Maddie's Spay/Neuter Project in Northern Nevada

Participants: SPCA of Northern Nevada (Lead Agency), 32 private practice veterinary hospitals and one low-cost clinic.

Maddie's^® Spay/Neuter Project in Nevada operated in six counties (Washoe, Carson, Lyon, Churchill, Douglas, and Elko) that collectively represented over 90% of the population of northern Nevada. A total of 4,334 surgeries were subsidized by the program, comprising approximately 14% of all spay/neuter surgeries performed in the program area in 2008 and 2009 (20% in 2009).

In October 2008, Maddie's Fund approved broadening the original client qualifying criterion (Medicaid program participation) to also include participation in Medicare or the Nevada food stamps program. Demand for program services increased substantially in the immediate aftermath of this change.

Two additional related projects were conducted in conjunction with Maddie's^® Spay-Neuter Project in Nevada. The first was completion of a public opinion survey (conducted by the University of Nevada's Center for Research Design and Analysis) investigating attitudes about veterinary care, spaying and neutering, animal shelters, and Maddie's Fund. The second project was the "Pets Love Vets" campaign, and the follow-up evaluation with area veterinarians. Results of these projects have been provided to Maddie's Fund in the form of reports, and released to the public and to program partners.

Total Maddie's Surgeries Performed: 4,334

Impact on Shelter Intake

Special Maddie grants were also given to ten local shelters for collecting and reporting their annual statistics and to measure the impact of this program on shelter intake. Those shelters included Carson City Animal Services, City of Elko Animal Shelter, City of Fallon Animal Control, Douglas County Animal Care & Services, Lyon County Animal Control, Nevada Humane Society, Pet Network, SPCA of Northern Nevada, Washoe County Regional Animal Services, and Wylie Animal Rescue Foundation.

The final outcome analysis showed that a small reduction in animal intakes occurred over the two-year program.

It is notable that shelter intakes did not rise, given the increasing economic hardship in Nevada which experienced national highs in foreclosures and unemployment rates during the reporting period. By contrast, reports from Las Vegas suggest that animal surrenders to the local shelter system increased substantially during the same time frame.