Submitted by The Animal Protection Society – Friday Harbor

On Feb. 23, coinciding with “World Spay Day,” The Animal Protection Society – Friday Harbor announced the launch of the “APS-FH Spay/Neuter Clinic.”

According to The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: “cost is the reason most often cited by owners for not having their dogs and cats spayed or neutered. People with low incomes are nearly as likely to own pets as are people with high incomes, indicating that many animals live in households that simply cannot afford full-service veterinary care.” On San Juan Island, 10.2 percent of people live in poverty.

To address this need, APS-FH has historically provided vouchers ($50/dog and $25/cat) to help low-income residents spay/neuter their pets. But even with this voucher, the additional cost of spaying or neutering a pet can be prohibitive for people living below the poverty line.

The APS-FH Spay/Neuter Clinic will expand their current services to provide in-house, high quality spaying and neutering of dogs and cats to qualifying low-income residents. This will make it more affordable for our low-income community members to spay/neuter their pets; improving pet-health and reducing the number of abandoned, homeless, and surrendered pets. (Clinic information will be available in both English and Spanish.)

The APS-FH Spay/Neuter Clinic will ramp up slowly to ensure the highest level of services, starting with one appointment per week for public animals. We hope to quickly increase the number of procedures: look for information in future newsletters or our website. If you or someone you know could benefit from our services, please call the shelter at (360)378-2158. As the program grows, more information will be available about the Clinic through our website at www.apsfh.com.

APS-FH is dedicated to support our community in the spay/neuter effort. To further assist our low-income residents, APS-FH is actively raising funds for those who need additional financial assistance beyond the amount of the low-cost services. If you would like to contribute to this fund, please consider donating to the Clinic. Visit apsfh.com for more info.