jbd@duke.UUCP (Joanne B. Dugan) (02/01/85)
When I got my dog (just a puppy then) from the local dog pound, they gave me the address of the "Friends of the Animals" (sorry, I don't have the address any more, it's somewhere in New Jersey). They (the FOA) sold me a "certificate" good for having my dog neutered at a participating vet. There was only one participating vet in the area (he was about an hour's drive away). At the time (about 2 years ago), I had a large male dog and a medium-large female dog neutered for about $55 (for both). This vet's regular charge for the service would have been twice that amount. Both dogs were about 6 months old, and had joined our household at about the same time. The vet allowed me to bring them both in together, and he let them stay together, so they could "comfort" each other. I must add that I promised to have the female dog spayed when I got her from the pound, but since I got the male dog from a private party, I wasn't sure about having him done too. Now I am VERY glad that I did; he's much more attentive to the family since then. They both have free run of 18 acres of land, and they rarely leave our property (except to visit dog "friends" across the way) without us. (Although some of their good behavior might be attributable to the obedience classes we attend, but that's another story.)
suki@reed.UUCP (Monica Nosek) (02/05/85)
In article <5346@duke.UUCP> jbd@duke.UUCP (Joanne B. Dugan) writes: > > When I got my dog (just a puppy then) from the local dog > pound, they gave me the address of the "Friends of the > Animals" (sorry, I don't have the address any more, > it's somewhere in New Jersey). They (the FOA) sold me a > "certificate" good for having my dog neutered at a participating > vet. There was only one participating vet in the area > (he was about an hour's drive away). At the time > (about 2 years ago), I had a large male dog and a > medium-large female dog neutered for about $55 (for both). > This vet's regular charge for the service would have > been twice that amount. YES!!! If you are planning to have ANY animal spayed or neutered, call your local animal control agency before going to the nearest vet. We recently got a kitten from the pound, and we were given a certificate for a vet check, etc. This certificate applys only to this particular kitten; our other cat, who is 6 months old and about due for spaying, doesn't get the benefit of the shelter's financial help at this particular vet's. The price quoted us was $50...a bit steep for us starving students :-) BUT...we discovered that another clinic, subsidized by the County Animal Control, will only charge us $15 or $20. SO SHOP AROUND!!!!! And DO have your animal spayed or neutered if you don't intend to use them for breeding (and I don't mean "Just one litter so the kids can see the miracle of birth"). Something to think about: the woman at the pound said that since their funding had been cut, they no longer picked up stray cats unless they were injured (or dead). The cats they get are either brought in by people who find them or by people who have had their fill of kittens and don't want to drown them themselves--they think, "The shelter will find a home for them." But this shelter is getting many more kittens every week than will ever be adopted. They don't last very long... Ciao, Monica about 8 weeks old, and not ready for spaying, but our other cat is about 6 months. We asked the vet who did the -- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Monica Nosek Reed College, Portland, OR "Double it!"