Starting a Spay/Neuter Program

Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

"Each year millions of healthy dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens continue to die in the United States because they are homeless. It doesn't matter if their deaths are 'painless' - what matters is their deaths are pointless, as long as litters of surplus kittens and puppies continue to be born. Our shelters burst with discarded pets who wait, literally at death's door. Our highways are dotted with the bodies of dogs and cats who've been pushed from moving cars. Almost as fast as we dispose of them, new ones take their place. 

"Animals who haven't even been conceived today will die next year, unless someone works now to prevent them from being born. Creative, new efforts must be made to attack the problem at its root. Affordable sterilization, continuous education, and breeding legislation must be imposed if this annual holocaust is to ever end." - Gail Parmer, The Spayed Club

Gail Parmer and Erika Seybert co-founded The Spayed Club in 1990. Since then, they have raised and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to spay or neuter over fifteen thousand dogs and cats. Surgery costs were paid for by pet owners through The Spayed Club's low-cost program, or completely by the Spayed Club (subsidized). If you are thinking about starting a similar program in your area, The Spayed Club is a great model to learn from. The following information is based on their example, with some thoughts and ideas from other programs we have come across.

The first thing you need to do is assess the needs of your community. What are your community's current euthanasia rates? Are there any other low- cost programs or clinics in the area? How are they doing? Is the general public aware of the need for a spay/neuter program? Are local veterinarians sympathetic to the need for a low-cost program? a program

To become fully aware of the issues, Gail recommends volunteering time in all aspects of the work at your local shelter. "Go to the euthanasia room. Watch tail-wagging dogs and purring cats die - then tell others what it is like. If you are saddened by this tragedy, start now to prevent tomorrow's homeless pets from being born."

It may be stating the obvious, but begin by neutering your own pets before they reproduce. Your own example will go a long way in convincing others to do the same. Take every opportunity to talk to new pet owners about neutering their pets before they have litters. Often people who buy a purebred cat or dog feel that it is mandatory to breed that animal. Tell them how many pure breeds (not just mutts) end up in pounds and shelters. Have information on hand to address owners' concerns, such as: "If I get her spayed, she'll get fat and lazy." 'We want her to have one litter, it'll make her a better dog/ cat." "I want him to have some fun before he is neutered."

These, and other old wives' tales, may stand in your way. Some people don't understand the issue until they are faced with a problem themselves, such as being unable to 'give away' litters of puppies or kittens, listening to a howling cat in heat, or having male dogs outside the front door or jumping into their yard when their female dog is in heat. No matter how people arrive at the spay/neuter solution, having a program in place assures that the animal will be neutered or spayed.

Are you ready? To start and run a spay/neuter program is a lot of work, but it is worth it. Your efforts can prevent hundreds, even thousands of pointless animal deaths.

Non-profit Status
Consult with an attorney familiar with the non-profit status to see whether this is the direction you want to go. Review the pros and cons with the attorney. Some organizations, such as United Humanitarians of Philadelphia, offer an umbrella non-profit status to groups starting a spay/neuter program. Having some form of non-profit identification helps to lend legitimacy to your operation. Donors will be able to write off their contributions against their taxes, and the public will take you seriously. We feel it is worth the initial cost and effort to obtain this recognition.

Veterinarians
Do not expect that every veterinarian will greet your plan for a low-cost spay/neuter program with great enthusiasm! Keep in mind that a great many veterinarians are simply business people with their eyes on the bottom line. The words 'low-cost' may be a threat to them; they may fear you will be taking away their business. The Spayed Club suggests approaching vets who are already involved with low-cost programs or who have reputations for giving price breaks to needy people.

Once you have found one or more veterinarians willing to work with you, determine what fees they will accept for spay/neuter surgery. They need to cover their costs and these vary from area to area, depending upon the size and location of the clinic and how many employees they have. If you are working with several different vets their prices may vary.

Decide if you want to offer a subsidy from your group. For example, the vets may require $50 to $60 per surgery to cover their basic costs, a reasonable low-cost price. This could already be half their usual price for their regular clients, but still too high for some people in your area. Will your group contribute $10-$15 or more to each surgery? Do you want to fully subsidize some needier people? The Spayed Club, for example, offers low-cost, partial-subsidy and full subsidy depending on individual circumstances.

