100 Franklin County Pet Owners Benefit from National Spay/Neuter Day
Teams of vets at Royston Animal Hospital spayed or neutered 60 pets Thursday
Dozens of pet owners in Franklin County no longer have to worry about their animals having litters of unwanted puppies or kittens.
That, thanks to a program in which their pets received free spays and neuters Thursday at area animal hospitals.
Thursday was National Spay/Neuter Day and a group in Atlanta, Fix Georgia Pets Atlanta, gave the Hart County Humane Society a grant to pay for 100 spays and neuters.
However, Humane Society president Donna Madkiff said her group decided to offer the free surgeries to pet owners in Franklin County.
“We already have a program where we’re fixing animals for free or low-cost in Hart County,” Madkiff said. “So we discussed it and realized we share the Northeast Georgia Animal Shelter with Franklin County and Franklin County doesn’t have a free or low-cost spay/neuter program. And as long as we’re fixing our animals in Hart County and litters keep coming into the shelter from Franklin County, it’s not helping solve the problem. So we asked Fix Georgia if we could use the money to help Franklin County pet owners get their animals fixed.”
Shelter Director Sherri Lockhart helps bring dogs to Three Trees to be spayed Thursday
Five animal hospitals in Franklin and Hart counties, Tugaloo Animal Hospital and Lavonia Animal Hospital in Lavonia, Three Trees Veterinary Hospital and Hartwell Animal Hospital in Hartwell, and Royston Animal Hospital in Franklin Springs, participated by giving up time they would normally devote to their regular clients to do the free surgeries Thursday.
Dr. Tracy Williams holds a female dog at Three Trees Veterinary Hospital that was dropped off to be spayed
Three Trees Animal Hospital owner Dr. Tracy Williams spayed and neutered over 20 pets Thursday free of charge, noting pet overpopulation is a real problem in our area.
“We usually have people at least once a week or once a day in the summertime asking if know people who want a puppy or kitten they need to give away,” Williams said. “We’re so grateful to be a small part of what they’re trying to do and help with the pet overpopulation problem that we have. It’s pretty bad.”
At Royston Animal Hospital in Franklin Springs, teams of veterinarians spayed and neutered another 60 dogs and cats.
Dr. Doris Cato, co-owner of Royston Animal Hospital, considered the day a big success.
“It has gone fabulously,” Cato said. “People brought their pets in on time, they’ve been very grateful and it’s been wonderful. If we could make this an annual event, I think everybody could benefit.”
Northeast Georgia Shelter Director Sherri Lockhart said her group plans to apply for more grants to help fund another free spay/neuter event in the future.
“We would like to do this every year, maybe even twice a year in order to reduce the number of litters of unwanted puppies and kittens that are turned in to our shelter every spring and summer,” she said.
Now if you missed the opportunity to get your pet fixed Thursday, you can contact Fix Georgia Pets by going to their Web site, www.fixgeorgiapets.org or going to their Facebook page.