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Spay-neuter clinic focus of Humane Society fundraising campaign

THUNDER BAY -- Bob Barker would be proud. By year’s end Thunder Bay could be home to a new high-volume, low-cost spay and neuter clinic that would cost pet owners about a quarter of the current cost to fix their animals.
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Melanie Blanchette, executive director of the Thunder Bay and District Humane Society, on Tuesday helped launch a $200,000 capital campaign to construct a low-cost spay-and-neuter clinic at their Rosslyn Road complex. (Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com)

THUNDER BAY -- Bob Barker would be proud.

By year’s end Thunder Bay could be home to a new high-volume, low-cost spay and neuter clinic that would cost pet owners about a quarter of the current cost to fix their animals.

Melanie Blanchette, executive director of the Thunder Bay and District Humane Society, said the organization is launching a $200,000 capital fundraising campaign to pay for construction of the clinic. The effort was jumpstarted on Tuesday with an $80,000 contribution from the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Blanchette said a low-cost clinic in Northwestern Ontario is long overdue.

“There is no spay and neuter clinic from North Bay to the Manitoba border. This clinic, based in Thunder Bay, would basically be a hub to service all surrounding areas,” Blanchette said.

The basis for the clinic is to reduce pet overpopulation in Northwestern Ontario.

Blanchette said she sees the result of the existing problem every day at the Thunder Bay shelter, admitting not every pet owner can afford to have their animal fixed.

“We obviously feel and see the brunt of this problem. It will help to impact the issues of pet homelessness, the overpopulation,” Blanchette said.

“Unfortunately there are more animals than there are homes for them.”

There’s also an issue of health and safety, she added.

“I’ve been contacted by a number of northern community members where this is actually a safety issue for children in the communities. We also see the spread of disease is rampant.”

Tanya Firmage, director of animal welfare and operations at the Ontario SPCA, said it’s been clear for a long time that a spay-and-neuter clinic was needed in the province’s northwest.

And she’s seen the results of having similar clinics in place elsewhere in Ontario.

“The proof is really in the numbers. For the first time in my 20-plus year history, we’ve actually had a 40 per cent reduction in cat intake across the province,” Firmage said.

“That’s pretty remarkable and the numbers pretty much speak for themselves. To be able to say that about cats, if you’d asked me that 10 years ago, I don’t know that I would have believed it.”

The only key to prevention, she added, is through spaying and neutering.

The goal, when the clinic is up and running, is to conduct between 20 and 25 procedures a day, at an average cost of about $100.

The site will be fully staffed by veterinarians, technicians and other support personnel.

To donate to the Take the Lead campaign visit www.tbdhs.ca or phone 475-8803.

 



Leith Dunick

About the Author: Leith Dunick

A proud Nova Scotian who has called Thunder Bay home since 2002, Leith is Dougall Media's director of news, but still likes to tell your stories too. Wants his Expos back and to see Neil Young at least one more time. Twitter: @LeithDunick
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