YOUNG-WILLIAMS ANNOUNCES 40,000th SPAY/NEUTER SURGERY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Nov. 7,  2014

For more information,
Contact: Natalie Lester
[email protected]
(865) 544-0088

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Surgery performed on Spay Shuttle at Sam Duff Memorial Park

Young-Williams Animal Center’s comprehensive Spay/Neuter Solutions celebrated a significant milestone today, completing its 40,000th spay surgical procedure. The surgery was performed on the Spay Shuttle, a mobile surgical unit funded by a grant from the Aslan Foundation to support Young-Williams efforts to aggressively decrease pet overpopulation and animal homelessness in Knox County.

Seven-month-old Rascal, a female beagle mix owned by Steve and LeAnne Minor of South Knoxville, was the 40,000th pet altered.  The surgery was performed on the Spay Shuttle which was set up at Sam Duff Memorial Park off Chapman Highway. The Minor family, which included grandson, Evan, 9, returned to the Spay Shuttle about 2:30 p.m. to pick up the newly “fixed” Rascal.  To celebrate the milestone spay/neuter surgery, Young-Williams officials presented the Minor family with a large gift basket of dog toys donated by PetSafe.

“We know she will be healthier having the surgery,” said Steve Minor. “We’ve had lots of dogs over the years and always had them fixed.  It’s the right thing to do.”

Young-Williams Animal Center offers low-cost spay and neuter solutions on the Spay Shuttle and also at the Young-Williams Animal Village at 6400 Kingston Pike on Bearden Hill. Additional cost reductions and subsidized services are available for community members who qualify to help make sure this important service is available to all pet owners.

“We recognize the effect cost can play in the decision to spay or neuter your pet,” said Jeff Ashin, CEO for Young-Williams Animal Center. “We are helping to remove that barrier by offering a low-cost option for the public. We hope area pet owners will see the value and need for this surgery and call to make an appointment.”

Since Young-Williams began aggressively targeting pet overpopulation through an expanded spay/neuter program in 2012, animal intake at the Young-Williams Animal Center on Division Street has decreased. Dr. Lisa Chassy, Young-Williams director of public spay/neuter programs, said the increased effort to improve accessibility to spay/neuter services is having a positive impact on reducing animal overpopulation in Knox County.

“The most simple and most humane solution to decrease the number of unwanted pets in the community is to spay and neuter more animals,” she said. “With our low-cost spay/neuter services, outreach and education, we believe that we’re making a difference.”

Young-Williams encourages all community pet owners interested in the spay/neuter services to call 865-215-6677, Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., to learn more about surgery options available for their animals.

To learn more about Young-Williams Animal Center, visit www.young-williams.org or check out Young-Williams Animal Center on Facebook.

About Young-Williams Animal Center

Young-Williams Animal Center reminds the community to please spay and neuter your pets.

The Young-Williams Animal Center is the official animal shelter for Knox County and the City of Knoxville. The center is a nonprofit organization, community-supported through public and private donations, that turns no animal away and is dedicated to the sheltering and placement of animals, general animal welfare, and public education of companion animal issues.

Young-Williams Animal Center is located off Sutherland Avenue at the entrance to John Tarleton Park at 3201 Division St. Young-Williams Animal Village is located at 6400 Kingston Pike adjacent to Deane Hill Drive. Both locations are open seven days a week from noon-6 p.m.

For more information about Young-Williams Animal Center, including detailed driving directions, call 865-215-6599 or visit www.young-williams.org.