‘Snip and Chip’ events help spay and neuter pets — but the program needs your help too
If money is short and one needs to choose between paying the rent, buying groceries, or making an appointment for a pet’s spay or neuter surgery, it’s the surgery that doesn’t happen.
Which is a worry, not only for low-income pet owners, but for our community as a whole.
Thankfully three local nonprofit organizations are working together — Animal Shelter Adoption Partners, Animals in Need and C.A.R.E.4Paws — to create “Snip and Chip,” providing low-cost or no-cost spay/neuter surgeries to low-income and underserved communities in SLO County.
The need is great.
According to City Dogs and City Kitties Rescue, for every child born in the United States, seven puppies and eleven kittens are born.
Additionally, unaltered pets are more likely to roam, making them vulnerable to becoming lost, injured, or killed.
There’s also a human cost to unaltered pets, because they’re more likely to bite, with children most commonly injured.
For all these reasons, the first Snip and Chip event was held and it was a success with 48 pets being fixed.
Snip and Chip also includes a walk-in low-cost vaccines, microchips, and other pet wellness services for all SLO County residence. This resulted in 44 pets receiving vaccinations and 30 being microchipped.
The response to Snip and Chip is promising with 145 requests for surgery appointments. Fortunately there is another event scheduled for March 20.
It’s clear this program will help to reduce unwanted litters, if it can be ongoing and countywide; but with the cost of each event being approximately $7,000, the nonprofits can’t shoulder the burden alone and need community help to make this a reality.
If you want to donate or volunteer please contact us at info@snipslo.org, call 805-242-2205 or visit our website snipslo.org.
This story was originally published February 25, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "‘Snip and Chip’ events help spay and neuter pets — but the program needs your help too."