Neuter Commuter II Now On The Road

MASSENA - Groggy felines filled the Massena Animal Shelter last week when the Spay/Neuter/Now program's mobile vehicle, Neuter Commuter II rolled into town.

One-by-one, the home-owned cats were taken out of their carriers, sedated and either spayed or neutered inside the sterile, 27-foot, specially-designed mobile vehicle.

After the cat was spayed or neutered, they were temporarily placed inside one of the cages inside the vehicle for the first part of their recovery process. Then they were transferred back to their carrier and put side-by-side in a meow-filled auxiliary room inside the animal shelter to finish their recovery and await their owner's arrival.

Spay Neuter Now is celebrating its birthday Aug. 6 in Alexandria Bay at Jubalee Hall at Reformed Church on Church Street from 6 to 8 p.m.

Events include an ice cream social, silent auction, flea market table, book sale table, music and storytelling.

Spay/Neuter Now founder Bea Schermerhorn said last week's visit to the Massena Animal Shelter was strictly for the cats because of the overpopulation. Laying in comfortable enclosed spaces inside the animal shelter was proof of that - a bevy of kittens of all colors, waiting for a home.

"Last year we did it this way. It's only cats again this year," Mrs. Schermerhorn said as she sat amidst a floor filled with cages holding some groggy and some meowing felines who were starting to come out of their daze.

"We have a terrific overpopulation problem. The mission of the program is put a dent in the overpopulation," she said.

For $40 - compared to the more than $100 that might be charged at some veterinary clinics - Spay/Neuter/Now will spay or neuter the animal, provide shots for rabies, upper respiratory problems and pain, and examine for ear mites and, if necessary, treat them.

But that's only one part of their program. The non-profit grassroots organization also provide vouchers for individuals to have their pet spayed or neutered and, for its part, the Massena Humane Society provides vouchers that are worth another $20 off the cost for animal owners in Massena and Louisville.

"It's absolutely fantastic to have animal people working together and people getting the $20 break," she said.

Mrs. Schermerhorn said she was not only concerned about controlling the overpopulation of cats, but also no-shows from people who had signed up to have their feline friend spayed or neutered.

Twenty-seven individuals signed up in Massena, and 20 showed up on Thursday, even after she called everybody on the list Wednesday afternoon to remind them that the Neuter Commuter II would be in town.

"We're having an epidemic of no-shows, particularly in this location," she said, wondering why some owners didn't follow through and take advantage of the low-cost procedure that would keep their cat from having kittens and adding to the problem.

Mrs. Schermerhorn founded the Spay/Neuter/Now program 16 years ago with the introduction of the voucher program. In fact, she said, they're planning on having a birthday party and ice cream social fundraiser Aug. 6 in Alexandria Bay.

The day will feature a story-teller, silent auction, flea markets table and used book table as they try to raise more money for the organization.

"We receive absolutely no subsidies. We are not covering our costs, but we're hoping for contributions and fundraisers. We live on contributions and fundraisers. My desire and hope is that contributions and fundraising will bring in enough to continue. You can never get control of the (cat) population," she said.

The Neuter Commuter entered the picture seven years ago when they bought a used 24-foot 1991 recreational vehicle and retrofitted it as a mobile veterinary hospital.

That vehicle outlived its usefulness and now Spay/Neuter/Now visits local humane societies in a new 27-foot vehicle they call the Neuter Commuter II. It was laid out and put together according to the organization's specifications, according to Mrs. Schermerhorn, and visits animal shelters in St. Lawrence and some of Jefferson County.

"We have a number of people who support us and feel it's a worthy cause, so they'll have us pull in their driveway and we plug in. We will go to a farm if there's 15 or 18 barn cats there," she said. "We go to central locations and reach out."

Mrs. Schermerhorn said her passion for her work began when she got out of high school and wanted to become a veterinarian.

While that didn't occur, "Things happen for a reason and I'm in a better state of affairs to help them than if I would have been a vet," she said.

For more information on the Spay/Neuter/Now program, call 324-5969 or visit www.spayneuternow.org/.