As a way to help make spay and neuter surgeries more accessible for pet owners facing financial challenges, the Edmonton Humane Society is unveiling a brand new tool.
The EHS has launched a new mobile surgical unit, which will be used to take spay and neuter services on the road inside a cargo trailer. It’s meant to remove the transportation barrier many face in accessing the service for their pets.
“We’re able to do a number of spays and neuters in a day, so we can run like a regular clinic,” EHS CEO Liza Sunley said.
“It’s fully certified. We have our veterinary staff all ready to go. We’re able to do what we would do in our normal clinic, just on wheels.”
The new unit, which has been in the works for three years, is part of the society’s Prevent Another Littler Subsidy (PALS).
The subsidized program provides spay and neuter services to pet owners who meet low-income eligibility requirements. PALS services are offered for a fee of $25 per cat and $50 per dog.
Since it launched in 2012, the EHS has spayed and neutered 6,397 animals through the PALS program.
While successful, the EHS found one of the challenges with the PALS program was that people using the service had trouble finding pet-friendly transportation to and from the animal shelter, which is located in the city’s far northwest.
“This mobile unit will bring us one step closer to removing those barriers so that more pets can be altered,” Sunley said.
Get breaking National news
“Spaying and neutering is key to proactively preventing unwanted litters and reducing the number of homeless pets that come into animal shelters like ours.”
The mobile unit was designed to mirror the surgical suites at the humane society.
“We tried to make it a replica of our surgery suites back at the shelter so that when our staff comes in and performs on the unit it’s as seamless as possible. So the equipment and the setup is similar to our shelter setup as well,” EHS head veterinarian Michelle Meckelborg said.
“It does sort of feel like we’re taking our office out on the road.”
The procedures done in the mobile unit will take the same time as they do at the humane society, a full day. The unit is able to perform 10 to 12 procedures per day, according to the EHS.
The EHS had its new mobile unit on display at the Bissell Centre on Tuesday, as part of a pilot program. The interim chief operations officer at the Bissell Centre hopes the unit will help bring another sense of normalcy to its clients.
“Having a pet — whether you’re walking it, whether it’s waking you get up in the morning to feed it because it keeps pawing at you, whether it’s snuggling you — all these things are part of our normal human experience and they’re part of building that experience,” Louise Traynor said.
“Interacting with other people around my pet, that’s another way that I can feel normal and I can feel like I’m just like everyone else.”
Animals must be seven years old or younger to be accepted in the PALS program. Pets are also vaccinated and microchipped during their appointment.
Appointments for the PALS program are fully booked for the rest of the year. Applications for 2020 will reopen at the end of December.
The EHS hopes to have the mobile unit fully operating in the community in 2020.
Watch below: A look at some of the pets the Edmonton Humane Society has introduced viewers to on Global News Morning
-
![]()
Edmonton Humane Society: Willis the cat -
![]()
Edmonton Humane Society: Fredrick & Ashley -
![]()
Edmonton Humane Society: Subeme and Flipper -
![]()
Edmonton Humane Society: Caulee-Flower -
![]()
Edmonton Humane Society: Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup -
![]()
Edmonton Humane Society: Benjamina -
![]()
Edmonton Humane Society: Brown & Nova -
![]()
Edmonton Humane Society: Oscar -
![]()
Edmonton Humane Society introduces Global viewers to Kingston -
![]()
Edmonton Humane Society: Tonk the English bulldog-boxer cross puppy -
![]()
Edmonton Humane Society: Trixie & Ezra -
![]()
Edmonton Humane Society: Xerxes the dog still looking for a home -
![]()
Edmonton Humane Society: Berry & Frakas
Comments