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No More Homeless Pets Forum
July 19, 2004 Creative Spay/Neuter Programs and Promotions |
This week you are the forum guest: Has your spay/neuter program had really had stellar results? Have you created a campaign that really got a lot of attention? Maybe you've found a very effective way to get the word out about spay/neuter? E-mail your successful spay/neuter programs and promotions into the forum this week.
Ideas
Coordinating a neuter fest
Selling spay/neuter surgeries on eBay
Litter Patrol and TNR in trailer parks
Intervention program onsite at humane society
Offering reduced rates on spay/neuter while animals at vet for other procedures
Mobile MASH spay/neuter clinic
Animal Control training to talk to people about spay/neuter
Father's Day? NOT! and tomcat only days
Working with County Council
Spay/neuter partnership with schools
Partnership with Zoo to promote spay/neuter
Spay-a-thon with prizes
Sponsor a snip
"Spay Now!"
Coordinating a neuter fest
Idea from Celeste in Portland, Oregon:
One great idea is to ask a rescue-friendly veterinary clinic to be open just for spay/neuter on a day when they'd usually be closed. I coordinated a weekend event christened NeuterFest, with the motto, "Every Pet Deserves to be Neutered!" Doctors and techs from several clinics coming together to spay/neuter a total of 60 cats, dogs and rabbits at 3 locations. The NeuterFest was in honor of National Homeless Animals Day in August (please see the NeuterFest website, http://www.poppainc.org/nhad/neuterfest2003.html).Several rescue groups worked together to handle publicity, recruit veterinary talent, supplement fundraising, schedule and screen potential needy clients, and to volunteer during the spay/neuter events. It took 2 months to plan as a side project; it may require less time for repeat events.
Hosting clinics were offered $25 per tom, $30 per queen and $50 each for dogs and rabbits to cover their supplies, use of facility and equipment, etc. This was a big bargain because they provided the bulk of the volunteer vets, certified veterinary technicians, etc. Client co-pay was on a sliding scale, we wrangled $20 per patient, unless they brought in 2-5 animals, then it was $10 each. If they brought in 6-10, it was $5 each. So you can see, the pricing was gauged to assist those with a 'problem' on their hands, and for those with mothers and litters.
Juvenile, geriatric, and feral patients were accepted, of course.
What went well: We had a shortened, event-specific waiver/intake form to speed up the intake process, and plenty of volunteers. Our fliers and postcards were colorful and looked great, and people liked the name NeuterFest; a sense of humor is a great icebreaker. Our scheduling volunteer used a database she created to keep excellent records, and every client was called the night before their appointment so they could be reminded of pre-surgical instructions and to verify they were still planning on coming. Also, we had the luxury of a spay/neuter assistance nonprofit matching private donations to the event, so that was an incentive for donors.
What we'd change next time: Unless clients pay in advance, these sorts of events have a perennial no-show rate of 20-30%. Next time, we'd overbook with tomcats, since they're quick and easy to fit in even if they do happen to all show up.
Also, we've learned to go over post-surgical instructions IN THE MORNING, rather than waiting for the tired, emotional patient to find out when they come to pick their pet up that a dog can't be uncontained in the back of their pick up truck for the ride home, for instance.
Lastly, we'd make sure that every staff member and volunteer were comfortable with the protocol well before the event -- in one location the clinic manager hadn't realized dogs were included, and we had to make a last-minute scramble for loaned dog carriers to act as recovery kennels.
All in all, I'd say it was a successful event and it could be easily replicated almost anywhere. Repeating on a regular basis would increase effectiveness to make a real dent in a community's animal overpopulation problem."
Selling spay/neuter surgeries on eBay
Idea from Heidi:
We got some national attention recently by offering spay and neuter surgeries on eBay. At first the winning bidders were mostly from out-of-state and donated the surgeries to our shelter animals or needy individuals, but then we started getting local people bidding and bringing their animals to our clinic...several people bought them for a friend who couldn't afford it. Our eBay auctions were featured in the January/February issue of Animal Sheltering Magazine and that brought more attention to our auctions.Also, a volunteer bought t-shirts with our shelter name and logo and is selling them at our shelter, off-site adoption locations and special events. All proceeds go to a fund to pay for spaying and neutering pets of low-income people who can't afford to pay.
Litter Patrol and TNR in trailer parks
Idea from Kathy:
Our organization has 3 spay/neuter programs, all of which are made more financially feasible by veterinary clinics that agreed to offer reduced rates for spay/neuter surgeries. Obtaining vets to work with your organization is, of course, first and foremost in getting more animals altered for your money. The best approach is to gently inform them that the people and animals being helped are from low-income areas that wouldn't be entering their doors anyway.1. Associate Membership Program. People pay yearly dues of $10, which entitles them to get as many animals they need spayed/neutered, plus a rabies vaccine, at a lower cost through 12 clinics participating in this program. The dues go directly to our organization and the people pay the clinic for the surgery.
2. TNR in Trailer Parks. This program proved successful in many areas. Trapping in a concentrated situation like a manufactured home park allows for more effective reduction in the overpopulation. These populations often spill over to neighborhoods surrounding the parks. Meetings with owners/managers and residents provide a forum for education on the benefits of TNR as well as putting some pressure on owners and managers to require proof of sterilization of residents' animals, keeping cats indoors, laws and consequences of abusing, killing or abandoning cats (which includes removing and dumping them elsewhere). Most times the feline populations in trailer parks are so great, people are willing to try TNR and one park owner donated $1,000 toward the program. Also, I believe the success of media coverage to raise awareness was due to reporters' ability to come to one central location such as a trailer park. Three local TV stations (one of which did a live-cam of our trapping throughout their morning show) and two newspapers covered our efforts.
3. Litter Patrol. Volunteers contact "free" puppy and kitten ads from newspapers, yard signs and flyers. We offer to take the litters into our adoption program and spay/neuter ALL adult animals remaining in the household. This program is having the greatest impact in animal advocacy.
- Litter Patrol enables us to first educate people on the very real possibility of puppies and kittens used for fighting dog bait, lab animals, even snake food. This information seems to have a bigger impact on the owner than preaching about overpopulation.
- Taking litters into our adoption program where they will be altered and vetted before adoption into good homes, reduces the perpetuation of puppies and kittens in homes where they will be allowed to breed or end up abandoned, neglected, abused or killed.
- By spaying and neutering all of the adult animals in the house, the breeding cycle is stopped once and for all. Many times an owner doesn't just have the mom of the litter. We found people living with generations of animals that continue to breed.
- Sterilizing the adult animals lessens the likelihood of pregnant females and spraying, leg-lifting, roaming males being surrendered or abandoned. The program is also helping people by relieving them of the physical and financial stress of multiple animals.
Things to consider:
Intake of litters can be fast and furious during puppy and kitten seasons. We have no shelter but a very dedicated foster-home network and successful adoption program. However, there are times we can't take the litters in, so we offer to spay/neuter them (our vets do pediatric surgeries) and the owners encouraged to find homes charging an adoption fee. We suggest their passing that money back to us as reimbursement, but rarely receive it.
Many of the people do not have transportation so volunteers pick up and return animals for the surgeries. Others are not inclined to keep appointments so follow up is necessary. One of our volunteers bribes people to spay/neuter with a 50 lb. bag of dog food. Some of the large, unruly dogs are difficult and risky. Another volunteer transports dogs and owners for the vet appointment so that the owner can handle the dog.
We've found no advertising is necessary. Responding to ads and word-of-mouth referrals keep us extremely busy.
Any one with further questions can e-mail me at katkozak@toast.net.
Intervention program onsite at humane society
Idea from Karen:
Animal Allies developed an Intervention Program onsite in the Receiving Office of our local humane society. We pay a part-time employee to be onsite in the Receiving Office 6 hours a day, 6 days a week for one month. Her job is to greet all the customers, asking "What brings you to the shelter today?" If they are there to relinquish a pet, she inquires whether there is anything we can do to help them keep their pet at home, would a low-cost spay/neuter allow them to keep their pet? This is done with a non-threatening, helpful attitude, and at the slightest hint of resistance or defensiveness, she says "I know this is hard for you, let's get some information from you and get you on your way." There is a percentage of people turning in pets for reasons that a spay/neuter would allow them to take their pet back home, for example:- keeps having litters
- keeps leaving the yard
- sprays
- keeps coming into heat
- howls, annoying behavior
- litter box issues
We have found that when offered a spay/neuter option, some folks will keep their pet, and that cat or dog will not become a shelter statistic! We keep the pet overnight, spay or neuter and vaccinate, and the pet is picked up the next afternoon. In our first week, we "intervened" with 10 pets who went back home with their grateful owners!
Additionally, we provide interventions with people whose pets were brought in by Animal Control, and offer them a low-cost spay/neuter before they reclaim their pet. If they agree, their shelter fees are waived.
We also offer a deal for people who bring in litters of puppies or kittens. We give them a very low ($25) fee for spaying and vaccinating the mama cat or mama dog.
Our intention is that after we pay someone to be onsite for one month, she will model this behavior and train the shelter staff. They will then continue these interventions as part of their Receiving Office procedures.
