Pembina Valley Humane Society is helping the community lower the cost of responsible pet ownership with a spay/neuter program.
Jennifer Young, the shelter manager at Pembina Valley Humane Society, says that the low-cost spay/neuter program reduces the price of the procedure by $100. The program, which is open to both dogs and cats, has 25 spots at the Winkler and Morden veterinary clinics. At the time of publishing, 6 spots are available.
“The neuters are a little bit less expensive because it's a little bit less invasive, so for some people, it can be almost completely paid for using this program,” says Young.
There are many reasons to spay and neuter pets, according to Young. At the top of the list, the procedures can generate health and behavioral benefits for cats and dogs.
“A lot of people don't realize [it], but if you spay or neuter your pet, you can help reduce the chances of common types of cancers like mammary, ovarian, and uterine cancer,” she says. “If they don't get sterilized, they are more prone to these cancers.”
There are also behavioral changes in sterilized pets that can help keep them safe, happy, and thriving.
“If they're spayed or neutered, they tend to be a little bit more affectionate, and they can be calmer. Dogs are less likely to bite, attack or get into fights,” says Young. “Not every single dog will be like that, but we are finding that that is a common thing that happens after they have been sterilized. Obviously if you spay an animal, it gets rid of their heat cycle, which means it will remove some nervous behaviors like howling and spraying.”
Pets that are spayed or neutered are also less inclined to wander off or escape to find a mate, so there could be fewer concerns in terms of losing one’s pet or the risk of injury if they are in the community in search of a mate.
Beyond the benefits for current pet populations, spaying and neutering also protects future populations from undue suffering by limiting them.
“We want to be able to control the pet population, [to] reduce the number of strays and homeless animals,” says Young. “We are seeing a lot of kitten litters and puppy litters. If we're able to prevent that, . . . the shelters and other programs [won’t be] overpopulated trying to find homes for these cats and dogs.”
Pembina Valley Humane Society currently has a cat freeze because of the high numbers of cats who need homes in the Pembina Valley.
“Right now because of that intake freeze, we are looking at over a year on our waiting list to bring in any new cats for surrender,” says Young. “We have a lot of people looking for a space for them because either their cat has given birth to a litter, or they find them being dumped or placed on their front step.”
The cause of the freeze is simple — cats multiply quickly.
"One cat can have up to 9 or even more kittens, and then those kittens can each have that many, and they can actually reproduce within months. They can be under a year [when] they start having kittens,” she says. “So the sooner that you can get them spayed, the less chance there is of increasing this amount of kittens.”
Young says that this year alone, the shelter has already taken in half a dozen litters of kittens.
“That doesn't include the ones that we haven't been able to bring in, and the ones that we haven’t been contacted [about],” she says.
Young says that while compassionate community members are always willing to step up to rescue abandoned or distressed cats and dogs, the costs can be difficult to handle.
“They're doing everything they can, which is amazing. We've got these great community members, but they can't afford to feed [the animals], and they definitely can't afford to spay or neuter them,” she says. “So we give this opportunity for them to apply, and then hopefully we can reduce the number of animals that need to come into the shelter.”
As mentioned above, the total number of spots available for the spay and neuter program was 25, and now there are 6 left. Young says that the shelter is also working with three clinics that they have not partnered with before: Killarney, Pilot Mound, and Glenboro. There are 15 spots available in these locations.
“Hopefully we can . . . use a little bit more of our reach and help out . . . more animals [this] way,” she says. “Hopefully there's going to come a day where we're able to take in more and we can help that many more, but we want to kind of stop it in its tracks so that it doesn't get to a point where people need to surrender or euthanize.”
Young says that the high number of animals has regrettably caused some community members to resort to euthanasia already.
“That's unfortunately where some people . . . feel that they have to go — if they can't take care of the animals and [the shelter is] unable to take them in, then they think that the next step is to euthanize them,” she says. “[For] the ones that end up in the pound and things like that, it might happen, and we're doing everything we can here to keep that from happening.”
According to Young, the mission of providing cats and dogs with a safe, comfortable home for the duration of their lives is always recruiting new volunteers and helpers. Anyone who is interested in the spay/neuter program, becoming a foster for pets, or donating to the shelter is invited to see its website or visit its Instagram page for ways to become involved.
~With files from Robyn Wiebe~