I’m Your Huckleberry Rescue to offer spay/neuter clinic Dec. 8 and 9
PINEVILLE — I’m Your Huckleberry Rescue, a local shelter, will offer a low-cost spay and neuter clinic from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Dec. 8 and 9 at the Pineville Plaza. Spots for the event have already been filled with board member and co-founder Beverley Bartley noting she hopes the clinic can become a monthly event.
“We will be spaying and neutering 48 dogs and 18 cats,” Bartley said. “We are hoping that it will become a monthly event if we can find the funds to do it.”
Bartley said a Neosho resident donated part of the money for the clinic this month.
“The reason we were able to set up the clinic and get it off the ground was from two very generous donations from an individual in Neosho, Steve Roark, and Best Friends in Northwest Arkansas [Best Friends Pet Resource Center], who donated the money for us to buy the equipment,” Bartley said.
Roark, an event donor, wrote an article noting the importance of animal welfare and his dedication to it. Roark wrote in his article, “One of my causes that I will never quit is animal welfare. Animal welfare is inextricably linked to human welfare. I have become convinced that the better care we take of animals, the better care we take of humans. … Animal welfare has a number of dimensions from animal rescue to adoptions to animal welfare (vaccinations, flea/ tick and veterinary care) to low-cost spay [and] neuter,” Roark wrote.
Bartley said the event is intended to decrease the number of stray animals in the area, adding that many local shelters are currently at capacity.
“I’m Your Huckleberry Rescue has been in operation now for five years, plus, and the situation [number of stray animals] is not getting any better; in fact, it’s probably worse,” Bartley said. “People are giving up their dogs, people are dumping their dogs — they can’t afford them, they’re not spaying and neutering, and there just are not enough homes for the number of dogs in the area.”
Bartley said she hopes the clinic will offer a more affordable option for pet owners.
“We decided that we really have to tackle the problem from the other end,” Bartley said. “Let’s stop the unwanted litters and get people to be responsible and spay and neuter their animals at a cost that, hopefully, they can afford. Then, maybe there won’t be so many dogs in the rescue.”
At the low-cost clinic, to spay or neuter a dog is $65, and a cat is $35, which Bartley compared to other clinics where costs are about $200plus for dogs and about $100plus for cats. Bartley added that individuals interested in microchipping their pets can also do so at the clinic.
Bartley said she’s aware of low-cost spay and neuter clinics in Joplin and Northwest Arkansas, with none in the area. Bartley said the I’m Your Huckleberry Rescue clinic will help “fill the gap.”
“Maybe there won’t be quite so many dogs out there that we can’t help,” Bartley said. “It’s really a case of tackling the problem from the other end instead of mopping up the mess.”
Bartley said community members interested in continuing the low-cost clinics and aiding the non-profit organization can make donations for additional monthly spay and neuter clinics.