SPARC offers low-cost spay/neuter
program for SP residents’ pets
December 10, 2014
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
“Please don’t litter, spay or neuter your critter!” is the motto of Santa Paula Animal Rescue Center’s program that not only helps keep down the animal population but also improves the health and quality of life for pets.
Now, low-income Santa Paula residents can spay or neuter their dogs and cats for only $10 each through a special SPARC program in partnership with the Valley Veterinary Clinic of Ventura.
The goal is to spay/neuter 1,000 pets and SPARC Board President Diane Rowley said the Santa Paula-based rescue center, the first such no-kill facility in the county, has been the recipient of a grant that helps supplement the cost to pet owners.
“In the short term, it is less costly to do this cooperatively with Valley Veterinary since they already have the van and the staff,” allowing procedures to be done locally.
The SPARC program is open to Santa Paula residents only; there are two dates that the van will be offering spay and neuter services in December but an appointment is necessary. Call 805-584-3823 to make an appointment.
Rowley noted that more and more programs are being launched to spay and neuter animals, such as those conducted by the Humane Society of Ventura County located in Ojai.
“SPARC continually promotes their programs of free spay/neuter for Chihuahuas and Chihuahua mixes,” from 5 to 15 pounds and under 5 years old.
HSVC is also offering for a limited time free spay/neuter of pit bull and pit bull mixes (call the HSVC at 805-646-6505).
There are numerous reasons it is important for pet owners to spay or neuter their animals.
Tragically, each year millions of animals show up in shelters across the nation, some saved from the streets and cruelty, while some are given up by families who can no longer keep them. Countless other animals never make it to shelters and suffer without someone to care for them.
Spaying or neutering pets prevents animals from being born accidentally and greatly reduces the number of animals that would be doomed without someone to love them.
Animals will live a longer, healthier life if they are spayed or neutered the procedure reduces or eliminates the odds of breast cancer and dangerous uterine infections in females and prostate problems and testicular cancer in males.
Your pet will be happier, easier to train and less distracted if they are spayed or neutered.
They’ll stay home also: a majority of animals picked up by animal control and turned in as strays to SPARC and other shelters are not “fixed” and left their home in search of a mate... and once they get out they can become lost, get into fights with other animals or be hit by a car.
Unwanted aggression is different from an animal being protective of its family; why create a biter out of what would be a fine watchdog even if “fixed”?
And aside from eliminating wailing, spraying or marking territory, by spaying or neutering your pet you will save by eliminating the extra expense for taking care of a litter of puppies or kittens. Also many cities and counties charge extra for licenses for dogs that have not been spayed or neutered.
The animal suffers little discomfort after they undergo the procedure, for the female the surgical removal of her reproductive organs and for the male the surgical removal of his testicles.
Puppies and kittens as young as eight-weeks-old can be spayed and neutered; cats can get pregnant as early as five months old, and dogs as early as six months old... and each can have two to three litters a year. Owners sometimes resist fixing their pets believing it will lead to weight gain, or that their dog or cat is a purebred and should not be altered. Others claim they always find good homes for the puppies and kittens their pets produce.
Don’t believe it: fixing an animal does not lead to weight gain, there are way too many purebreds in shelters and as it is there are not enough good homes for the animals that rely on people to adopt and love them “furrever.”
For more information about SPARC, call 805-525-8609 or visit their shelter at 705 E. Santa Barbara St. Visit the SPARC website at http://www.santapaulaarc.org/
