Pet adoption made easier

WSU free spay, neuter program aids resident humane society

MOSES LAKE — Meows and barks provide the soundtrack of new hope at the Moses Lake-Grant County Humane Society.

In the past two months, the humane society has begun utilizing Washington State University's veterinary surgical training program, increasing the likelihood that animals will be placed with new owners from area shelters.

"When an animal's spayed or neutered, it makes it easier for us to adopt them," humane society general manager Mary DeHerrera said. "We require when our animals are adopted from the humane society that they are spayed and neutered."

In a WSU press release issued last month, the university said it spayed a total of 437 dogs and 226 cats from humane societies around the area. At the same time, the college castrated 307 dogs and 147 cats. In all, the 1,107 shelter animals represented a cost to WSU of $152,913.85.

Selected animals are transported to the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine. Once on campus, they undergo complete physical examinations and laboratory work-ups, followed by either a spay or neuter procedure, depending upon the animal's gender. All surgeries are conducted with veterinary faculty and students working together. After an appropriate recovery period, the animals are returned to the agency in charge.

Animals being sent to WSU in Pullman from Moses Lake are vaccinated before making the trek, again while on site and thoroughly checked, DeHerrera said. Any additional treatments that need to be done begin on the Pullman campus, or if the animal needs to be held for further observation, the humane society is notified. The Moses Lake-Grant County Humane Society sends a set, numbering between eight and 10, of animals to WSU every Monday.

Prior to using the program, the cost of the spay or neuter was covered by the adoption fee, said JoAn Stern, a member of the Moses Lake-Grant County Humane Society board of directors.

"They're assuming a big responsibility and it gives more credibility to the animals that come back from there that these are good, wholesome animals," Stern said of the WSU program.

The animals selected for the program are selected because of their temperament and likelihood for adoption, DeHerrera added.

Board member Marilyn Bertram said that the WSU program prefers "medium"-sized canines.

Charlie Powell, public information officer for WSU's College of Veterinary Medicine, explained that that's the ideal size in training students how to spay and neuter. Working on smaller size dogs or puppies and kittens, which Powell said is the ideal time to spay or neuter an animal, is more difficult and puppies and kittens are much more adoptable as is.

"Older, medium-size dogs typically languish in shelters, and turn out to be the ideal candidate for our students and faculty to work hand in hand," Powell said.

The college has worked on larger animals, but giant breeds don't typically show up in shelters because they're purebreds, he added. The college also operates on a number of pit bulls and Rottweilers, breeds people would consider larger, he said.

But larger dogs also eat more, are more challenging to anesthetize and can have more challenging complications, Powell pointed out.

"So if we can keep in that medium to medium-large range, that's ideal for training students and also ideal for shelters," he said.

The humane society board of directors toured the WSU facility, Bertram said, to see how the animals would be taken care of and transported to and from Moses Lake.

"Everything surpassed our expectations," she said.

About 35 percent of the animals in the humane society are strays, and some are brought in by animal control. About 80 percent of the dogs brought into the society last month were surrendered by owners, DeHerrera said.

"And it's education," she said. "Some people just weren't teaching them well, they kept chewing up or getting into garbage. Moving is a big thing."

Humane society president Fred Rhodes said one misconception is that all the dogs in the humane society are problem dogs or mixed breeds.

"Occasionally, we get really first quality dogs, purebreds, that the owner, for whatever reason, can no longer be responsible for," he said. "And they've tried to give it away, and as a last resort, they have to surrender it."

In Grant County, Rhodes said, certain populated areas are designated as animal control districts, where regulations say animals cannot roam free.

"If they do run free, the animal control officer picks them up and the owner has to redeem them by paying money," Rhodes said. He added that residents of an area drive the requests for their particular area to become an animal control district.

Animal control officers also bring in those animals that have caused a problem and need to be impounded. Animals that have tried to bite a human or another animal are not considered adoptable, DeHerrera said.

The humane society also offers foster-care programs, and cares for special needs pets, which are available for adoption but need owners understanding of their breeds or able to handle their disability.

Stern added that the humane society is also working toward building a new shelter.

"We have the land," she said.

Rhodes said that the animals may also be adopted at WSU. Part of the agreement with the university is that if a student or anyone else in Pullman sees an animal and wishes to adopt it, they may. DeHerrera said about six or seven have been adopted so far by veterinary students.

"They're responsible for that animal the whole week that they're there, so they walk them, they care for them, they bathe them, they do everything," she said. "So they become very attached to those animals. It increases our adoption, which is very important, and it lowers our euthanasia, which is our goal."

DeHerrera said that the public also has the misconception that animals are euthanized after a couple days.

"We have animals that have been here for three months," she said. "We do a bunch of tests with them to see how adoptable they are, so some of them stay out here for a long time. We try very hard to get them adopted, and work with rescue groups to find placement for them."