North County to open new spay and neuter clinic

Woods Humane Society broke ground on a North County spay and neuter clinic in May. The prefabricated house was delivered in mid-June and is planned to be operational by mid-July.
According to the nonprofit, the clinic will enable Woods Humane Society to meet the pressing needs of dogs and cats in North County. In 2017, the clinic in San Luis Obispo performed 4,264 spay and neuter surgeries.
“Really, what this is going to do is rise to meet the need [in the North County],” Woods Humane Society Director of Marketing & Community Programs Steve Kragenbrink said. “Two-thirds of the animals going into animal services are from North County.”
Kragenbrink contributes the distance of driving to the clinic in San Luis Obispo and the cost of getting animals spayed or neutered at a vet’s office as barriers to North County residents getting those surgeries done for animals in the area. With fewer animals, particularly cats, being spayed or neutered, the number of cats being born without a home is higher. Those animals often end up at SLO County Animal Services.
“It’s going to make a large dent in the feline over-population in the North County,” Kragenbrink said. “[It’s] creating the opportunity for people to get their animals spayed or neutered.”
The idea behind opening the clinic in Atascadero, next to the existing adoption center, is to create accessibility to those in the North County with it being closer and low cost. With that, he said, it should help reduce the number of animals in shelters around the entire county.
When it’s complete, the new clinic will include a fully functional spay and neuter surgery suite that can accommodate up to 20 surgeries per day, possibly more. Additionally, the new clinic will alleviate surgery space at Woods’ San Luis Obispo surgery center.
“We are thrilled to be on our way to opening SLO County’s first public high-volume, high-quality spay/neuter clinic,” Woods Humane Society Executive Director Jill Tucker said. “Ensuring that spay/neuter services are both accessible and affordable, is a critical component to creating a humane community. This new clinic will positively impact thousands of animals and the residents who care for them for years to come.”
The Woods Humane Society North County Spay and Neuter Clinic will be dedicated in memory of Daphne Fahsing.
For more information about Woods Humane Society or to find out when appointments can be scheduled for surgeries in Atascadero, go to Woodshumanesociety.org or follow the organization on social media.
Heather Young can be reached at heather@colonymagazine.com