ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES

Spay/neuter clinics to open in Va., S.C.

When Lisa Ilsley needed her three puppies sterilized, she headed to the Humane Alliance Spay/Neuter Clinic in Asheville.

A Warren Wilson student at the time, Ilsley didn't have the money to pay for the operations. The staff bartered with her, allowing her to volunteer at the clinic in return for their work.

“I felt like it was really important to spay these puppies before I gave them away,” Ilsley said. “And the clinic was quick and helpful with the surgery.”

It is clients such as Ilsley that the clinic hopes to help by expanding its low-cost spay/neuter services next year with five new clinics in Virginia and South Carolina.
The Buncombe County clinic serves animal welfare organizations in 22 counties and sterilizes anywhere from 100-130 animals per day, said executive director Quita Mazzina. The clinic charges between $35 and $55 for sterilization procedures, and has become a national model because of its methods.

We have veterinarians that come here to train,” said clinic founder William McKelvy. “And more importantly, we've seen the number of animals euthanized at the shelter drop significantly since we opened.”

McKelvy founded the spay/neuter clinic with a single mission: reduce the number of animals killed each year by sterilizing cats and dogs instead of euthanizing thousands of offspring. The clinic spayed and neutered 3,000 animals in 1994. That number grew to 16,000 this year.

The clinic will open five new locations this coming year to show possible donors that this model can be duplicated, Mazzina said.

The Humane Alliance plans to open 25 clinics in 2005 and hopes to secure money from national organizations such as the Pet Savers Foundation for the future spay/neuter clinics.

“There is never a profit with these clinics. We help make ends meet with grants and donations,” Mazzina said. “The whole reason it works is because of the high volume operations that we do, which help balance our fixed costs.”

The Humane Alliance's first satellite clinic will open Jan 15. in Greenville, S.C. Greenville humane organizations fronted the $125,000 needed to open the clinics, and the Asheville Humane Alliance workers trained the clinic's staff. This process will occur with the four other clinics opening this year.

“What we need is a satellite facility for the area patients,” McKelvy said. “We want to continue our mission in this area, but really need more space.”

Evidence of this need is clear. On a recent Wednesday morning, the clinic's operating quarters teemed with barks and chatter as assistants unloaded vans filled with about 75 animals from Catawba County shelters. Assistants bump into one another as cats sitting inside crates are passed along into a van for a return trip to Brevard.

The clinic picks up and drops off animals at shelters throughout the state as most of the rural shelters don't have the money to pay for transportation costs, McKelvy said.

Despite the hustle and bustle, this is the clinic's quiet time, the early morning hours before the operations begin. Some local dogs, operated on before the mid-morning rush, lie on the ground, wrapped in blankets, while they groggily stare at the ceiling as their anesthesia wears off. The staff will later move them into pens where they sleep the rest of the day.

Space is tight, and the pace of the work is brisk, but employees at the clinic said they enjoy their jobs.

“I feel like I'm doing something here that is really important,” said veterinary assistant Autumn Ward. “It's changing my community for the better.”

And, with its program and new clinics, the Humane Alliance helps solve a pressing problem, says Jenny Brown, a spokeswoman for the Humane Society of the United States.

“We can't adopt our way out of the problem of pet overpopulation,” Brown said. “Sterilization is the best method available to prevent pet overpopulation and the euthanasia of unwanted animals.”

About the clinic

The Humane Alliance Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Clinic performs sterilizations on cats and dogs Monday through Friday at its office at 231 Haywood St. Cost is $55 for female and male dogs; $50 for female cats; and $35 for male cats. Appointments are required.

To make a donation to the clinic, make checks payable to Humane Alliance, 231 Haywood St., Asheville, NC 28801. Call 252-2079 or e-mail info@humanealliance.org. For more information go to www.humanealliance.org.