'SPAY the FREE PETS'

Objective:

One of Virginia Partnership for Animal Welfare and Support's main goals is to alleviate suffering of animals. By reducing the number of unwanted animals through an effective sterilization program, we will be able to decrease the number of stray cats and dogs that are starved, diseased, poisoned, hit by vehicles, subjected to cruelty, and euthanized.  

In this project, VA PAWS will be targeting people who have unwanted litters of cats and are seeking to place these kittens through "Free Pet" ads. We will offer to provide a free spay to the mother of these kittens and provide low-cost sterilization information to the adopters. This program will be initiated in early spring, “Kitten Season”, to reach the greatest number of “Free Pets”. 

VA PAWS views this project as a pilot project. We expect this project to reach its goal of 60 spays within six months. Once the project is completed an analysis of the procedures, demand, and public acceptance will be undertaken. If the analysis is positive, VA PAWS will initiate a permanent program for the region. At that time we would seek additional funding from major animal welfare organizations throughout the country and local citizens and governments. 

Regional Scope:

VA PAWS is based in the New River Valley of Virginia, encompassing the Counties of Giles, Floyd, Pulaski, Montgomery, and the City of Radford. VA PAWS will be asking each Animal Welfare/Humane Organization in our area to participate in this program. We will be asking them to help identify “free pet” ads and to send potential clients to the program coordinator.

Rational:

Studies have shown that people, who acquire their pets with no cost to them, are more likely to abandon or relinquish ownership of that pet to a shelter. Each locality in our region has an animal control facility and an organized animal welfare group. Unfortunately, not all who adopt from the “pounds” have their pet sterilized as required by law, and although some of the animal welfare groups have a spay/neuter program, none of them are providing this type of proactive approach. The people who are letting their pets have litters, then just giving the young away, are perpetuating the overpopulation problem, this is what we will focus on. 

Some may comment that we trying to fix the problem a little too late (spaying after a litter). Our response is: these pets and owners have obviously fallen through the cracks of other spay/neuter programs, and the owners are obviously unaware of the likely fate that awaits their giveaways. One could say that a “free pet” ad is a cry for help. The owners of these pets need to be contacted and offered help. Seeking out the ones having unwanted litters may be just the way to put a dent in the amount of "accidental" litters in our area.

 Funding:

VA PAWS has allocated $1,000.00 of it’s existing Spay/Neuter Fund for this project. We are requesting $1,000.00 from the Community Foundation of the New River Valley, providing a total of $2,000.00 which will only be used for sterilizations. 

Implementation:

VA PAWS and volunteers from local Animal Welfare/Humane Organizations including; Floyd County Humane Society, Giles Animal Rescue, Pulaski County Humane Society, and Radford Pound Pals, will monitor the local newspapers: The News Messenger, The Floyd Press, The Roanoke Times (NRV Current), The Giles Enquirer, and The Southwest Times. We will obtain the weekly local ad papers: The Trading Post, Thrifty Nickel, and the Swap & Shop. Volunteers will look through these papers for ads that offer free kittens or cats. Volunteers will also monitor bulletin boards where the public can post ads. VA PAWS will call the persons placing these ads and will offer to have the mother cat spayed for free. We will explain the cat overpopulation problem in our area and hope that they will be willing to help reduce the number of unwanted pets by accepting our offer of sterilization. VA PAWS will offer to send Spay/Neuter information and information about their local Animal Welfare/Humane Organization which the owners can give with the kittens.  

VA PAWS will utilize the Angels of Assisi’s clinic and mobile units for this program. The cost will be $33.00 per spay. VA PAWS presently sponsors the Spay Shuttle once a month, bringing it to Christiansburg. We will give participants in this program a high priority for placement on the Shuttle. To make sure that the participants of this Program do not have the opportunity to have another litter, we will schedule additional Transports or make Clinic appointments as needed.