Spay Day USA 2008

With the blowing snow that morning, the weather wasn't exactly cooperative. The surgical crew coming up from DCHS was a bit late in arriving- but by 10am, equipment was set up and surgery was started.


To the left, you see all the HSWC cats lined up, waiting for their turn.

Here, you see SOS coordinator Liz Yohn, an employee of HSWC, and a Lost Companion volunteer beginning to remove some of the feral cats from their traps so they can be prepped for surgery.

The DCHS SOS crew consists of a veterinarian and two veterinary technicians- one who preps for surgery and one who coordinates the day and assists.

All three crew members are involved in training the 6 volunteers needed to complete the staff for the day.

This shows the prep area, where Amy, the SOS veterinary technician, has started training two Lost Companion volunteers.

Another view of the prep area. This is one of the feral cats who is to be spayed.

The veterinarian performs all the surgery, while everyone else is busy either prepping animals for their operation, or monitoring them during the recovery process.

This is a photo of surgery on one of the female cats. Kietra Kay, DVM, is assisted by several trained volunteers.

These are the first of the feral cats, in the recovery area. As soon as they start to wake up, they are placed back into their respective traps or cages, and we continued to monitor them until they were fully awake

This feral female is looking pretty perky. She is almost ready to move out of recovery.

This handsome pair of brothers recovered from their neuter surgery together and a few days later, were made available for adoption at HSWC.

It has become clear to the whole animal welfare community that large volume spay/neuter programs, and the availability of affordable spay/neuter for low income citizens is essential if we are ever to going to get the tragic problem of dog and cat overpopulation under control. HSWC is finally in a position to contribute towards this goal, and Spay Day 2008 is just the beginning.

We are in the process of gathering surgical equipment and supplies so that we can set up our own, in-house, spay/neuter clinic. As we get things rolling, it will first be used to sterilize HSWC residents. We then plan to then extend invitations to other area rescues and organizations to participate.

This is Jim. He was neutered today, and here you see him recovering on a big fluffy blanket, on the floor near the prep table. A volunteer was on-hand to reassure him as he was waking up. He walked out of the room and back to his cage about a half hour after this photo was taken.

Because a different type of anesthesia is used for the males, it can take them a bit longer to wake up. This male feral cat snoozes on a big fluffy towel during his recovery.

We are seeking grant funding to help with some of the costs and several generous donors have contributed towards start-up equipment, but donations for ongoing supplies will always be needed. Dedicated volunteers are essential, especially veterinarians and veterinary technicians. Non-medical volunteers are also needed; training will be provided.