Offering reduced rates on spay/neuter while animals at vet for other procedures
Idea from Celeste:
One incentive we've started offering our clients at Hawthorne Veterinary Clinic here in Portland: For patients whose guardians have neglected to have them altered before, we offer spay/neuter in conjunction with other services at a discounted rate.For example, if a cat is coming in to be anesthetized to treat an abscessed wound from fighting, we'll offer to sterilize the cat while he or she is under for about 30% less than if they were just coming in for spay/neuter. Or if a mature dog is going to be asleep for a dental procedure, we'll offer to spay/neuter at the same time at a 30% discount.
We're all big spay/neuter advocates and this 'sales pitch' has helped many fence-sitting guardians to make up their minds that spay/neuter really is a good idea. Then we go in the back and dance a little victory jig and high-five one another -- YES -- another convert!!
I think all clinics should have a check-off for spay/neuter on their anesthesia waiver form, to put it at the forefront anytime an animal has to be anesthetized for any reason.
Mobile MASH spay/neuter clinic
Idea from Jean:
Pet overpopulation is not an owner problem, not a veterinarian problem. It is a community problem.Please see Montana Spay/Neuter Task Force website just being constructed; there will be more in the next weeks. Philosophy and logistics are clearly presented there. See www.mtspayneutertaskforce.org. The website is not yet on a search engine, so enter the address in the top box on the opening page of your Internet.
The Task Force assists all of Montana, the fourth largest state in land surface, but with less than a million population and seven Native American nations. The mission is to help communities learn to bring together their resources to solve a community problem, pet overpopulation, and in owning the solution become empowered.
The Task Force works with local volunteers, at the invitation of a local tribal council, city council and/or county commission, to create a Pet Care Week or Days, the centerpiece of which is a free, demonstration spay/neuter clinic. All ages and walks of life volunteer at the clinic and civic and business leaders donate goods and services. The largest number of surgeries provided in one day is 325.
However, smaller communities can arrange larger or smaller events.
A small, brightly colored Task Force van, project S.P.O.T., carries most of the equipment and supplies to set up and run a spay/neuter clinic in an existing community building, such as a fire hall, community center, school, fairgrounds. Setting up in the community involves the community in the process and the event becomes, in itself, an education for all.
Such an arrangement, while hard on the movers, keeps costs down, numbers of surgeries geared to the needs of that community, and avoids the costs of a stationery clinic, and the limited surgeries to be done (at large investment) in a traveling surgery room.
The greatest achievement is the involvement of all ages in that community in a community event. More details on the website.
Animal Control training to talk to people about spay/neuter
Idea from Karen:
Animal Control training: Animal Allies has held in-house training sessions with City and County Animal Control, teaching them to have a 30- second spay/neuter conversation with the people they see in the course of their duties every day. In our county, Animal Control answers 18,000 "on site" calls/year. Those are people with which our Animal Allies staff would never have contact. To those citizens, we encourage Animal Control officers to offer our business cards and explain the benefits of having their pets spay/neutered to cut down on the behaviors that brought Animal Control to their homes. We occasionally bring lunch to the officers to thank them for their efforts.Father's Day? NOT! and tomcat only days
Idea from Celeste:
I volunteer as the Program Director of our Oregon Neutermobile mobile spay/neuter division, which serves dogs, cats and rabbits in rural and economically depressed communities throughout Oregon. That's a spay/neuter project success story in and of itself, but since I've written about that on this forum before, I'll just refer readers to the forum archives, and to our website which has lots of juicy details about the ins and outs of how we manage to be virtually self-funding and work closely with local hosting organizations, www.neutermobile.org.Since usually only around 40% of the patients brought in are male, we've been having tomcats-only days, when we accept as many toms as are brought in, at $10 or less apiece. Yes, that's even if both testicles haven't descended, even if they're feral -- and on occasion, even if they turn out to be female! :-) We make use of lots of volunteers (10+), and we independently contract one veterinarian, 1-2 certified veterinary technicians, and 1 veterinary assistant.
The promotions only take about 1 month for a few people to plan as a side project, including publicity and scheduling. The media tend to be very responsive to single day events.
These days are very rewarding for everyone helping, and because tomcat neuters need only be under anesthesia for a few minutes, and there is no suture material required, it's realistic to push through high numbers safely and conscientiously. The Neutermobile vet's record number of patients in one day used to be 44. The first Tom Cat Special brought in 62 toms. And the second, "Father's Day? NOT!" brought in 66 toms, 6 queens, and 2 dogs! The doctor was complaining that she could have neutered 100, and wanted to know why was she brought only 74 patients!
We try to have tomcat promotions toward the end of a lengthy visit, when we think most of the people who would pay full price for their toms have already done so.
What's next for the Neutermobile? Our Director of Marketing is already dreaming about Queen for a Day, when we'll have a special price for female cats for one day only. Of course, we won't see those high tomcat numbers, but it will be fun to see all the pretty calicos!
