Three veterinary hospitals joined a program from the New Brunswick SPCA, which aims to help pay for spay and neuter procedures for cats.
Vet bills are a major barrier for people to own pets, which leads to a lot of abandoned animals, according to Lesley Rogers, executive director of the SPCA.
“We really want to reduce the amount of unwanted pets and help people who are struggling in these current challenging economic times with getting access to veterinary care,” said Rogers in an interview.
The Happy Tails program started as a pilot project in 2023, with Stoneybrook Veterinary Services in St. Martins and the Oromocto SPCA.
The new clinics that have joined the project include:
- Saint John Veterinary Walk-In and Urgent Care
- Moncton Veterinary Walk-In and Urgent Care
- Woodstock Veterinary Clinic
The government committed $150,000 to the project and June Hooper, an animal lover from Fredericton, left $120,000 to the SPCA in her will.
“We want to celebrate her legacy of really helping improve the lives of pets by paying it forward,” said Rogers.
Clinics in the program provide the spay and neuter procedures at a discounted cost, which would be covered by the program.
Making vet procedures more affordable is not only an issue in New Brunswick but across the country, too, Rogers said.
Rogers said they’re looking for more clinics to sign up so they can help more people across the province.
“Right now, we’re just looking for other partners because we know there’s parts of the province that really need these programs,” she said.
The program mainly focuses on cats right now, she said, because that’s where there’s “the highest need.” Cats are the most mobile, but the SPCA hopes to include dogs in the future, she said.
High amount of abandoned pets
In 2023, the amount of pets abandoned pets obtained by the SPCA reached a new high, up to 312, compared to 141 abandoned pets in 2022.
She said a lot of people surrender animals because they can’t afford them.
Last year, they spent about $150,000 on vet bills for animals acquired by the New Brunswick SPCA, whether it was animals seized in an investigation, abandoned animals or animals surrendered to them, Rogers said.
“The more pet families we can support that are able to provide homes but are having challenges with certain veterinary costs — these are the ones we want to help stay together,” she said.
Expanding to emergency payments
In the second phase of the project, Rogers wants to go beyond spay and neuter procedures and help with emergency and unexpected vet costs.
That’s in the planning phase now, she said, but first they’re looking for more vet clinics to join the first phase.
To apply for the current program, Rogers said there isn’t a formal process. People can email happytails@NBSPCA.ca. Include your name and that you want to apply, and then they’ll ask some questions, she said.
The average income of families who get funding is between $30,000 to $35,000, she said, but they’ll assess other situations, like owners who recently changed jobs or are having health issues.
Happy Tails is a huge step forward, and Rogers said it’s going to help a lot of animals and owners.
“I’m really happy that we’re taking this first step and that I look forward to the [steps] that are to come.”
