The Maryland SPCA Reaches 90,000 Spay and Neuter Surgeries Milestone
Clinic has been a Vital Community Resource Since 2008
BALTIMORE—(June 13, 2019)—The Maryland SPCA, a state leader in providing spay and neuter surgeries for dogs and cats, performed its 90,000th surgery today at its Spay and Neuter Clinic on Chico, a 3-year-old Chihuahua mix who lives with his family in the Madison-Eastend neighborhood of Baltimore City.
Through a unique partnership with Charm City Companions (CCC), Chico’s family was able to have him neutered free of charge.
“It’s an exciting time for us at the Maryland SPCA,” said Jim Peirce, executive director of the Maryland SPCA. “Continuing our 150 years of providing critical services to serve pets in our community, we recently launched a new program to help pet owners—regardless of their income—afford these important spay and neuter surgeries.”
The MD SPCA and CCC teamed up in 2018 to expand their respective programs and provide additional resources and services to pets and their families living in Baltimore City’s most under-resourced neighborhoods known as ‘vet deserts’. CCC is a grass-roots organization that travels to neighborhoods in Baltimore City where residents are living at or below the poverty line offering assistance to pet owners including food, vaccinations and spay/neuter surgeries.
CCC transports pets to the MD SPCA’s Spay and Neuter Clinic for surgery, and returns them to their families later in the day. Through this partnership, 525 pets (379 cats and 146 dogs) have been spayed/neutered at no charge to their owners since 2018.
“Our partnership has fortified our team and extended both organizations’ ability to embed further into the communities truly in need of support for pet families,” stated Annie Pruitt, executive director of Charm City Companions. “Our teams work incredibly well together sharing information and connecting pet owners in pet resource deserts to free and low-cost quality and compassionate care provided by the Maryland SPCA medical team.”
Chico’s family took him in a year ago from their neighbor who was moving and couldn’t take him. His new family did not have the financial resources to have him neutered.
In addition to providing free surgeries on pets through the CCC partnership, with funding from the Maryland Department of Agriculture, Spay and Neuter Grant Program, the MD SPCA also performs free surgeries on cats and dogs living with their families in the following nine zip codes of Baltimore City (21201, 21202, 21205, 21213, 21215, 21216, 21217, 21218 and 21223). These areas were selected because 20% of the citizens residing in these zip codes are living below poverty level.
Spay and Neuter surgeries are also performed on unaltered pets in the MD SPCA’s adoption program, feral cats brought in by their caretakers, as well as dogs and cats whose owners do not meet low-income guidelines.
“Spaying and neutering dogs and cats not only reduces pet overpopulation, but there are medical and behavior advantages, too,” said Jim Peirce.
According to the American Veterinarian Medical Association (AVMA), spaying or neutering pets can dramatically reduce or eliminate the risk of developing certain types of cancers in both males and females. Neutered male dogs are less likely to roam away from home in search of a mate and risk getting hit by cars, and male cats are less likely to spray in the home.
To learn more about the MD SPCA’s Spay and Neuter Clinic, visit https://www.mdspca.org/programs/spay-neuter/.
# # #
The Maryland SPCA is one of the oldest animal-welfare organizations in the United States. Continuing our commitment to animals since 1869, we work towards a future of compassion and care for all of Maryland’s cats and dogs. We offer innovative programs in education, veterinary services and humane care to improve the lives of thousands of pets and people in communities throughout the state of Maryland. The MD SPCA is an independent, non-profit organization with no direct affiliation with the ASPCA (New York). We pride ourselves on building community partnerships and working with pet owners to keep their pets healthy and in their homes. For more information about the MD SPCA, visit mdspca.org.
