March 12, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 12, 2013
For more information,
Contact: Lauren Christ
Moxley Carmichael
(865) 544-0088
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Young-Williams Animal Center celebrates the 30,000th spay/neuter surgery performed since the Aslan Foundation awarded the center the first grant for the Spay Shuttle in 2007. Pictured at the celebration in the surgery suite at the Young-Williams Animal Village are (l-r) Young-Williams Animal Center CEO Jeff Ashin; Young-Williams Spay/Neuter Solutions Medical Director Dr. Lisa Chassy; Kitlin the cat, who was honored as the 30,000th spay/neuter patient, with her owner, Deborah Agnew of the Cedar Bluff community; and Aslan Foundation Executive Director Jeff Mansour.
When Deborah Agnew scheduled her cat, Kitlin, for spay surgery, she didn’t realize it would be such call for celebration.
As a responsible pet owner, she knew that the surgery was the smart and healthy choice for her cat. But on Tuesday, March 12, Kitlin became the poster pet for Young-Williams Animal Center’s Spay/Neuter Solutions program as the 30,000th animal to undergo alteration surgery since the Aslan Foundation awarded the center a grant for the Spay Shuttle in 2007.
Since then, ongoing grant support from the Aslan Foundation and additional grants from PetSmart Charities and The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) as well as other funding sources have allowed Young-Williams to continue and expand its free and low-cost spay/neuter services.
“Spaying and neutering pets is the single most effective, most humane solution to help control pet overpopulation in East Tennessee,” said Young-Williams Animal Center CEO Jeff Ashin. “And in addition to helping the pet community, spaying and neutering is also beneficial to cats’ and dogs’ health and behavior. We are grateful for the grant funding we receive for our Spay/Neuter Solutions programs, and we’re so grateful to the many pet owners who have stepped up to take advantage of these services.”
To celebrate the success of the program and honor the 30,000th surgery, Agnew received a special “thank you” gift when she came to pick up her newly “fixed” cat at the Young-Williams Animal Village on Bearden Hill. Natural Pet Supply donated a gift basket of goodies for Kitlin, and Young-Williams Animal Center presented Agnew with a PetSafe pet bed warmer to keep her pets warm on chilly days.
“We are so pleased that both the Spay Shuttle and our new Spay/Neuter Solutions Clinic have been so well utilized,” Ashin said. “It’s making a big difference in helping to reduce the number of unwanted pets in our community that are born each year and the thousands that come through our shelter doors each day.”
According to Dr. Lisa Chassy, medical director for Young-Williams Animal Center and the Spay/Neuter Solutions Clinic, the center has seen a marked reduction in pet intake since the spay/neuter program began.
“In 2012, we admitted 82 percent fewer dogs to the shelter than we did in 2007, the year the program began,” said Chassy. “Our cat intake went down nearly 50 percent from 2009 to 2012 as well. By spaying and neutering more than 30,000 pets, we are certainly making an impact on the number of unwanted animals in our community.”
Young-Williams Animal Center offers low-cost and free spay/neuter services through the Spay Shuttle and the Spay/Neuter Solutions Clinic at the Young-Williams Animal Village. The Spay Shuttle, a mobile spay/neuter surgical clinic funded by a grant from the Aslan Foundation, strategically targets high-risk animals, traveling to specific high-incident communities through Knox County.
The low-cost spay neuter clinic at the Young-Williams Animal Village, funded in part by PetSmart Charities® and The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), provides local pet owners more affordable spay/neuter services for their dogs and cats. Pet owners qualify for low-cost or free surgeries for their pets based on income level, age and breed of their pet, and other key factors.
Additionally, Young-Williams Animal Center has some special opportunities coming up for local pet owners who wish to get their cats and dogs spayed or neutered, including Spay/Neuter Weekend in partnership with the Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley from March 14-16 and a special offer this month for pit bull owners.
For more information spay/neuter options, call 865-215-6677 or visit www.young-williams.org.
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.
