Targeting the pet population problem

By DAN KEGLEY/Staff

Smyth County pet owners are getting some extra help this summer with spaying and neutering services for their dogs and cats.
The Margaret Mitchell Spay/Neuter Clinic in Washington County runs a van route to communities in its service area that picks up pre-registered animals for transport back to the clinic near Abingdon. The next day, following the surgeries, the animals are delivered back to their owners at the pick-up points.
For about a year, the van has made a monthly stop in Marion, according to Julie Reimer, spay/neuter coordinator for the Smyth County Humane Society. This month, the route includes a stop in Poore Valley near Saltville and one in Sugar Grove.
Both of the additional July pick-ups are booked, Reimer said. The van can take 30 to 35 animals at a time, both dogs and cats.
Spaying and neutering are on people’s minds right now, she said, because “this is kitten season. People are thinking maybe they should have it done.”
The clinic used grant money to add the Smyth County stops. Clinic helpers, she said, are always writing grant proposals.
That funding helps the clinic keep its fees lower than might be paid for spay and neuter surgeries at a full-service veterinarian’s office.
All animals must be pre-registered, Reimer said, and no animals that are not pre-registered are accepted at the pickup locations. Pre-registration allows for preparation for the clinic’s workload each day.
Spaces remain for the two August pick-ups at Tractor Supply in Marion.
“There was a hug response to the July transports,” Reimer said. “As long as there is continued interest we will schedule extra pick-ups.”
Clinic literature said its mission “is to provide targeted, high-volume, reduced-cost spay and neuter services in an effort to reduce the dog and cat over-population problem in the Virginia counties of Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington and Wise; the cities of Bristol and Norton; and the city of Bristol and county of Sullivan in Tennessee. While the clinic’s focus is on serving these counties, animals will be accepted from other counties as availability permits.”
The clinic’s vision “is to end the need to euthanize healthy, adoptable dogs and cats by reducing the number of dogs and cats that enter the region’s shelters.”
The clinic is owned by the Bristol Humane Society that Mitchell co-founded in 1964. At her death in 2003 at the age of 102, clinic literature said, she left part of her estate to benefit animal well-being. The money was used to open the clinic named for her in 2005.

Margaret Mitchell Spay/Neuter Clinic fees
All Dogs: $55
Female Cats: $50
Male Cats: $35
Vaccinations: $8

For cats: Feline Distemper (FVRCP), Rabies, Feline Leukemia
For dogs: Distemper/Parvo (DHLPP), Rabies, Kennel Cough
Supplemental Pain Medication: $2
All animals receive pain medication at the time of surgery.
This is a supplemental injection that will last an additional 24 hours.
Testing: $15
Feline Combo FIV/Felv
Canine Heartworm Antigen
Flea/Tick Treatment: $10
Umbilical Hernia: $10
2nd, 3rd Trimester Pregnancies: $10
Smyth County animals must be pre-registered by calling 783-4985.