9 Dogs Spay/Neutered in 1 Day

Los Angeles resident, volunteer, rescuer and spay/neuter advocate Tammy is on a mission to reduce the number of pet litters in her community. Since late 2023, she has been working directly with Project Street Vet and other community partners to bring needed veterinary services to unhoused pet families near her home, all on her personal time. In her experience, the pet families she assists are willing to get their animals spayed and neutered, but access to quick, affordable appointments isn’t always achievable. Tammy had been working to get nine dogs at one community camp fixed, but was having a hard time finding somewhere to treat them all, quickly - before some of the pups got big enough to make new litters of their own.

Project Street Vet is grateful for an ongoing relationship we have with Registered Veterinary Technician @lillianbalam, who is also passionate about spay/neuter. She recommended we work alongside Dr. Castillo at @castilloanimalveganvet to do more community spay and neuters, and this is how the “puppy party” with Tammy began! With support from Project Street Vet, this group of animal lovers was able to successfully spend the day transporting, spaying/neutering and safely recovering nine dogs, who by the end of the day got to go back home to their families. The risk of these pets having thousands of more pups is now gone. Mission accomplished!

Pet overpopulation is a crisis and veterinarians are experiencing compassion fatigue more and more because of this issue, which can be solved by spaying and neutering. Additionally, the health benefits to pets (both dogs and cats!) that come from spaying and neutering are many. Dr. Castillo notes, “Females that don’t get spayed run the risk of pyometra: an emergency situation requiring surgery right away costing thousands of dollars. Males can get testicular cancer. Also, the number one reason for fights between males and those hit by cars are males that are intact who have the instinct to run and mate.” Spaying and neutering before any of these potential dangers arise is more cost effective, healthier for the animals, and helps them to live longer with their human companions.

Special thanks to everyone involved who gave their time, passion and skills to make this Spay Neuter Day a success!

Visit projectstreetvet.org for more information

Filmed/edited by @jasonstackcreative