Forget the drought. It’s raining cats and dogs, prompting Santa
Clara County supervisors to send letters to cities requesting
donations to help pay for low-cost spay and neuter services.
Morgan Hill – Forget the drought. It’s raining cats and dogs, prompting Santa Clara County supervisors to send letters to cities requesting donations to help pay for low-cost spay and neuter services.
“We’re not trying to replace our existing budget, but rather grow the programs we have,” said Santa Clara County Agriculture Commissioner Greg Van Wasenhove. “We’ve been running out of money for the past three years.”
Between July 1, 2005 and June 30, 2006 the county subsidized 2,731 spay or neuter surgeries – of which 1,863 were feral cats, 537 were domestic cats and 331 were dogs – In the six months following that period more than 1,800 surgeries were performed.
Morgan Hill residents requested 254 surgeries between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2006; Gilroy residents requested 176.
Lynn Garcia, office manager at St. Francis of Assisi in San Martin, which runs the low-cost spay and neuter program on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, said she’s seen the demand rise to about 50 or 60 animals a week.
“It’s certainly escalating,” Garcia said, adding the number of unwanted dogs and cats continues to climb at shelters despite increased spay and neuter surgeries. “We’re not even making a dent here.”
Low-cost spay and neutering is offered through the county’s Division of Animal Care and Control, which provides programs and services for pet owners including animal licensing and pet adoption. Each year, the county spends about $111,000 on a spay and neuter services available at 11 participating clinics between San Martin and Palo Alto.
Given the increased demand, Van Wassenhove said the money’s just not enough.
“We always end up asking for more,” he said, adding demand for sterilizing cats and dogs has risen sharply while county funds have dwindled in the last few years.
This year, supervisors face a $238 million deficit heading into their May budget workshop.
To help keep the “low-cost” services relatively cheap, the supervisors approved April 24 a plan to send cities letters twice a year asking for reimbursements of services used by residents.
When the first letters are sent this summer, Morgan Hill will be asked to contribute $10,545 and Gilroy will be asked to pitch in $6,650. The contributions would be voluntary.
“We don’t expect to get all the money back from cities,” Van Wassenhove said. “But if we get some money from this endeavor we won’t have to reduce our subsidies.”
The county pays veterinarians $30 for domestic cats and $60 for domestic dogs to provide spay and neuter services under the low-cost program. Pet owners pay the balance for the services.
