Euthanasia on hold as low-cost spay/neuter clinic stays busy

Yahoo

30-01-2025

Jan. 30—princeton — A low-cost spay/neuter clinic is adding to its staff while Mercer County's animal shelter keeps working to find homes for dogs and cats while avoiding the euthanasia option to make more room.
The Mercer County Animal Shelter declared a Code Red on Jan. 15 due to the large numbers of homeless dogs and cats filling its kennels and cages. A Code Red is declared when euthanasia may be considered as a way to create more room for homeless animals.
Shelter Director Stacey Harman said the Code Red was still in effect Wednesday, but she still hoped to avoid euthanizing animals. More dogs and cats keep arriving at the shelter.
"I don't really want to come off of it yet," she said about the Code Red status. "We have had some adoptions, but not a lot. Basically what we've opened up will be filled up pretty quickly with animal control and stuff, so we're not going to euthanize right at this second, but it still could come."
"Right now, we're not euthanizing anything," Harman said. "But we are still on that edge to where we still could. We've had several adoptions which is great."
An animal rescue trip will be departing on the first week of February and it's hoped that will alleviate the Code Red status, too, she said.
"I have a rescue trip going out first week of February so hopefully that will alleviate a lot of it, too," Harman said.
Furever Fixed, Inc., a low-cost spay/neuter clinic which opened last year next door to the animal shelter, is now seeking another veterinarian surgeon to help keep up with the numbers of dogs and cats being brought in for spaying or neutering.
"Furever Fixed, Inc. Spay/Neuter Clinic is excited to announce an opening position for a salary based veterinary surgeon to work two (or more) days a week," the facility announced on the Mercer County Animal Shelter's Facebook page. "Furever Fixed, Inc. is also looking for relief veterinary surgeons to fill in, as needed."
Connie Gillespie, general manager of Furever Fixed, Inc., said the spay/neuter clinic has done procedures on a combined total of 360 dogs and cats since it opened.
"We're looking at two different things," Gillespie said. "We need a veterinarian surgeon for a minimum of two days a week and then we also need what the West Virginia Board of Medicine calls a relief surgeon."
A relief surgeon is on-call if the regular surgeon cannot come to work due to an illness, family emergency, family event such as a wedding, a power loss or other reason, Gillespie said.
"We're wanting to open up at a minimum of five days a week and we're doing three clinical days now," she said.
Recent winter weather and power outages slowed the number of cases coming into the clinic, but higher volumes of cases are anticipated from April to November, Gillespie said.
The spay/neuter clinics 501©((3) tax status is still pending, she said.
People interested in applying can call the clinic at 304-431-2033 during current business hours Tuesday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m.to 5 p.m.
Gillespie said pet owners can contact the clinic at 304-431-2033 or 304-961-6184.
The email address for Furever Fixed, Inc. is [e-mail].
Contact Greg Jordan at
[e-mail]
Contact Greg Jordan at [e-mail]