Maddie's Spay/Neuter Project in Loudon & Monroe Counties, Tennessee

Participants: Spay/Neuter Assistance for Pets (SNAP), