Alliance sees low-cost clinic as solution to pet overpopulation

For years, advocates have searched for a solution to the out-of-control animal population in the Wiregrass area. And for years, they’ve fought and cried over the number of dogs and cats euthanized at the Dothan Animal Shelter.

They’ve housed animals in shelters manned by volunteers. They’ve fed cats at Westgate Park. They’ve begged city leaders for more money and better conditions for animals and watched as the city made some progress. But now these advocates have come together in what they believe will save animals and taxpayer dollars.

On Tuesday, the newly formed Wiregrass Spay and Neuter Alliance announced the location of a low-cost spay and neuter clinic on South Foster Street in Dothan. The clinic, expected to open in January in the former Southeast Alabama Gas District office, will only do spaying and neutering.

“Abandoned and homeless animals are a severe problem in the Wiregrass,” said Bryan Applefield, an alliance board member. “The issue is this problem doesn’t go away by itself.”

This will be the third clinic in Alabama offering low-cost spaying and neutering for cats and dogs.

“Our goal is to end the euthanizing of healthy and treatable animals,” said Donald Kendrick of Spay Alabama. “These clinics are the key. They save taxpayer dollars and animals’ lives. We as a civilized people need to do this.”

There are similar clinics in Montgomery and Birmingham — both opened in the last year. Together, Kendrick said, the two clinics are on track to have spayed and neutered 10,000 animals by the end of the year.

The Wiregrass alliance is actually four non-profits that have come together — Save-A-Pet, Wiregrass Humane Society, Felines Under Rescue and PAWS (People for Animal Welfare in the South), a southwest Georgia organization.

“We knew what we needed to do; we just didn’t know how to do it,” said Barbi Nolan, the new executive director of the Wiregrass Spay and Neuter Alliance and a Save-A-Pet volunteer.

The Wiregrass clinic is modeled after the Humane Alliance of Asheville, N.C., and will be staffed by a full-time veterinarian, although one has not been hired.

The clinic will charge $55 to neuter a male dog and $65 to spay a female dog. Charges will be $35 for a male cat and $45 for a female cat. Private veterinary clinics charge anywhere from $50 to neuter a male cat and up to $100 to spay a female cat. Dogs are typically more expensive to have altered, and some clinics charge based on the weight of a dog.

Eventually, the Wiregrass clinic is expected to be self-sustaining, but fundraising will be done to cover the costs for pet owners who cannot even afford the low-cost rates. The Wiregrass clinic will even transport animals to the clinic to be spayed or neutered if necessary. This component, Kendrick said, addresses the problem of availability of low-cost services in rural communities.

“The idea is to get them from the remote areas and get them here,” Kendrick said.

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Wiregrass Spay and Neuter Alliance
What: A newly formed non-profit alliance that will run a low-cost spay and neuter clinic.
Where: The clinic will be at 570 S. Foster St. in Dothan inside the old gas district building.
When: The clinic is expected to open in January.
Donate: A brick paver fundraiser is underway. Bricks can be purchased and inscribed with messages. The bricks will be put down along the walkway leading into the clinic. The first brick is $150; the second, $125. Bricks will be available for purchase at local businesses and by calling the alliance.
Phone: For more information, call 671-8111.