Funding will support low-cost spay/neuter for East San Diego County pets
San Diego, July 29, 2024 – Spay-Neuter Action Project (SNAP) announced that it has received a $5,000 grant from the Charles and Ruth Billingsley Foundation to reduce the number of animals entering local shelters from East County. This will fund a campaign to “Beat the Heat Thanks to Billingsley” and will cover the cost of surgical supplies for 66 low-cost spay/neuter surgeries scheduled for August at the new SNAP Spay Center in El Cajon. Clients must meet SNAP’s low-income criteria to schedule an appointment for spay-neuter services.
The surgeries will be performed on August 8th, 15th, and 22nd by SNAP’s high-volume surgeons at the SNAP Spay Center at 702 Broadway, El Cajon, CA 92020. The Spay-Neuter Action Project (SNAP)’s mission is to save lives by reducing pet overpopulation. SNAP provides low-cost spay and neuter for pets of financially challenged clients in underserved communities. These services are delivered on a mobile surgical bus (the “Neuter Scooter”) that travels across San Diego County to meet clients where they are needed most, and as of April, 2024 in SNAP’s new 420 sq. ft. spay/neuter center in El Cajon which serves East San Diego County and nearby communities. This clinic space, including utilities cost, has been generously donated to SNAP.
SNAP has provided low-cost spay/neuter to San Diego County pets since 2003, delivering services directly where they are needed most. SNAP schedules up to 30 clinics each month throughout the region and opened a new spay center in El Cajon in April. SNAPs generous spay/neuter surgery package includes a general health exam, nail trim, flea and tick treatment, deworming, pain medication, rabies vaccination, recovery collars for dogs and female cats, and cardboard carriers for cats that need one. Loose teeth extraction and wound care are also available, when needed, and for a nominal fee the surgeons neuter animals with cryptorchidism, repair simple hernias, and implant microchips. A one-year free license is available for pets who qualify by zip code. For a limited time, lifesaving DAPPv vaccines for dogs and FVRCP vaccines for cats, donated by Petco Love, are administered at no charge.
“We were thrilled when notified of the grant to increase our services to this underserved area, which directly reduces the challenges the overcrowded animal shelters are experiencing now,” said Dorell Sackett, SNAP’s Executive Director of Operations. SNAP emphasizes that sterilizations are the only humane and effective way to prevent unwanted dogs and cats from coming into the world unnecessarily. Pet owners must schedule appointments for services on the Neuter Scooter and at the new Spay Center.
The Charles and Ruth Billingsley Foundation was established in 1988 to support a variety of charitable causes, including animal welfare. Mr. & Mrs. Billingsley were residents of San Diego County, California. SNAP is grateful for this legacy of love for animals in our community.
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About SNAP
SNAP became a registered nonprofit organization in 1996. It is the first organization in the San Diego region to implement programs to reduce the number of companion animals euthanized annually in local shelters – and remains the only affordable spay-neuter provider to bring services directly to communities struggling with chronic pet overpopulation. We have fixed over 80,000 dogs and cats since 2003. Please visit www.snap-sandiego.org to learn more or follow SNAP on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with our latest activities.