Toronto Animal Services Rolls Out Mobile Spay/Neuter Clinic

Toronto Animal Services’ SNYP (Spay/Neuter Your Pet) Mobile Clinic is officially hitting the road tomorrow.

It will travel to neighbourhood improvement areas throughout the city to provide spay and neuter services for dogs and cats. Residents with an income of less than $50,000 will qualify for subsidized or waived fees.

Over 12 metres long and outfitted like a state-of-the-art veterinary clinic, the truck was purchased thanks to a $250,000 grant from PetSmart Charities and additional donations from Toronto residents.

Toronto will be the first city in Canada to employ a mobile spay and neuter clinic.

The hope is the truck will remove financial and geographical barriers that prevent people from altering their animals.

"We want to target those people in Toronto who otherwise do not have access to a veterinarian," Mary Lou Leiher, the manager of partnerships and marketing at Toronto Animal Services told CBC.

The SNYP Truck will be unveiled on Wednesday May 11th at Nathan Phillips Square from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a live band and food trucks.

More information and the schedule for the SNYP Mobile Clinic is available here.

PetSmart Charities funds new Ontario pet clinic

The North Bay & District Humane Society in Ontario announced a groundbreaking partnership with PetSmart Charities last week that propelled the opening of a new pet clinic offering low-cost spay and neuter surgeries. 

The 350,000 project was made possible by a $200,000 commitment from PetSmart Charities of Canada as well as reserve funds of North Bay Humane. 

An event to highlight the announcement August 29 was well attended by media and local dignitaries, including North Bay mayor, Al McDonald. Executive Director Daryl Vaillancourt told attendees the clinic goal is to complete 2,500 spay/neuter surgeries this year with the ultimate goal of 5,000 surgeries annually. 

Overpopulation of dogs and cats continues to be a persistent problem in the North Bay and surrounding area resulting in tens of thousands of animals entering shelters across the country each year. Operating as a full service clinic, this initiative will allow the organization to provide on-site primary care to animals housed there as well as offer services to other humane societies, remote communities and rescue agencies in the area. 

BC SPCA announces $157,920 grant to reduce homeless cat population in Campbell River

The BC SPCA announced last week it received another grant from PetSmart Charities of Canada for the spaying and neutering of cats in Campbell River. 

The $157,920 grant will fund a program to sterilize at least 1,500 cats over the next two years which, according to BC SPCA CEO Craig Daniell, will prevent the birth and suffering of as many as 6,000 homeless kittens per year in Campbell River. The surgeries, which will be offered free of charge to low-income pet owners and community cat caretakers, also include a permanent identification tattoo. 

"Cat overpopulation is one of the most serious animal welfare issues facing communities across B.C. and Campbell River has one of the largest populations of stray and feral cats anywhere in the province," said Daniell. "We are extremely grateful to PetSmart Charities of Canada for allowing us to work with cat guardians in Campbell River to reduce the suffering of unwanted and abandoned cats in the regions. 

Daniell notes the BC SPCA spends nearly $2 million each year on low-cost spay/neuter initiatives in B.C. communities and targets communities with the most serious overpopulation. 

READ THE NEWS RELEASE