SMOKEY POINT The Progressive Animal Welfare Society is partnering with dozens of local animal organizations and veterinary clinics in the Snohomish, Island and Skagit counties to offer low-cost spaying and neutering surgeries for pets on Spay Day Feb. 27.
Kay Joubert, director of companion animal services for PAWS, cited the groups 13-year history of working with the community to provide Spay Day to area pet owners, before touting the events prices and time of year as well-suited to its services.
Its before the spring, when a lot of puppies and kittens are conceived, said Joubert. Fees are $30 per cat and $40 per dog, and she added that additional charges might apply, depending on whether the animals require vaccinations or suffer from certain health conditions.
Certain participants, such as the Noah Animal Adoption Center in Stanwood, are only charging $25 each for their services to low-income pet owners. Others are scheduling their Spay Day services on days other than Feb. 27, to accommodate their schedules and staff. In any event, Joubert advised pet owners to make their appointments beforehand, with a participating local clinic listed on PAWSs Spay Day Web site.
Joubert cited a statistic from the Washington State Federated Animal Care and Control Agencies, that approximately 60,000 adoptable animals are euthanized in their affiliated shelters each year. She elaborated that, because cats can mate more than once a year in the states mild climate, such shelters typically take in more cats than dogs, which is why Spay Day focuses so much on cat spaying and neutering.
Joubert proudly pointed to the 4,746 surgeries performed over the course of the past 12 Spay Days, noting that its the number-one event in the state for spaying and neutering animals. She explained that pets that have been spayed and neutered are less likely to bite, wander, or even contract cancer, which not only protects the pets from winding up in shelters, but also protects the communities they live in.
People want to do the right thing, and they do it for love, Joubert said. Not just the pet owners, but the vets, whom we couldnt do this without.
PAWS Spay Day Web site: paws.org/cas/spaydaylist.php.
Participating clinics (cats only) in Arlington and Smokey Point:
1. Advanced Care Animal Clinic
16820 Smokey Point Blvd.
360-651-8000
2. All Creatures Veterinary Service
720 N. West Ave.
360-435-8929
3. Family Pet Medical and Surgery
3704 172nd St. NE #L
360-659-0877
4. Purrfect Pals
230 McRae Rd. NE
360-652-9611
5. Smokey Point Animal Hospital
16720 Smokey Point Blvd.
360-653-4519
Participating clinics (cats only) in Stanwood:
Noah Animal Adoption Center
31300 Brandstrom Rd.
360-629-7055
($25 each to low-income pet owners)