Low-Cost Spay/Neuter in Lee County, FL

Low-Cost Spay/Neuter in Lee County, FL

We, the undersigned, support low-cost spay/neuter programs to end the sad practice of killing animals for lack of space in our shelters. We believe that low-cost spay/neuter programs in Lee County, Florida should take the form of a mobile spay/neuter clinic supported by Lee County Animal Services and a fixed clinic located at the Lee County Animal Services shelter at 5600 Banner Drive.

We request that Lee Countys Board of County Commissioners recognize that the need to end euthanasia must be accomplished by granting the Director of Lee County Animal Services the discretion needed to design, implement, and maintain viable and far-reaching spay/neuter clinics, without protecting special business interests.

We also seek to correct misinformation alleging that such clinics take business away from local veterinarians. This has not been the case in many communities. The pet owners who use these types of clinics often have no veterinarian to begin with. We contend that such clinics can actually increase the client base of many of the veterinarians in our area. We recognize that pet owners who use such low-cost facilities often need to establish a firm veterinary relationship for the long-term health of their pets. In view of this, we encourage the Commissioners to have the Animal Services clinics provide referrals to veterinarians within the community.

We seek to correct additional misinformation that alleges that animals are turned loose after their surgeries, left to somehow fend for themselves. We take this opportunity to inform the Board of County Commissioners that such clinics do not commonly turn loose owned or feral animals, to recuperate and survive on their own Rather, these clinics return the animals entrusted to them to the person(s) who presented the animals for surgery, or their agent.

In addition, we ask the Board of County Commissioners to recognize the need for such clinics to be operational before additional enforcement efforts begin. Should additional enforcement begin ahead of the clinics, such enforcement will result in considerable increases in the animals handled at the shelter and that euthanasia rates will spike up, higher than ever before.

Many of us, as residents of Lee County, realize that the Countys elected officials must commit to the Animal Services function and its low-cost sterilization proposals without delay and without encumbrance.

To that end, we, the undersigned, hereby petition the Board of County Commissioners in Lee County, Florida to:

1). establish a low-cost spay/neuter mobile clinic this fiscal year (2002-2003);
2). establish a similar fixed clinic within the next fiscal year (2003-2004);
3). insure that surgeries done at these clinics will be performed by a veterinarian licensed to practice in the State of Florida;
4). recognize that these clinics will return each animal to their owner or caretaker following surgery, never releasing the animals to fend for themselves;
5). understand that pet owners using such clinics will receive post-operative guidelines which advise the owners of potential complications following surgery, including how to respond to such complications;
6). make funding available, from the Animal Care Trust Fund, to assist pet owners with emergency costs, if appropriate;
7). approve such services to primarily target pets of low-income and lower-middle income residents and individuals who rescue mother animals and their litters;
8). insure that neither clinic will receive or accept funding from local veterinarians or veterinary societies in order to avoid potential conflicts of interest;
9). insure that neither clinic will be directed by any special interest group nor be encumbered by stipulations, limitations, or pricing requirements of any groups of special interest; and
10). permit the salary for the shelter veterinarian and the mobile clinic veterinarian positions to be adjusted upward in order to attract qualified, motivated veterinarians in a competitive marketplace.

We respectfully petition:

District 1:
Commissioner Bob Janes
239-335-2224
E-mail: [email protected]

District 2:
Commissioner Doug St. Cerny
239-2335-2227
E-mail: [email protected]

District 3:
Commissioner Ray Judah
239-335-2223
E-mail: [email protected]

District 4:
Commissioner Andy Coy
239-335-2226
E-mail: [email protected]

District 5:
Commissioner John Albion
239-335-2225
E-mail: [email protected]