by Denise LeBeau, Best Friends Animal Society

Spay Day USA is Tuesday, February 27! It is now in its’ fourteenth year of highlighting the importance of spaying and neutering all pets, including strays and feral companion animals. The events transpiring this year are featuring low cost spay & neuter programs which are being offered all across the country. It is a fact that that in order to end euthanizing healthy, adoptable animals, we must spay and neuter our pets!

Pet overpopulation is caused by a variety of reasons. But one widely cited and important statistic to note is that 3% of the human population contributes to 80% of the homeless animal problem. This illustrates just how important it is to address the needs of the people in low income communities in our work to end pet overpopualtion. To fully realize a time when there is no more homeless pets, we must be reaching and teaching these communities.

Poorer communities are often in a pet predicament. The people just don’t have the funds and/or transportation to get their animals altered. “Affordability and accessibility are the keys to having a successful program,” explains attorney by trade and leader Peter Marsh (pictured) of Solutions to Overpopulation of Pets.


He should know. Starting in July 1994 his state New Hampshire started a low cost spay neuter program geared towards low income families. This program is state funded, but getting as many funding sources as possible is imperative, says Peter.

Local naysayers once remarked disparagingly, "Those type of people are irresponsible, those people won’t take advantage of it and the program won’t make a difference." Peter is happy to report that the STOP program is now in its' thirteenth year and has more participants this year than ever before!

The success of this program has been contingent on how well thought out and planned it is. Because of the transportation issue being a factor for their target audience, Peter contacted the veterinarians of NH to get a network going. Initially he approached the Veterinary Medical Association of NH and showed them a survey. That survery showed that for one year it was determined that 48% of the kittens came from 12% of the population, which were low income households.

To get the vets on board, Marsh also realized it would take specifically targeting the low income families {not the middle to upper income families) as their clients! He got 70% of the vets of the state to sign on, and he stressed that you have to pay the vets fairly. Vets just break even on the cost of surgery with as little as a 20% discount.

Their program works generally off of Medicaid. If someone has a card, they can get their animal altered through the program. The administrative duties are handled offsite(not by the vets) where verification and tracking are easily managed in one office. Making the program as easy on the veterinarians as it is for the clients can’t be stressed enough, according to Peter.

Letting local social service agencies like Head Start(pictured), WIC, and other low income agencies know about the program also helps reach the target audience.

Peter says, “Low income animals deserve and get the same quality of care as anyone [in our program]. There’s no discriminating against the people or their animal companions. And it’s a morale booster for them, knowing that they’re not forgotten and that there are people that care about them, also makes a difference.”

Peter also relays an interesting study by Robert Poresky in the 1980’s – a survey called the pet attachment scale. Questions were asked about how people felt about their pets – things like were they kept inside or outside? Were they allowed on the couch? People from all walks of life were contacted, and an astonishing outcome was found. Low income people were found to have a higher attachment than middle and upper income families!

And upper income families were found to have the lowest attachment ratio! This is completely contradictory to some popular beliefs! Some upper income families looked at their pets as commodities, while the lower income families were bending over backwards to take care of their animals, while many times they themselves struggled for survival.

“It is just better all around. These programs are effective in saving lives and also cost effective. Euthanasia rates are driven by intake rates. Reduce the intake rates and it costs shelters and the public less money,” Peter says.

Peter tells of a study at Cornell by Dr. Janet Scarlett, DVM that said sterilized pets are kept in the home two to three times more often than un-sterilized pets, and also, of a study in Michigan in 2003 that supports this by reporting that 80% of the animals turned into the shelters statewide were un-sterilized. The correlation between shelter overpopulation and the need for providing spay neuter programs to the people that need it most is undeniable.


This is the pitch to the local elected officials... their job is to be accountable to the taxpayers for where the money goes. By proving that low income spay neuter programs are fiscally prudent and saves money, it helps make the case and puts it all in perspective.

Speaking of elected officials and legislative initiatives, Peter also conveys that getting involved locally in your town, city and county can really pay off. “This is being mature about animal advocacy, knowing your local officials and giving them the local data,” he continues.

He recommends that to learn the whole process of how bills and ordinances are passed, first find out which of your local representatives are sympathetic to the cause. Then gather the proper data. For instance,
(1)what’s the local euthanasia rate (2) where are the animals coming from (3) are there any assistance programs available. Getting the dialogue going and people involved are the first steps in improving the homeless pet problem.

The pet overpopulation problem begins and ends with spay and neuter programs. While New Hampshire has one of the lowest euthanasia rates in the country, Peter’s not kicking back on his accomplishments. He says, “We’ve got something in the legislature now to pass a $40 deposit for unaltered pets being bought from the pet shops [much like the policy that some shelters have]. It’s another way to get more money for our spay neuter program!”

The message is clear to all...Please Spay and Neuter Your Pets!

For more information on this program, check out the following links:

Peter Marsh

Creating Spay and Neuter Programs

Spay and Neuter Programs

---

---