MINNEAPOLIS— Spaying and neutering supplies for animals are harder to find in rural areas, but a Minneapolis nonprofit is trying to change that.
“We’ve prevented about 8 million unwanted pet births, which is a pretty big impact,” said MN SNAP veterinarian Dr. Madeline Little.
Minnesota Spay Neuter Assistance Program (MN SNAP) performs up to 35 surgeries per day on dogs, cats and rabbits. The focus is on providing greater access to affordable veterinary care to low-income families, tribal nations and rescue animals.
Founded in 2010, the organization recently had 200,000 operations.
“Depending on your pet, unfortunately in some cases you may have to expect a wait time of approximately two months because the demand for our services is so high,” Little said.
It is a ask Little helps fill it, and it saves hundreds of Minnesotans.
“It makes it more accessible when you’re looking at a $150 bill instead of a $500-plus bill,” she said.
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Part of MN SNAP’s mission success is a mobile operations unit. From Red Wing to Mankato to St. Cloud, it travels the state weekly conducting operations.
“There is sometimes a barrier in transportation for our customers, where a two-hour drive into town can be a burden if they have a job they need to get to or they have limited transportation options,” she said. “It’s sometimes a lot more accessible to drive 20 to 30 minutes to those more rural locations.”
In addition to preventing overpopulation, Little says changing your pet eliminates the risks of reproductive cancer and extends life. She says unaltered animals sometimes have behavioral problems or a landlord may require an animal to be spayed or neutered. It can lead to pet owners relinquishing their pets.
“I think that’s what keeps us going, because we know that instead of the animal being separated from their loving family and ending up in a shelter situation, they can stay with their family and both the pet and the parent can experience benefits from the human-animal bond,” she said. “What really fuels us is the mission piece that we do. Knowing that we’re helping keep our pets with their families who wouldn’t normally have access to this service.”
There are certain income qualifications to use MN SNAP services. The nonprofit is wrapping up a competition fundraising campaign. It plans to double every dollar to $18,000, the amount the mobile operations unit uses annually in gas. The campaign ends on Friday.
