The Chesapeake Humane Society officially opens a CARE Clinic Sunday aimed at reducing the city's stray dog and cat population by offering low-cost surgeries to spay and neuter pets.
Opening the CARE (Companion Animal Resource & Education) Clinic represents the latest effort by the organization founded in 1972 "to promote the welfare of companion animals in the community."
"We've been thinking about this and planning this for the past five or six years," said Chesapeake Humane Society President Cheryl Hindle. "It's high time it opened."
The facility is located in the Island Wharf Shoppes on Battlefield Boulevard, just north of the Great Bridge Bridge. An invitation-only dedication will take place at 1 p.m. today. A "soft" opening was held in January, but as of today the clinic is officially up and barking.
Spay and neuter services will be available free for pets adopted from the city's Animal Control shelter at 3807 Cook Blvd. in Cavalier Industrial Park and at a reduced cost for other animals. The clinic also will offer vaccinations, limited medical tests and micro-chipping.
"We're not a full-service clinic," Hindle said.
L.B. Kretzschmer, the clinic's executive director, added that they do not do emergencies, grooming or provide wellness therapies and programs.
The facility joins the Norfolk and Virginia Beach SPCAs and PETA's SNIP (Spay and Neuter Immediately, Please) program in offering the low-cost services to help decrease the pet overpopulation in Hampton Roads.
"It's going to be a great asset to the community," said Kathy Strouse, the city's animal control coordinator. "The key to the overpopulation problem is to stop them from entering our shelters, and we do that by spaying and neutering, helping keep the unwanted pet population down."
Strouse said the Animal Control shelter receives about 4,500 unwanted pets annually. Last year it took in 3,998 animals, including 3,911 dogs and cats. More than half had to be euthanized.
Ensuring pets are spayed (for females) or neutered (for males) is the best way to address the problem, animal advocates agree.
"If you're going to be a responsible pet owner you'll take away that strong (mating) drive and frustration," Strouse said.
Hindle said if a pet owner has no plans to breed a cat or dog, then it should be spayed or neutered.
"Fix it on this end before we see puppies or kittens at the shelter," Kretzschmer added.
Many pet owners, no matter the income level, balk at the surgery because of the cost and inconvenience, Hindle said that's where the clinic's low-cost services come in.
"If you don't see the importance to have Fluffy fixed, it doesn't matter how much you make," she said.
The procedure costs $65 for dogs and $50 for cats. A surcharge is added if the pooch is exceptionally large or heavy, but for the most part, the clinic will try to keep flat rates across the board. These surgeries at full-service veterinarian clinics could cost more than $100. The clinic will further reduce rates for various animal rescue units and area shelters.
And convenience?
"We offer same-day service," Kretzschmer said.
Owners who drop off Fido or Muffin at 8 a.m. on Wednesday or Thursday - the only days the clinic offers the surgeries - can pick up their pet that same day between 3 and 5 p.m. The procedures are conducted by Drs. Tommy and Jerilyn Mitchell with Mitchell Vet Services.
Since the facility's word-of-mouth January opening, it already has conducted about 200 surgeries, Hindle said. It averages 15 to 20 every Wednesday or Thursday with a capacity of about 22 per day. She hopes to keep Wednesdays and Thursdays as busy as possible.
"It's noisy here on surgery days," Kretzschmer said. "You almost can't hear the phone. But it's worth it."
Hindle and Kretzschmer said they hope to offer adoption services and other pet-friendly workshops in the future.
"But, right now, our focus is to get this up and running," Hindle said.
The clinic is funded by grants, membership fees, donations and fundraisers such as Bark In the Park, the popular all-canine event that takes place each October at City Park. Additional funding will come from the Humane Society's newest "Critter Cruise" motorcycle poker run April 20.
The Humane Society already is seeing the effort pay off.
"So far, people have been very pleased," Hindle said. "When we've made follow-up calls, we've gotten no complaints."
Eric Feber, 222-5203,
eric.feber@pilotonline.com
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
