VHS Low-Cost Spay & Neuter Clinic To Hit Major Milestone

VHS Low-Cost Spay & Neuter Clinic to hit major milestone tomorrow. They will perform their 50,000th surgery. Find out how this invaluable service began, the impact it has had on the pet population and what you can do to help it continue.

Let's start at the beginning…..

In July of 2007, the VHS opened the Davidson/Rausch Low Cost Spay/Neuter Clinic to begin to reduce the number of animals surrendered to the VHS and other shelters.

Spay/neuter is the only permanent solution to the complex problem of shelter overcrowding and the overpopulation problem, not only in Evansville but worldwide. Millions of animals each year (up to 4,000 locally) are euthanized as a direct result of animals left unaltered in communities. Getting animals adopted is, of course, still a priority. But it is not nearly enough to curb the overpopulation problem. There are simply not enough homes for the animals that already exist, much less all of their offspring. Our clinic is stopping the problem at the source. If unwanted litters of puppies and kittens can be prevented from being born, then there are fewer of them to end up homeless in shelters and running the streets. Reducing strain on shelter systems also allows them to devote more resources to each animal, thereby increasing each animal's chance for a positive outcome.

“We are already starting to see the impact of our clinic in our shelter, says Kendall Paul, VHS Executive Director. “In the 8 years since opening, we have seen the euthanasia percentage drop dramatically here at the VHS.”

For example, as of Friday, the VHS has altered 20,597 female cats. Just for convenience, let’s just use 20,000 as an estimate. That averages out to about 2500 female cat surgeries each year.
· If half of those 2500 female cats (1250) would have gone unfixed and gone on to have one litter of 5 kittens each, that would’ve resulted in 6,250 kittens in the first year alone.
· Now, if those same cats had had another litter of 5 the following year and half of their kittens had also had a litter of 5, that results in 21,875 kittens in year 2.
· For year 3, imagine that the original 1250 moms had yet another litter of 5 each. Half of their kittens and half of their grandkittens also had a litter of 5. That number is 60,937 unwanted kittens born in year 3!

These are mind-blowing numbers. Those figures do not, of course, include cats who had more than one litter. Since cats can have 2-3 litters per year and each litter averages 3-7 kittens, these are actually conservative estimates. It also does not include the 16,000+ male cats we’ve fixed, who can impregnate multiple female cats at a time.

All these statistics can be repeated for the tens of thousands of dogs we’ve fixed, too. Female dogs average one litter per year, with the average litter number being seven according to the ASPCA.

Help improve these numbers even more. Get your pets spayed or neutered. Public surgery prices are as follows:
Dogs:
Male: $60
Female: $70
(Over 80 lbs. + $25)

Cats:
Female: $50
Male: $30

Rabbits:
$75 (male and female)

Community Cat TNR Program:
Males: $30 (includes vaccines & ear tipping)
Females: $50 (includes vaccines & ear tipping)

The public can make an appointment for their pet by calling the VHS at (812) 426-2563, Tuesday – Friday, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM.

Even more ways to help…...

People or businesses can help underwrite the cost of surgeries for our shelter animals by going to the VHS website at www.vhslifesaver.org, stopping by our facility at 400 Millner Industrial Drive or by mailing in a tax-deductible gift to VHS, PO Box 6711, Evansville, IN 47719. The average cost of a surgery is $50. You can also make a donation through your smart phone! $10 can be charged to your phone bill by texting VHS to the number 20222, standard message and data rates apply.

For more info click here!