by Janet Brummett, Tri-County Animal Shelter Coordinator

As Rescue Coordinator of the Tri-County Animal Shelter, I see the desperate pleading in the eyes of dogs and cats that are scared and confused about why they ended up in a small concrete and fenced in space, that’s unfamiliar, with so many other animals and people they don’t know. Some just lay on their beds for days in depression, while others bark consistently hoping someone will come and let them out. Then there’s those that up their little noses through the fenced door just hoping someone will show them some attention, give them a little scratch behind the ears or just a pat on the head. Although we try to show them as much attention as we have time for, they are still left alone, hoping that the next person that walks by will be the one that will take them to a loving home. Some get lucky but sometimes there is just no happy ending. This sickness or multiple litters are the fate of those unfortunate creatures that have not been spayed or neutered. All through no fault of their own, and because I see the vast over-population every day, no matter how hard we work with rescue to save them, they just keep coming.

It is for this reason, with God’s help and that of a few dedicated volunteers and enough donations to get started, I felt compelled to help those sweet furbabies, their owners, and this community by opening a Spay and Neutering Clinic right here in Albany. It will provide those services as well as much needed shots, puppy, adult and rabies, worming, micro-chipping, and flea and tick treatment. As many of you know, the cost of these services at a veterinarian clinic can be astronomical, especially if you have more than one pet. This only contributes to the problem. So because of that, our fees will be kept at a minimum so that everybody can afford to help their animals stay healthy. When I say healthy, I do mean that to spay and neuter your animal not only increases their life span but decreases the chances of getting diseases like cancer, urinary tract infections, or prostate problems. It also reduces the urge to roam which in many cases results in your dog or cat being killed by other animals or being hit by a car. It helps in behavior problems, decreases aggression, or the marking of their territory. Of course, it helps in eliminating the hassle, risks, and added cost of having unwanted litters. That’s where the over-population problem comes in. For those of you that may think there’s a risk or your animal is too old, that is just a myth. Spaying or neutering your pet won’t endanger the well-being, won’t make your pet lazy or fat, won’t prevent it from being a good watch dog that protects your family but will prevent the financial burden of veterinary care of unwanted puppies or kittens, which is why I felt the need to start a spay and neutering clinic to start with. I’m hoping to start the clinic around the first week of February, and it will be held at the VFW building on Hopkins Street as they were gracious enough to let us use their building for two days a month, each month, as their way of helping the community. The veterinarian will be Dr. Paul Pach from Paris, Ky. He has been a veterinarian for many years and runs a very successful veterinarian hospital in Paris. As well as holding three other spay and neutering clinics around the state, and one of my volunteers attending the October clinic in Liberty in Casey County, and it was amazing the efficiency of their service. Most months they service between 50 and 75 animals in that two day clinic and have been doing this for five and a-half years with not so much as an infection in over 2,500 animals. During that clinic, the volunteers who have been with the clinic since its beginning, were so helpful to us in explaining every aspect of their operation and very forthcoming on the ordering of products needed, expenses, suppliers and even offered to come to our first clinic just to help us in seeing to it that everything runs as smooth as possible.

Almost all of what is needed to start this non-profit clinic is in place with the exception of the two most important things. One is the volunteers that will be needed to help in the clinic each month for those two days without fail. We are asking for just 15 people to dedicate themselves to this cause as without at the very least 12 volunteers, the clinic cannot open. And the other need is the donations of at least $6,000 to purchase the supplies and pharmaceuticals to start the first clinic. After that the clinic would support itself. However, without the help of the people in this community, we will not see this very important venture come about. The biggest losers will not only be the people and the community, but the animals themselves. At this time we have established an account at First and Farmers Bank here in Albany, and any donations, no matter how big or small, will be very much appreciated and put to good use in getting this spay and neutering clinic up and running as soon as possible. We hope to call the clinic, “FURever Friends of Albany’s Spay and Neutering Clinic.”

As we get closer to the opening of our clinic, I will be writing more articles to give you updates on our progress and the days that the clinic will be open.

In closing, I implore you to help in any way you can to get this clinic in operation as it is so very important to the animal owners by saving them money, to the animals themselves by helping to get them and keep them healthy, but even more importantly, to our community as the vast over-population is not only a nuisance, but an added expense to us all.