From the outset, you will need to determine how your program will handle more complicated procedures, such as for feral, pregnant, in heat, or crypt-orchid (only one testicle has dropped) animals. Your vets may wish to charge extra for these surgeries. However, some vets will treat feral cats at a reduced cost, especially if their caretakers do all the handling. These situations need to be addressed with both the vets and your clients.

Most low-cost programs will not subsidize declawing a cat, and we recommend that you do not. However, many programs do offer reduced cost vaccinations. This is up to you and your vet. The Spayed Club discourages vets from imposing other services as part of the spay/neuter surgery. They have found that vets who insist on adding services (not subsidized by their program) are not used as much as those who don't. A client can make their own arrangements for other procedures at the vets' normal fees.

Will you differentiate between purchased, stray, adopted and inherited pets? The Spayed Club usually charges more for purchased purebreds. Other programs only offer services to people receiving some kind of public assistance. Some don't differentiate at all. Determine what will suit your community.

Once all these points have been established with the vet(s) you will be working with, you will be ready to organize these resources. The Spayed Club uses two lists: one for internal use that lists the full details of the agreement with each vet (prices, restrictions, extra fees, etc); and another for the public containing the names and locations of participating vets.

Clients
Now that you have a system to access the veterinarians in place, it is time to seek out clients.

Posters, public service announcements, advertisements, getting an article written about your work in the local newspaper or even getting a story on TV or cable, and of course, word of mouth, are all effective means to attract clients, especially in combination. You can call 'free to good home' ads and offer to help spay mothers of litters. Take referrals from veterinarians, animal shelters and local animal control officers.

If you have a well organized program you will not lack for clients. As word gets out, you will soon be very busy. Establish either a 24-hour phone message machine (get a good quality answering machine, and test it out for sound clarity), or have a volunteer answering the phone during advertised hours, or a combination of both. Return calls promptly. If your message asks for a mailing address, mail out your applications promptly. These details are critical for building a professional public image. (See appendix for a sample application form.)

Review the applications to determine the pet owner needs and eligibility for low-cost neutering, or partial to full subsidy. The Spayed Club factors the applicant's financial status, number of pets, and where their animals came from into their decisions. Because low-cost rates are generally about half the vets standard fees, the vets in your program will require some financial assessment of applicants so that the service is not being offered to people who can easily afford their regular fees.

Each client is issued a standard certificate for presentation to the vet, specifying pet caretaker information, vet information and amount due vet for spay/neuter surgery. (See appendix for a sample certificate.) At the time of surgery, the vet keeps the top copy and the bottom copy is sent to your organization for its records.

Paperwork
The program we have been describing requires a lot of paperwork - forms, lists, certificates etc. It is a good idea to invest in some good design at the outset, as these documents will be out there for some time representing your organization. Many printing companies have designers who can help you. Or, you may recruit someone with desktop publishing experience to produce your forms and brochures. The examples in the appendix are based on The Spayed Club's very effective designs.

It is important to create a distinctive name and logo for your program. This will be your identifying 'signature' on your flyers, brochures, store displays, stationery, and business cards.

Your literature should include detailed information on cat and dog overpopulation as it impacts your community. Know your local animal control agencies' admission, adoption, and euthanasia figures and track them from year to year. Publish the results.

Rescue
Some organizations combine spay/neuter with a rescue and adoption program. This is a matter of choice and availability of resources. Gail Parmer of The Spayed Club does not recommend spreading yourself too thin. "It's natural that you may be tempted to rescue existing homeless animals, which can be time-consuming, heartbreaking, and costly. Since funds will be limited, investing them to achieve the greatest results makes sense. With the amount of money you might spend to rescue one animal, you could typically spay two or three (or more), preventing two or three entire litters from being born. Reducing the flood of unwanted animals is best done not by finding homes for a relative few, but by stopping surplus animals from being born in the first place.'

We suggest that you discuss all the options fully with your core membership. Each community is unique, and what works for one will not work for another. Urban problems are very different from rural ones. Local economies vary across the country, and a fee scale that is affordable for one is too high for another. Because you live and work in your community, you know what will work for you.

Other Options

If a spay/neuter program like the one we have described seems too ambitious, then another area you may like to get involved with is legislation. The Fund for Animals, at 965 Alamo Drive, Suite 306, Vacaville, California 95687, is a great force in this area. They have assisted many communi ties in establishing legislation for spay/neuter policies. They publish an informative bulletin about what people have done around the country. For example, The State Legislative Humane Coalition of Connecticut succeeded in getting an Animal License Plate law passed in June 1997. Funds from the sale of the plates go towards low cost sterilization services operated by the State Department of Agriculture. The plates cost $50 above the regular fee. The DMV retains $15 for their administrative costs. The renewal costs $15, of which $5 will be kept by the DMV.

