The Shelter still (May 2002) needs a Veterinarian

Coming soon: the Shelter's Clinic

(Image: the new clinic, still under
construction)

The new clinic, still under construction. To the left is the rebuilt "old shelter." The Park for People and Pets is visible to the right of the clinic building.

The "old shelter" has now been completely rebuilt (about the only thing not redone was the roof, which had recently been replaced) as a holding facility for strays coming in, or for any animal needing isolation. There is a "County Room" for after-hours use by Washington County's animal control officer. Strays will go to the old shelter first, then through the clinic, and then into the shelter building open to the public. Therefore, any animal on view will be an animal available for adoption.

Image: Caretaker Evette Abalos in the County Room of the old
shelter.

Animal Caretaker Evette Abalos checks the County Room in the old shelter. Animals may be placed here by Washington County's animal control officer when the Shelter is closed.
The expansion of the shelter--the rebuilding of the old shelter--was a project of the city. Another project--the clinic--is a joint effort between the city and a private donor who wishes to remain anonymous. This private donation was specifically for medical needs, so the clinic is an appropriate use of those funds. In addition, the Humane Society of the Ozarks has pledged $31,000 for the first year for a veterinarian and supplies. Everyone at the shelter is very excited about the new clinic because it will make it much easier to be sure that all animals adopted are spayed or neutered and it will reduce euthanasia.

A view of the interior of the clinic under construction. The window will look in on the Recovery Room. To the right is the surgery.

According to Arkansas law, all animals adopted from shelters must be spayed or neutered. This was the policy of the Fayetteville Animal Shelter even before the law went into effect. What usually happened was that the person adopting an animal was given a voucher good for the cost of spaying or neutering by participating veterinarians. It was always hard to track these vouchers to make sure that the animal was spayed or neutered. It was costly in both time and money. A better solution, and one that will be possible when the clinic is finished, is to spay or neuter the animal before it ever leaves the shelter.

The city could only justify the cost of a half-time veterinarian for the spaying and neutering of adopted animals. Since the Humane Society of the Ozarks (HSO) also has a low-cost spay/neuter program and wanted to expand it, the HSO stepped in with the other half-time for the veterinarian, in addition to paying for supplies used for the HSO program. By supporting the Shelter's clinic, HSO saved itself the cost of a building, equipment, maintanence, utilities, etc.

So HSO expands its program at a lower cost than it could by itself, the Fayetteville Shelter gets a clinic with a full-time veterinarian, and--best of all--by attacking the problem at its source the two institutions can help reduce the number of animals euthanized.

Return to the Fayetteville Animal Shelter and Animal Services homepage.

rev. 1/02, 2/02