Anderson Animal Shelter opens public low-cost spay/neuter clinic

Animal shelters are affected every day, by the tragedy of pet overpopulation.

Nationwide, 3-5 million unwanted pets are euthanized in shelters every year.

Anderson Animal Shelter in South Elgin has launched a low-cost spay/neuter program to address the pet overpopulation problem in the Fox Valley community by making spay and neuter surgeries more affordable for pet owners.

"Animal shelters exist largely because too many people don't spay/neuter their pets. When pets breed, they create unwanted litters of puppies and kittens that end up at shelters," said Beth Drake, Anderson's executive director. "People need to do two things to help us address the tragic problem of overpopulation: they need to adopt their next pet from a shelter, rather than purchasing from a pet store and they need to spay or neuter their pets. One of the great things about adopting from Anderson is that our pets are already spayed or neutered!"

Though Anderson Animal Shelter is a limited admission facility, meaning that it doesn't euthanize one animal to make room for another, shelter workers still feel the strain of pet overpopulation.

"We have a waiting list for cats and kittens to come in to the shelter," said Jon Koffenberger, animal care manager. "As soon as a cage opens, we fill it, and could probably fill it several times over. During the spring, summer and fall, there seems to be no end to the steady stream of kittens that need our help. Fortunately, we don't have a significant dog or puppy overpopulation problem, but we definitely have a lot of homeless cats in our community."

Through the Anderson Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Clinic, pet owners can get reduced rate, high quality spay or neuter surgeries for dogs and cats, as well as low-cost vaccinations and a limited number of other services.

Male cats can be neutered for $50 and female cats spayed for $75. Dogs, depending on their size, can be neutered for as low as $75 (up to $125) and females spayed for as little as $100 (up to $150). Vaccinations are available for $15 and microchips are available for $20.

All surgeries are performed in Anderson's veterinary clinic by shelter veterinarian, Dr. Sharon Colgan, who has been performing spay/neuter surgeries successfully for over 20 years.

For more information and to complete an online appointment form, visit www.andersonanimalshelter.org, call the shelter at (847) 697-2880, ext. 34, or email neuteryourpets@andersonanimalshelter.org.

Anderson Animal Shelter collaborates with public and private organizations and individuals to shelter, care for and promote the adoption of homeless, stray and unwanted companion animals. The shelter advocates for the compassionate and humane treatment of these animals through direct care, humane education and community outreach programs.

For more information on the shelter, including adoption, volunteering, donation drives and membership opportunities, visit www.andersonanimalshelter.org, email info@andersonanimalshelter.org or call (847) 697-2880.

The shelter is located at 1000 S. La Fox St. (Route 31) in South Elgin.