by Rachel Witkowski
Staff Writer
There could be more puppies and kittens populating Jacksonville roads if SpayJax — a government funded spay/neuter program — does not receive additional funding from the City of Jacksonville.
The program, administered in 2002 by First Coast No More Homeless Pets, originally received $250,000 from the City Council under a three-year agreement that targets low-income pet owners to spay/neuter their pets. The city appropriated $65,000 during the program’s fourth — and current — year, but the funding barely covered costs for the first three months, said Rick DuCharme, director and founder of No More Homeless Pets and volunteer director for SpayJax.
A second ordinance to appropriate $83,066 for the program was introduced to the Council Tuesday night and assigned to the Council’s Finance committee. DuCharme said about $40,000 did roll over to this year budget from the previous year’s, but the money has been spent and without further funding from the City, the program will be delayed.
“If we don’t keep at it, we’ll have to suspend the program until we get more money and those dogs and cats that don’t get altered will breed,” he said. According to DuCharme, one dog could breed approximately eight puppies per litter.
Since the initiative began, the number of pets admitted to shelters has decreased rather than increased compared to previous years, he said. Puppies admitted to shelters during the first half of fiscal year 2004-05 decreased 25 percent and kittens by 14 percent, according to DuCharme.
Dr. Moody McCall, a veterinarian at San Pablo Animal Hospital said he performs 30-40 surgeries a week on pets with the help of SpayJax. Before the program began, McCall said the hospital probably spayed/neutered a third of the number of animals it currently performs surgeries on.
“I think it’s a great way to help control the number of strays and the pet population in Jacksonville,” he said.
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, SpayJax was responsible for 11,000 surgeries in its first two-and-a-half years of operation. Euthanizing stray pets also decreased 5 percent between the 2003-04 fiscal year and 2004-05, according to the Society.
Dr. L. Scott Morley, a veterinarian at Lakewood-San Pablo Animal Hospital, said although the program has not been operating long enough to calculate major effects, it is important to spay/neuter animals.
“It prevents unwanted pregnancies,” said Morley, who works with SpayJax. “It may give you better control of your pet, especially the males.”
Morley added that it also helps prevent cancer in female dogs if the surgery is performed early.
The program started through a proposal from former Mayor John Delaney in 2000 and received approval and funding from the city in 2002. Qualified applicants must be considered low-income and be on Medicaid or another specified government assistance program. The City requires pet owners to purchase a $16 license and reimburses SpayJax for surgery costs ranging from $35-$100 depending upon the pet.
Michael Munz, volunteer for SpayJax and executive vice-president of The Dalton Agency, said the program’s main goal is to help increase the number of adoptions and decrease the number of pets euthanized. He said SpayJax originally received a severe cut in funding from the City this year, but the response from the community has caused the Council to seek additional funding.
“We can always use more money,” said DuCharme. “The more money we have, the more we
can do.”