continued. “None of us wants to see healthy, adoptable animals put down. At Animal Care and Control we have limited space, and when we run out we have no choice but to euthanize animals. But pet owners do have a choice; they can fix their pets and strays. Instead of being part of the problem, they can be part of the solution.”
“Cats are going into heat right now,” said Humane Society Shelter Manager Lynn Northup. “Kittens and puppies as young as 5 months old can have litters of their own, and a cat can have as many as three litters a year. That means that a lot of people who never intended for their cat or dog to have a litter end up with an ‘oops’ litter because they put off getting her fixed. Plus, it is a myth that a female has to be a year old or should have a litter before she is fixed.”
“I Always Find Homes for Them”
“I know that people with litters of puppies and kittens they don’t want do try to do a good thing by finding them homes,” said Kathy Copley, Humane Society Prevent a Litter coordinator. “What they probably don’t know is that most of those ‘free to a good home’ kittens and puppies will end up in a shelter because folks who took one to be nice didn’t really want one. And the people who do keep the pet most likely won’t get it fixed, so they will produce more unwanted litters. And the cycle continues.”
Fixing Them Is Simple
“It’s so simple,” said Watauga Humane Society President Lisa Van Arnam. “The problem of pet overpopulation is one we can fix. Fixing your pets, barn cats and strays is a one-time thing that lasts a lifetime, improving health and behavior and addressing the problem of more dogs and cats than there are homes for. All it requires is for people to take advantage of this incredible offer from the Humane Society to help you spay or neuter your pets. Let us help YOU help your pets.”
Ashley Gardner, who is responsible for felines at the Humane Society shelter, said, “If you are a Watauga County resident with financial need and think you can’t afford to have your male or female dogs or cats fixed, call us. Watauga County and the Town of Boone have given us grants to help people who want to fix their animals but can’t afford the entire cost. And our limited-time program to fix females for $30 is a real deal.”
Gardner said, “As always, our program is open for male animals, too. If you have a male cat or dog and need financial assistance to fix him, let us know because we have grant money to help reduce the cost.”
Strays Are A Unique Problem
Locally, a lot of the cat overpopulation problem comes from strays because the pregnancy rate is at least 3.5 times higher among strays than among owned cats. According to Copley, “What happens is that a skinny stray starts to hang around and a well-meaning person feeds it. They didn’t want a cat, but they don’t want it to starve. Because the vast majority of strays haven’t been fixed, time passes and those folks who didn’t want a cat in the first place end up with a mom and a litter of kittens. Then they turn kittens and the mom in to Animal Care and Control because one cat was okay, but a mom and her litter is another thing entirely.” Copley said the Humane Society has a grant from The Copwood Hill Foundation to help people fix strays.
The Lucky Ones
Most stray cats spend 75 percent of their lives pregnant or nursing and hungry. Feral cat Sheena and her 3-day-old kittens, Iditarod and Chinook, were picked up by Animal Care and Control and transferred to a foster home. Her kittens have been adopted and Sheena has been spayed and released to a feral cat sanctuary. Because the Humane Society can help fix feral cats, Sheena is one of the lucky ones.
Another lucky one is Jezebella. She was a pregnant stray turned in to Animal Care and Control. She was lucky enough to be transferred to the no-kill Watauga Humane Society, where she had her 12 puppies. “For every cat and dog in the United States to have a home, every person would have to own 6 dogs and 9 cats. That means that for every Sheena and Jezebella there are 100 unlucky animals that, through no fault of their own, have no one to love and care for them,” Copley said. “If more people fixed their pets and the strays that have adopted them, our community could reach the point when no healthy, adoptable animals face a tragic future—or no future at all.”
Make An Appointment
To schedule an appointment or for more information on Watauga Humane Society’s spay/neuter program with Humane Alliance in Asheville, call 828-264-7865 between 12:30 and 6:00 p.m. Tuesday through Friday or 12:30 to 5:00 p.m. on weekends. For more information on the benefits of spay/neuter, click to www.WataugaHumaneSociety.org.
During February, most local veterinarians offer spay or neuter surgeries at reduced cost. Contact your veterinarian directly.
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