Spay Neuter Assistance Program Inc.: Unwanted pets drive up animal control costs

Animal overpopulation is a problem that costs Springfield taxpayers more each year.

"Every year, dealing with the animal problem here in town becomes larger," said Ron Boyer, assistant director of the Division of Environmental Health for Springfield's Public Health Department.

For the 2002 fiscal year, the division of Animal and Rabies Control received 11,679 service requests. For fiscal year 2003, Animal and Rabies Control received 13,146 requests, a 13 percent increase.

The division had a budget of $442,853 for fiscal year 2003, a 16 percent increase from the previous year's budget of $380,474. Actual expenses for 2002 totaled $436,467; fiscal year 2003 expenses have not been finalized.

From Boyer's point of view, an effective spay/neuter program would have a dramatic impact on the number of service requests.

"If we just had a very efficient spay/neuter program, I think our program could probably be cut in half, because most of what we deal with are unwanted animals," Boyer said.

Kathi McDermott, executive director for Spay Neuter Assistance Program Inc., is working to provide that spay/neuter program. SNAP, a not-for-profit group organized in January 2000 to eliminate the need for euthanasia in animal shelters in southwest Missouri, offers discounted spay/ neuter certificates for low-income pet owners.

"The more stray animals there are, the more it's going to cost taxpayers. The majority of litters surrendered at a shelter come from pet owners who cannot afford to have their animals spayed and neutered," McDermott said.

The program sells $15 cat spay/neuter certificates and $25 spay/neuter dog certificates. SNAP matches that $15 or $25 certificate with the vet.

"The vets are working with us. They're charging us $30 for a cat, $50 for a standard sized dog, and $75 if we run into a large breed dog that needs to be spayed. All in all, I'd say the pet owner pays a third, we pay a third, and the vet offers a discount," McDermott said.

SNAP has 25 veterinarians in seven counties in southwest Missouri participating in the program, according to McDermott. As of May 2003, the organization has issued a total of 2,696 certificates, with a 94.9 percent redemption rate within 60 days of issue.

"We stay on top of the people to make sure they do it. It doesn't you any good to provide them with the certificate if they don't use it," said McDermott.

Veterinarians in the area seem to be supportive of SNAP. "It's a fine program," said Dr. D.J. Rund from Grant Avenue Pet Hospital. "I don't have any complaints."

SNAP used to provide certificates at the Humane Society once a month, but found they didn't have enough time to counsel people and talk with them about their home situation and how many more pets they have, said McDermott. Now, if someone needs a certificate, they can call SNAP at 417-823-7627. Their call will be returned by a SNAP representative with instructions on how to proceed.

"In the last two months, we've run across pet owners whose pets have previously produced more than 105 litters. Ninety-four percent of these said they would not have fixed their pets without SNAP's program," said McDermott.

SNAP relies on volunteers and private donations to fund the program. The group received $48,300 in funds for 2002, and expects about $60,000 for this year.

SNAP held an Ice Cream Chill-Out on July 19, raising more than $8,100.

"We didn't have any major crises, and we picked up some good new volunteers. You can't measure that. The attendance was good, and we're looking for it to be better next year," said McDermott.

McDermott has many more fund raisers in mind, but she needs some assistance to make them possible. Money is always a need, but SNAP also is in need of corporate sponsorships, an accountant, lawyer and a printing company.

"Anybody that cares about animals should try to find a way to get involved," McDermott said.