Snip It-Ticket program has led to spay/neuter of 70 animals

Donna Thornton, The Gadsden Times
·2 min read

Animal advocate Lana Bellew said the local Snip It-Ticket program designed to help get dogs and cats spayed or neutered as a way to curb the population of stray animals has provided assistance to enable the sterilization of 36 cats and 34 dogs.

The program is funded through contributions from Etowah County and the cities of Rainbow City and Southside. Bellew said $5,660 has been spent to subsidize spaying and neutering of animals through Central Valley Animal Hospital, allowing people to get dogs or cats sterilized for a cost of $25. The rest of the cost is paid through the program.

Bellew told the Etowah County Commission on Tuesday that she "spends the money like it's her own," providing the tickets for spaying and neutering in cases where it could prevent animals running around the county from reproducing.

She said it requires some "vetting" of the people who seek assistance. She wants to ensure that the money is used to give assistance that will prevent an increase in the stray population, not to sterilize pets that are kept indoors and are less likely to reproduce.

During the COVID pandemic, Bellew said, a lot of animals were abandoned, when owners couldn't care for them, including situations where owners were hospitalized or died. She said calls for assistance have come from all over the county. She said the $1,750 received from people for tickets has been given to Central Valley.

Bellew said she missed the deadline to apply for a $60,000 grant for spay/neuter assistance, but she hopes to apply for it next year.

Open container day

County Chief Administrative Officer Shane Ellison said Advance Disposal's next open top container day is Nov. 5, when the garbage collection contractor will have containers at four locations from 7 a.m. to noon. for residential cleanup of household trash. They do not accept tires, batteries, appliances or hazardous waste.

Containers will be located at:

  • Leeth Gap and Sardis Road, across from the old county shop

  • Intersection of U.S. Highway 78 and Alabama Highway 132

  • Whorton Bend Volunteer Fire Department

  • Gaston High School at U.S. Highway 411 North

Equipment purchase

The commission approved the purchase of a distributor to be used in small paving project on county roads. Total cost of the piece of equipment is $219,00, and purchasing it now will save about $50,000, according to County Engineer Robert Nail. It can be used for projects that require more than patching, but are too small to contract out.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Program allows for low-cost spay/neuter of dogs, cats