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Spay and Neuter Programs are More Important Now Than Ever
22Feb’24
Carbon County New
By: Diane ZookPublished: Feb 22, 2024
In 2023, more than 6.5 million animals (3.3 million cats and 3.2 million dogs) entered animal shelters and rescue organizations like Beartooth Humane Alliance (BHA). It’s an alarming statistic recently released by Shelter Animals Count, a national database. Shelters across the country are full and have been operating at or beyond-capacity for several years. During the last few years, BHA has seen a similar increase in intakes as well, especially in unwanted litters of kittens.
Prevention through spay and neuter is the only way to reverse this trend.
From the very beginning — before BHA was even established as a nonprofit — prevention was an important part of our mission. The first spay/neuter clinic, dubbed “Operation Nip & Tuck” was held in 2003, and since that time, BHA has facilitated and funded more than 6,530 spay/neuter surgeries.
Imagine the impact those 6,530 animals would have had on our community had they gone on to reproduce!
BHA dropped the one-day clinic model years ago, in favor of a more convenient and effective approach that utilizes the services of local veterinarians, who schedule regular spay/neuter surgeries for BHA throughout the year. The surgeries are offered free of charge for unsupervised outdoor cats (At BHA, we call them working cats) and BHA provides low-cost spay/neuter vouchers for pet owners on a limited income or who are facing a temporary financial hardship. The free Nip & Tuck program is used the most, with more than 5,400 surgeries to date, and the voucher program has helped to sterilize another 1,140 dogs and cats.
Did you catch the part that says we’ve provided FREE spay/neuter services to more than 5,400 unsupervised outdoor cats? We’re proud of that accomplishment!
As far as we can tell, BHA is the only animal welfare organization in the United States that provides FREE spay/neuter services of any kind — and we’ve been doing it for 20 years!
Of course, there are costs associated with both the Nip & Tuck Program and the Low-Cost Voucher Program. We are thankful for our veterinary partners for providing their services at a discounted rate, and we are the grateful recipients of grants from the Golden Heart Charitable Fund and the Summerlee Foundation. And Carbon County provides a grant of $525 for rabies vaccinations, which are given when unsupervised animals are spayed or neutered. Other program costs are covered by donations from individuals who share in our desire to limit unwanted litters of puppies and kittens. If that’s you, thank you for your support!
BHA remains committed to prevention and we sincerely hope our efforts make a difference in Carbon and Stillwater counties, but we can only make a difference when pet owners commit to spay and neuter their pets. Please, if you’re a dog or cat owner, we urge you to spay or neuter your pet. Make that appointment today and join us in becoming part of the solution.
BHA is a nonprofit 501©(3) organization that assists the people and animals of Carbon and Stillwater Counties, Montana, by helping companion animals in need, promoting responsible animal care through education, providing solutions to dog and cat overpopulation, and serving as an animal welfare resource. For spay/neuter program details and to see all adoptable dogs and cats visit www.beartoothhumane.org.