Caring for the dogs and cats

Carol Sanger, president of the United Coalition for Animals (UCAN), says that more dogs and cats are euthanized every year than die from rabies, heartworm cancer and feline leukemia combined. That’s more than 33,000 animals in Greater Cincinnati put to death in animal shelters because there is simply nowhere to keep them.

To give perspective to the national scope of the problem, think of it this way: If you wanted every kitten and puppy born in the United States to have a home, every human member of the population would need to take in six dogs and nine cats. An obvious answer to this problem is to reduce the over-population of unwanted animals by spaying and neutering those we keep as pets. And that’s a solution UCAN plans to pursue with the opening of the area’s first non-profit spay/neuter clinic, 1230 W. Eighth St., Queensgate, which is holding an open house from 1-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (April 14 and 15).

When UCAN was founded five years ago it began a voucher system to subsidize spaying and neutering for pet owners who couldn’t afford the full cost of the procedures at local veterinary clinics. The vouchers covered the cost of about 1,000 procedures during the program’s first three years. In 2003, UCAN expanded, launching Pedigree Interiors, a non-profit consignment store selling high-end furniture, with proceeds aimed for the clinic it is now ready to open.

The $490,000 project in a converted warehouse is aimed a providing the service for pet owners from lower income urban and rural communities in the region. The clinic expects to perform as many as 8,400 surgeries in its first year and twice that many in its second year as the facility becomes more widely known. The UCAN clinic will partner with shelters, clinics and vets from throughout the area, accepting referrals and transporting animals to and from the clinic. Anyone seeking more information on the clinic and UCAN should check out its Web site at www.ucanclinic.org.

Under “Frequently Asked Questions” on UCAN’s Web site is a query about why people who don’t own a dog or a cat should care about this project. One way to answer is practical: Dealing with abandoned, unwanted animals costs American taxpayers about $1 billion a year. Projects like this may reduce that cost. Another answer is more philosophical: Caring for creatures unable to care for themselves is a uniquely human thing to do.