Working with County Council
Idea from Karen:
Educating county council: Animal Allies has made an effort to introduce ourselves to County Council members, attending public monthly meetings, offering our thoughts on the continuing stray and unwanted pet problem in our county, providing Council with actual data and statistics from our research, making ourselves available to answer their questions. We have been professional and positive in the face of some very emotional animal issues that arose this year. We worked to serve as liaison between several organizations (council, shelter, animal control) and despite having been turned down for some funding that Council could have approved for us, we remained focused on the goal of educating Council to direct some of our county resources into prevention rather than continuing to just "clean up" after the problem. Eventually they agreed to set aside a $25,000 public fund to provide spay/neuter to low-income families! We believe this is the first of many changes in our local government in addressing the stray/unwanted pet problem.Spay/neuter partnership with schools
Idea from a member:
Spay/neuter education to Schools in FL: Staff from the local humane society goes in 2x a year to select classes at area schools for 2 hours. They have seen several hundred kids. The kids are chosen based on their interest and good behavior. The humane society staff talks about humane education and then the students come out to the shelter for the students to see the animals and visit their spay/neuter clinic. They get to see a surgery in person.Afterwards the students create projects for the shelter to use. Some have designed billboards and others have done spay/neuter brochures.
They have gotten funding from the Rotary, chamber of commerce, and local foundations because of their work with the kids. This funding has allowed their spay/neuter clinic to continue to operate and provide valuable services in the community while educating children on responsible pet care.
Partnership with Zoo to promote spay/neuter
Idea from Aimee:
Our local Zoo started trapping and euthanizing stray cats that entered their grounds because they felt that the cats put their Zoo animals at risk of disease. When this story hit the media, it pitted humane groups against the Zoo. The humane groups decided to present a plan to the Zoo veterinarian, who was very receptive and open to working together:1. We offered to send out a flyer to all residents around the Zoo (which is in a residential area) and offer free spay/neuter to all owned cats.
2. To fund this program, we approached the City Council person representing this area and asked for discretionary funds. He gave us $2,000.
3. We also offered $5 microchipping for all owned cats around the Zoo so that if a cat did get into the Zoo, the zoo would be able to scan and return the cat to the guardian instead of euthanizing. The Zoo vet agreed to volunteer his time to insert the microchips.
4. The humane groups all offered to each take 5 friendly strays that the Zoo caught into their adoption programs. Ironically, they are not often called because Zoo employees have been adopting them.
5. We held 3 neighborhood meetings to explain to residents the importance of spay/neuter, the Zoo's policies, why to microchip, why to keep cats indoors, how to keep cats humanely out of your garden/yard, and gave a variety of other information on cats.
6. The Zoo offered to have their grant person write a grant for us so that we could expand the program by putting up spay/neuter posters in all vet offices, do presentations with the zoo humane ed person to local schools on the importance of spay/neuter and responsible pet care (which includes what kinds of animals make good pets and which don't), and go door to door to talk to people around the Zoo about responsible pet care.
This could have been a negative situation with humane groups and the Zoo fighting. However, it has turned out to be a great partnership that we would love to see expanded to Zoos across the country!
Spay-a-thon with prizes
Idea from a member:
The Oregon Humane Society held a "Spay A Thon" for the entire month of March where they had drawings for prizes. The promotion was designed to stop people from procrastinating to get their pets fixed.Anyone who spayed or neutered a pet during March was eligible to enter the prize drawing. Over 200 people participated. Over 1/3 of those entering said that the chance of winning a prize encouraged them to get their pets fixed.
More than 50 businesses donated prizes to encourage people to spay/neuter. The three top prizes were (1) a night at hotel with breakfast in bed and wine tasting, (2) summer party package that included local brewery pony keg, food from local grocery store, and band performance, and (3) $100 cash.
All businesses donating were listed in publications and news releases. They did TV interviews, posters, and flyers.
Sponsor a snip
Idea from a member:
The SPCA of Texas started a program where people could sponsor a spay/neuter surgery. They began by soliciting their high-end donors (anyone giving over $250) In six months they raised $10,000! Donors get a red and white lapel pin and can also give spay/neuter club memberships as a gift. There is no set fee for membership. They can give whatever they can afford, but they receive information on how many litters each spay/neuter surgery saves and how many animals are helped."Spay Now!"
Idea from a member:
I am a humane education coordinator for a humane society, and while we didn't come up with this, we use it a lot when talking with kids. Two young girls created it, and it works well in presentations to help young kids understand spay/neuter!"Spay Now", a Web based game debuts for kids about pet overpopulation. The game was created by two girls, ages 11 and 14, with a grant from PETsMART Charities. The website http://www.nchumane.org/faq/ will link to the game.
