DENVER — Every month the Denver Animal Shelter has a free clinic for people who can’t afford to spay or neuter their pets. This weekend’s event was extended to two days because of the need.
“Love to help the community,” said Veterinarian Dr. Patricia Crystal. “Love to keep the animals out of the shelter.”
The City and County of Denver requires all dogs and cats to be spayed or neutered if they’re older than 6 months, with exceptions. If an owner doesn’t comply, they risk getting their animal away.
The city said when the ordinance was put in place in the 90s, the goal was to reduce the number of stray animals. At that time the city reported it was euthanizing tens of thousands of unwanted dogs and cats every year. That number is now in the hundreds.
Veterinarians told 9NEWS that one issue with the rule is not every pet owner can shell out a few hundred bucks for a spay or neuter surgery, and those animals often end up in the shelter. To help keep pets in homes, Denver is offering the surgery free of charge to those who qualify.
“So, we’re trying to stop the cycle as much as we can by kind of nipping it at the source by removing the option to produce more animals,” said Dr. Crystal.
Over the weekend, Dr. Crystal helped spay and neuter 30 dogs and cats. The shelter says these animals tend to be more affectionate toward their humans, live longer lives, and are less likely to develop health problems.
“Spaying and neutering at a young age is really important to prevent certain types of cancers from forming later on in life,” said Dr. Crystal. “For example, breast cancer and uterine cancer. There are also life-threatening emergencies that can happen when you don’t spay and neuter your animals.”
Denver Animal Shelter hosts these free clinics once a month, after starting the program about a year ago. The next free clinic is August 17. To find out if you qualify for the program, call 311.