19 May | Posted by theanimalleagueofbirmingham@gmail.com | no comments |
Mercy Animal Hospital to participate in Spay Day, appointments to be presold between 1-3 p.m. on Saturday
By Rachel Davis, The North Jefferson News Feb 3, 2016
Miranda Trammell, of Mercy Animal Hospital, said she and the other vets at Mercy noticed their spay and neuter numbers weren’t that high, particularly in the face of the high number of stray animals in shelters and on the street. Mercy decided to reevaluate and lower their costs to encourage more residents to alter their pets.
Since then, Trammell said the number of spay and neuter surgeries performed at Mercy and Mercy West have more than tripled.
Mercy West, in Pleasant Grove, opened more than a year ago to offer lower-cost vet services to the community there and encourage people in the area to spay or neuter their pets to help with overpopulation.
But, the number of unwanted pets remains high so Mercy partnered with Friends of Cats and Dogs Foundation, The Animal League of Birmingham and the Alabama Spay and Neuter Clinic to celebrate the annual World Spay Day for the first time in 2015. The partnership was an overwhelming success, spaying and neutering more approximately 200 animals in one day.
This year, the group is preparing to participate once again. World Spay Day 2016 will be Feb. 23 this year. On that day, vets at Mercy, Mercy West and the Alabama Spay and Neuter Clinic will perform as many alteration surgeries as they can.
Mercy will begin surgeries at 6 a.m. and will continue until the last patient is completed, Trammell said. In addition to the four staff veterinarians at Mercy, there will also be a relief vet on hand to help with what the clinic hopes is a record number of surgeries. Last year the event set the state record for the number of surgeries performed in a single day.
In order to further encourage residents to have their pets altered, the cooperative will offer the surgeries, along with pain medicines, a Capstar to kill fleas and a rabies vaccination for just $20 per pet, regardless of gender, size or any other factor. Pets who are in heat will also be accepted.
The reservations for these surgeries will be presold between 1 and 3 p.m. on Feb. 6, this Saturday, at either Mercy or the Alabama Spay and Neuter Clinic.
Anyone interested in having their pet spayed or neutered should visit the clinic of their choice during that window to undergo a need-based screening. Those who receive government assistance should provide proof of that assistance at the time of registration.
Volunteers from The Mercy Project will also be on hand to assist with the event. For more information, contact Mercy Animal Hospital in Gardendale.