Other states also have license plate laws which bring much needed funds to spay/neuter programs. Contact The Fund for Animals for further information on starting a pet license plate program in your state.

[Your Group Name] works with a network of veterinarians who have reduced their regular prices for those who cannot otherwise afford to have their pets or strays spayed or neutered. This Program has been created for pet owners and caretakers with genuine financial need. You must supply all of the information requested on this form to receive a spay/neuter discount certificate.

Our participating veterinarians rely on us to pre-qualify applicants, and their trust in us and the applicants' truthfulness is vital to this Program. When the pet owner's need is great, [Your Group Name] may pay the veterinarian all or some of the cost on behalf of the pet owner. The donations used to make these payments are obtained by the constant hard work of our non-paid volunteers. Please return our generosity to you and your pets by volunteering or by donating money when your financial situation changes.

Instructions: Start with appropriate section below. When you have completed the application, please mail it to [Your Group Name] at [Your Address] _________. Include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. If you are able to afford the low-cost spay/neuter prices, a response will be mailed to you within five business days after we receive your application. The price is paid directly by you to the veterinarian. If you require financial assistance, your request will be processed as funds are available. You are responsible for the cost of any vaccination, tests, or other procedures you request from the vet. Cats may not be declawed in conjunction with this Program.

How did you hear about [Your Group Name]?_______________________________

Source of Animal: q Bought, Price $______ q Found q Adopted q Inherited (check one)

From: q Pet Shop q Shelter q Relative q Breeder q Acquaintance q Stray q Other ____________(check one)

Condition of Animal: q Appears Healthy q Wound/Injury (Describe) _________________ q Runny Eyes/Nose q In Heat q Pregnant q Fleas q Friendly q Bites/Scratches q Feral (wild) q Other Health Problems?__________________________________(check all that apply)

Describe the situation: _________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Geographic location of colony: _________________________________________
Number of unspayed females (specify ages, if known): _________________________
Do you regularly feed these cats? q Yes q No If Yes, how often? ________________
The cats are: q Friendly q Semi-Wild q Wild
Can they be petted? q Yes q No
Do you have a cat carrier? q Yes q No Please borrow one!
Do you have a humane trap? q Yes q No
Do you know how to use a humane trap?q Yesq No
Do you need one? q Yes q No

The information requested in this section will help us evaluate your request for low-cost services to our participating veterinarians. Please print clearly.

Name___________________________ Phone Number (___) ___________ day
Address ___________________________                     (___) ______________ evening
City/ST ________________________________ Zip County_________________

What is the name of your current veterinarian? _____________________________
Have you checked with your vet for a price quote on this surgery? q Yes, Price $ ___________ q No
Can you afford the low-cost prices? q Yes q No

If Yes, skip the box below. If No, please answer the questions in the box below. If this animal hasn't had a rabies shot, please figure an additional $5-12 into your total expense.

Many people are able to afford the full low-cost price if they can pay part of the cost at the time of surgery and have a payment plan for the rest of the amount.

Please describe your financial situation, checking all applicable boxes:

q Own home q Rent q Single income q Double income
q Retired q Food stamps q Medicaid q Public assistance
q Unemployment compensation q Aid to families with dependent children
q Supplemental security income q Pharmaceutical assistance to aged and disabled

Describe your situation: _______________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

I hereby certify that the foregoing information is true and correct and that I have not omitted anything which would make my application false or misleading.

Your Signature __________________________________ Date ___________

From the enclosed list, please identify the vets most convenient to you (Please note: some vets are 'CATS ONLY'): Vet Preference: 1 _______________ 2 ______________ 3 _______________

It is the law that animals be inoculated against rabies. Does the animal need a rabies shot? q Yes q No

PLEASE REMEMBER TO INCLUDE A SELF-ADDRESSED, STAMPED BUSINESS ENVELOPE.

Volunteer Comments: ______________________________________________
Call Returned? q Yes q No q Not applicable

Courtesy of
Best Friends Animal Sanctuary
Kanab, UT 84741-5001
(435) 644-2001
e-mail: info@bestfriends.org
website: www.bestfriends.org