Enthusiasm from Pulaski County residents to "fix" furry family members with county funds was overwhelming, according to a sign taped up Tuesday on the Arkansans For Animals Inc. front door.
The clinic planned to register pet owners Monday through Thursday for the "Pulaski County Big Fix." It's a push to spay and neuter cats and dogs on Nov. 30 at minimal or no cost to the pet owner.
Surgeries will be performed at the Little Rock Animal Village. The county also will fund a day of operations on adoptable pets at the Jacksonville, Maumelle and Sherwood animal shelters and the Humane Society of Pulaski County, county spokesman Cozetta Jones said in an email.
To participate, residents had to register in person at the Arkansans for Animals location off Interstate 30 in southwest Little Rock. Each person paid $10 to hold a spot. If the animal is vaccinated, that money will be returned.
At day's end Monday, 91 animals were registered, said Jake Hillard, the nonprofit's executive director.
Arkansans for Animals posted the sign on the door and on Facebook alerting people that the available surgery slots were claimed three days before the expected deadline.
It was an impressive, and unexpected, rush of people, Hillard said from her office as a tailless black cat named Greer snoozed nearby on a clawed-up chair.
"These are people who wanted to do right by their pets but just thought they couldn't afford to," Hillard said. A spay or neuter surgery can run up to $450, she said.
About 25 of those 91 surgeries are slated for Nov. 30, Hillard said. Since it's impossible to safely complete all the operations in one day, remaining animals will be treated at a later date, she said.
The "Big Fix" is funded through a voluntary tax installed by the Pulaski County Quorum Court in November 2016. Residents could kick in an extra $5 on their 2017 personal property and business property tax bills to fund the spay and neuter program.
Justice of the Peace Julie Blackwood spearheaded the effort. After speaking with someone who must euthanize hundreds of dogs each year, her heart "just broke," she told fellow court members.
Though it's called a "voluntary tax," the $5 payment is really an elective contribution, County Judge Barry Hyde explained at a previous Quorum Court meeting.
Saline and Faulkner counties run similar programs, though Faulkner County's funds are reserved for a yet-to-be-built animal shelter.
In its first year, Pulaski County took in about $45,000 through the program, which could complete about 750 surgeries, county spokesman Cozetta Jones said in an email. Around 8,960 people chose to contribute the $5, she said.
Those people make up six percent of Pulaski County's tax base, not including payers who are delinquent, according to Debra Buckner, the county's treasurer and tax collector.
It cost Buckner's office $50,500 in software alterations to make the voluntary tax possible, she said in an email. She expects about $2,500 in additional costs for 2018.
Roughly $8,000 of the $45,000 raised will be used Nov. 30, Jones estimated, noting the amount might shift. That money should cover about 160 surgeries, she said.
The leftover money will be used for additional spay and neuter drives, Jones said.
"It's my hope to see the fund grow each year, which will allow us to expand the service to more pet owners," Hyde said in a statement.
To people who showed up this week after all the slots were filled, Hillard said, "Don't worry, we'll figure it out."
Many of them didn't realize the county already provides low cost spay and neuter surgeries, she said.
Since 2011, Pulaski County has contracted with Arkansans for Animals Inc. and given $50,000 annually for its Operation SaVE program.
That money has lowered surgery costs for 2,000 cats and dogs each year, or more than 10,000 animals total, Hillard said. County residents pay a discounted rate of $45 per dog and $20 to $25 per cat.
Still, even those 10,000 surgeries are "a drop in the bucket" compared with what's necessary, Hillard said.
The clinic estimates about 340,000 puppies and kittens are born in Pulaski County each year to pets that have owners. That number is based on the assumption that 80 percent of animals in low-income homes aren't sterilized.
Some of those animals find their way to new homes. But more than 60 percent die within their first few months of life from disease, starvation, neglect or abuse, Hillard said.
And some people who do take care of their pets don't see the need to spay or neuter them.
Hillard points to an example of a woman who went to the clinic and said she found a great home for her large, unplanned litter of puppies: a man she met at Wal-Mart.
Even in well-meaning cases, people don't understand the burdens and costs associated with taking care of a single animal, let alone a brood, Hillard said.
Through the spay and neuter fund, Hillard wants to winnow the onslaught of accidental litters, even though they'll never stop completely.
"There will always be 'oopses,'" she said. "No matter how good we get."
Metro on 11/08/2017