|
|
|
Spay/Neuter Program |
 |
|
CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT OVERPOPULATION Free Certificate For Spaying or Neutering Your Dog, Cat or Rabbit This certificate program is for low-income Watsonville residents. Please bring driver’s license or government ID and proof of income to The Watsonville Animal Shelter. Proof of income can be: a pay stub, W2 form, tax return, unemployment check, or proof of public assistance. Sponsored by: Watsonville Animal Shelter and “Friends of Watsonville Animal Shelter" 580 Airport Blvd., Watsonville, 95706. For information call: 831-454-7303. Certificates are used at one of the three participating veterinarians in Watsonville.
Free Certificates are also provided for feral cats from the City of Watsonville. Read more about feral cats.
For the purposes of this program, you are considered to be low income if your annual income is:
***THESE LOW INCOME LEVELS MAY BE ADJUSTED QUARTERLY***
Do you live outside of Watsonville? FOSCCA offers free spay/neuter certificates for Santa Cruz County residents outside of the City of Watsonville. Visit their web site or one of the local shelters to find out more. The Santa Cruz SPCA offers free or discounted spay/neuter certificates for the low-income residents of Capitola.
Every month FOWAS funds the free spay and neuter certificates that are available for residents in the City of Watsonville. The program has been a huge success and is continuing to grow steadily. We have already spayed/neutered over 1,700 animals for low-income pet owners! Take a look at some of of our historical data showing the numbers of animals spayed/neutered, and funds allocated to this program by month.
There are simply not enough homes for the unwanted animals in an already overpopulated animal world. Millions of unwanted shelter animals are put to death yearly across the country. Spaying and neutering animals is the most humane solution. Many cities across the country are now providing free spay/neuter services for low-income families or for all families. There are now many low cost spay/neuter clinics that are subsidized by federal and private grants. These programs have resulted in low shelter populations, allowing shelters to find homes for animals that would have been euthanized in the past. These cities are now seeing dramatic results, and are saving many lives by preventing animal overpopulation. Cities are also saving money by investing in prevention rather than paying for the consequences of overpopulation. High population shelters are very expensive.
FOWAS is now implementing some of these programs, such as free spay/neuter for low-income families in the city of Watsonville. The County of Santa Cruz recently followed our example and now offers the same assistance (to Santa Cruz County residents who do not live in the city of Watsonville) through FOSCCA. Cats, dogs and rabbits all qualify for this assistance without much paperwork or hassle. We are working to advertise this new program so that we can prevent animal overpopulation. We need your help to spread the good news!
Why is it Important to Spay and Neuter Your Animals? By neutering or spaying your animal, you help your companion to live a longer, healthier life and to become a better family pet. Spaying and neutering prevents many diseases, including: breast, uterine, and ovarian cancers, tumors, and prostate problems. Male dogs and cats are particularly prone to behavioral problems when they are not altered, due to their high levels of testosterone. Unneutered males can detect a female in heat even miles away. This results in "running away" or wandering the streets, where they could be hit by a vehicle. Neutering decreases roaming by 90%. Unneutered animals are often nervous and irritable, aggressive with other animals, less social with humans, or become lethargic and depressed. Urine marking is a common problem with unneutered pets.
Spaying females will prevent pregnancy
and the stress that pregnancy has on any mother. Although kittens
are cute, it is not fun to put your pet at risk for common pregnancy
complications. Unlike humans, most pets do not
give birth in a hospital with emergency services available.
Your cat could die if undetected complications arise, and if the
problem is detected, she might require surgery or caesarian section.
Unspayed females go through heat and
often experience blood spotting during that period. The long length
of the heat cycle will make this messy and difficult. For dogs,
females go through two heat periods per year, which last about three
weeks each. Female cats are unlikely to spot during heat, but will
go through heat every 2-3 weeks. The hormones and stress of the heat
periods will lead females to be irritable, nervous, and possibly
aggressive or destructive towards people and furniture. False
pregnancies are common as the female ages, which is very stressful
for the animal. False pregnancies leave the female depressed and she
will often go looking for kittens, occasionally stealing them from
another mother. Altering your pet shows that you care about their
health and will only improve the bond you have with your animal.
Living with happy and healthy animals will bring you great joy.
DO NOT BREED OR BUY WHILE SHELTER ANIMALS DIE. This is the battle cry we repeat to ourselves when we are angry at the neglect and abuse we see so often at the shelter. It is our duty to take care of the animals who are harmed by the thoughtless or horrific actions of people who do not take responsibility for their pets. Many people do not want to adopt a shelter animal because they fear the animal will have behavioral problems. Most of our animals do not have behavioral problems, and it is well worth the effort to train those animals who do need extra help. It is much more meaningful to receive the devotion of an animal who needs and wants your love. Often, these animals will form an unusually deep bond with their human because they know that you rescued them. Please help our community reduce its animal population by spaying and neutering your animals. This decision will also help reduce the population of neglected or mistreated animals by freeing up time, space, and money at the local shelters.
Certificado Gratis Para castrar o prevención reproductiva de su perro/a o gato/a Este certificado es sólo para personas de bajos ingresos que viven en Watsonville. ¡Por favor traiga su licencia y pruebas de ingreso a las oficinas de Watsonville Animal Shelter (Oficinas de alojamiento/refugio de animals)!
Usted se preguntará, ¿por qué razón debo de castrar a mi perro o gato? En realidad el castrar a su perro o gato es una manera más de proteger a sus mascotas y al medioambiente. Simplemente no hay suficientes casas o personas que quieran hacerse responsables por todos los animals abandonados que ya existen. Millones de estos animals son sacrificados cada año en perreras municipals en toda la nación. Si usted toma medidas y castra a sus mascotas, ayudará a solventar ésta difícil situación y a que su/s querida/s mascota/s viva/n major y más timepo.
La castración de machos y la prevención reporductiva en las hembras previene enfermedades en sus mascotas que los hace menos propensos a adquirir males como el cáncer, tumors y problemas con la próstate. Los animals castrados son menos agresivos y tienden a ser menos callejeros.
Programa de Certificados para la Castración Estos certificados pueden ser redimidos en una de las tres veterinarias en Watsonville.
Patrocinado por Watsonville Animal Shelter (Alojo/Refugio de Animales Abandonandos en Watsonville) y por Friends of Watsonville Animal Shelter, 580 Airport Blvd., Watsonville, 95706. Para más información llame al (831) 454-7303.
|
|
