 | Lucky Star Spay Neuter Program News
A Publication of the Lucky Star Spay Neuter Program
12 Birch Lane Morristown, NJ 07960 Email: luckystarprogram@att.net
Volume 81 August 2017 |
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| Our Mission: To gather, recognize and celebrate the continuing annual commitment of each of our member veterinarians to provide some level of absolutely free spay neuter services to the needy animals of their choice, along with any other free services they choose to provide. |
Our Lucky Stars
We are proud to present this roster of Lucky Star Veterinarians. Together these 11 professionals have generously pledged 708 absolutely free spay neuter surgeries & other free services for needy animals of their choice in 2017, for which they have our admiration & thanks:
Dr. Ohad Barnea, Tenafly Veterinary Center
Dr. Sarah Barnes, Eleos Veterinary Service
Dr. Erno Hollo & Dr. Kelly Vex Basking Ridge Animal Hospital
Dr. Harvey E. Hummel, Andover Animal Hospital, Newton
Dr. Danci Mock, West Caldwell Animal Hospital
Dr. Maritza Perez, West Orange Animal Hospital
Dr. P. Picone, Audubon Veterinary Associates
Dr. Sandra Stalder-Frey, Alpha Veterinary Care
Dr. Carolyn Wooley, MCSNIP, Pennington
Dr. David Croman, Medical Director, People for Animals, Inc., Hillside, Robbinsville & Clayton
WILLIE ORTIZ & THE VET WHO HELPS! Willie Ortiz, 76, has been feeding feral & stray cats in his Connecticut community every day for over 20 yrs. He drives 22 miles each day to 16 different stops to distribute food paid for with his own $. To help cover the costs, he had been collecting & selling scrap metal. Now he has help! In Feb. 2016, shortly after a story about Willie ran in the Hartford Courant, a friend set up a GoFundMe pg for him. As of June 12, 2017, that fund has raised > $36,000. Dr. William Haines, of Hartford Veterinary Hospital, has helped Willie almost since the beginning with S/N & other basics. Dr. Haines compares Willie to Mother Theresa. “She couldn’t do everything, but she could do something….Willie is a good person doing God’s work.” Story& great photos:
http://www.courant.com/community/hartford/hc-harford-feral-cats-willie-ortiz-20160125-story.html
DECODING S/N RESEARCH- PARTS 1 & 2
In two Spring 2017 Blogs, the ASPCA’s Vic Spain, DVM, PhD, covers some of the limitations of recent studies on health effects of S/N. He concludes that most have serious flaws that make the findings unreliable for understanding the risks & benefits of S/N’g dogs. He adds that social media coverage cherry-picked findings that support an anti-S/N perspective & ignored the other findings. He urges ?’s such as:
(1) Did researchers study a general population of dogs (rather than those seen at a specialty center)? (2) Is reporting fair and balanced? Does it cover both risks & benefits? Does it cover the study limitations? (3) Is the reporting transparent re who funded the study? “If the answer to any of these is “No,” then I would be concerned about biases in the study or its coverage.” he said. http://www.aspcapro.org/blog/2017/04/12/decoding-spayneuter-research-part-1 &
http://aspcapro.org/blog/2017/05/17/decoding-spayneuter-research-part-2
FINDING THOSE NOT SEEKING HELP?
“Reaching Pet Owners Who Aren’t Looking for you” ASPCA Pro Seminar by Amy Mills, CEO of Emancipet, Austin.Texas. Some interesting stats: 90% of the pets in homes earning > $35,000/yr are Fixed. That % drops to 50% for homes earning < $35,000/yr & is only 10% in those below the poverty level. That is S/N’s biggest challenge. She urges, “Don’t write off people with unaltered pets, they just have not had an opportunity to learn about it.” “Pet owners love their pets & will do the right thing when given the opportunity”. The “filter” is “Are they looking for S/N services or not?” If yes they have already made the cultural change. There are 3 categories: #1, those seeking discounted services with some ability to pay. #2 Those seeking only free services, culturally converted but no $ to do so and #3, programs & services for those NOT seeking services. To reach these people they do Mobile Free Days & partner with Human services agencies like “Meals on Wheels” –same vols. bring animal in & back. At Free rabies clinics- 70% of the animals are not fixed. http://www.aspcapro.org/resource-library?f[0]=field_topics_tree_ref%253Aparents_all%3A3181&f[1]=field_resource_tax%3A3231
NEXT ISSUE: OCTOBER 1, 2017
PDF Version
 Lucky Star News Volume 81 August 2017.pdf |
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