Clinic conducted to help control pet population
The Warren County Humane Society continued with its enterprising program to encourage and aid local pet owners to have their pets spayed or neutered this past weekend by sponsoring a visit from Rural Area Veterinary Services. The organization, known as RAVS, provides spay and neutering, along with other veterinary services, for low-income families who might normally find the cost of these surgeries prohibitive.
The clinic was held at West Elementary on Saturday and Sunday.
“We’d like to thank Marsha Newman, the principal of West Elementary,” said local Humane Society member Villa Mitchell. “She’s the one who graciously let us use the gym.”
RAVS is a program of the Humane Society of the United States and has units all across the country, according to Tammy Rouse, Appalachian clinic coordinator for RAVS. The program is run by volunteers, many of whom are veterinary students from regional universities who are supervised by licensed veterinarians.
Rouse, along with associate Dr. Louis Lembo, participates in about 26 clinics a year. Funding comes from the Humane Society of the United States and private donations.
After doing the clinics in several rural Tennessee counties, Rouse reported the effect has been quite positive.
“I can tell you that the animal population, and the problems that people have in regards to animals, as far as disease, dog bites, property destruction and those sort of things, have greatly diminished,” she said.
“We have made tremendous strides because of the efforts of a lot of people who have gotten out and worked hard and put an event like this together,” said local Humane Society president Andy Anderson. “They’ve done a wonderful job.”
“This is the only way to attack the pet overpopulation problem,” said Mitchell. “If we can do spay and neuter and we can do an aggressive adoption program, we could make a difference in the number of animals coming into our shelter.”
The clinic also included wellness checks, vaccinations, heartworm tests, and flea and tick treatments, much of which was donated by various pet product companies.
For those who are interested, RAVS has its own Web site, at www.ruralarea-vet.org, which explains the services offered and has information on how to become a volunteer.