Bella Becomes the Humane Society of South Mississippi’s 40,000th Spay/Neuter Patient
GULFPORT, MS November 16, 2009- Bella, a six-month-old Pug and newest companion of Ms. Terry Dunn of Ocean Springs, was the 40,000th animal spayed or neutered at the Humane Society of South Mississippi’s Louise Fenner Claiborne Spay Neuter Clinic. HSSM reopened in March of 2006, despite the devastation of Katrina, revitalized and determined to eliminate pet overpopulation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The Louise Fenner Claiborne Spay Neuter Clinic has been key in HSSM’s success, offering low-cost or free high quality spay/neuter options to the public and preventing thousands of unwanted animals from being born.
Performing 40,000 sterilization surgeries in three years is a monumental success, but it is only a drop in the bucket in the fight to eliminate pet overpopulation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Bonnie Miller, Executive Director of HSSM, reaffirmed this when she said, “Our community has taken a great first step towards solving the pet overpopulation problem by reaching this milestone. In 2010, we are challenging the community to take the next step by performing 15,000 more surgeries at the HSSM clinic.”
Currently, there are an estimated 100,000 owned pets in Harrison County alone and HSSM has spayed and neutered pets not only from Harrison County, but from throughout the Gulf Coast, into Louisiana and Alabama. Unfortunately, because there are so many unspayed/unneutered pets in our community, HSSM is forced to euthanize over 8,000 animals each year. The only way to reduce and ultimately eliminate the euthanasia of healthy animals is to become a community committed to spaying and neutering our pets.
HSSM, the leading animal welfare organization on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, was founded in 1952 and spay/neuter has always been central to its mission. In 2008, HSSM spayed or neutered over 11,000 pets and housed over 15,000. The Louise Fenner Claiborne Spay Neuter Clinic is HSSM’s low-cost, high-quality spay/neuter clinic which is included in HSSM’s 40,000 square foot state-of the art facility on Hwy 49. To help in the fight to end pet overpopulation on the Gulf Coast, call 228-863-4394 Option 2 to schedule your pets’ spay/neuter surgery. While it costs HSSM $50 to provide each spay/neuter surgery, the procedure is free to those who are receiving government assistance. HSSM is able to subsidize these surgeries through the generosity of its donors. When your pet is spayed or neutered he/she will save the lives of countless others.
