Affordable, quality veterinary care for your pet.
Roaming Animal Sterilization Clinic At Low-cost (RASCAL) Q&A for Animal Control Facilities
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Q: How does a spay/neuter before adoption policy benefit county animal control agencies?
A: Four main goals are achieved through a basic spay/neuter policy:
1. Due to the decreased hormone level, a sterilized animal is less prone
to bite. These pets are therefore safer for the public and better family
members.
2. By eliminating the very good chance that the animal will contribute
to more litters, you are guaranteeing that no more animals will come
into the facility as a direct result of that one unaltered pet.
3. When the pet population is being controlled, public costs are reduced
when it comes to the management of unwanted and abandoned companion
animals. These costs include investigating and prosecuting cruelty
cases, capture of stray animals, and the housing and care of these
animals.
4. Pet retention is higher due to the behavior modification that spaying
or neutering can bring, particularly when it is done at a young age. The
chances are much less that you will see that animal back in your
facility because of hormone related behavioral issues.
Q: Where will the funding come from for us to implement a spay/neuter before adoption policy?
A: In most cases, county animal shelters already have the majority of
their funding for each surgery when they get their adoption fee. Some
adoption fees may have to be raised to cover the price of the surgery
through RASCAL or another veterinarian. Some county facilities have
begun an independent non-profit organization affiliated with their
shelter for the purposes of applying for grant money and holding
fundraisers. (For example, Franklin County, Ohio is partnered with
Friends of Franklin County, an independent 501 c (3) organization that
was founded by a volunteer.) RASCAL’s partner non-profit affiliation,
RASCAL Charities, will also have funding available for those municipal
animal control facilities that use RASCAL for their veterinary services.
Sometimes additional funding or budgetary changes may have to be made.
Q: There are few veterinarians in our area who are willing to work with
our agency, and we just don’t have it in our budget to hire one. A
facility and supplies are also not feasible for us to provide.
A: RASCAL is a 33-foot state of the art mobile animal hospital that is
fully equipped to handle surgeries, vaccines, laboratory work, and other
general veterinary care. Our facility was built in accordance with the
American Animal Hospital Association guidelines (AAHA) and our equipment
is the same, and in some cases superior, to that you would find in a
brick and mortar facility. Our surgery room is isolated and sterile, and
all procedures are performed by a licensed veterinarian with the support
of trained technical staff. The RASCAL unit is fully self-contained with
running water and a generator. With our facility, even the most rural
county pound can instantly have a fully functioning hospital available
to care for the shelter animals.
Q: We get so many animals into the shelter every week and it is our goal
to get them adopted out as quickly as possible. How often would RASCAL
be available to visit our shelter?
A: RASCAL will work with your facility depending on the commitment you
make to veterinary care for the shelter animals and a spay/neuter before
adoption program. We have visited some areas once, some once a month,
and some once a week! Our only requirement for going to the shelter is a
full day’s work, whether it be a spay/neuter outreach program for the
public or surgeries and wellness for the shelter animals.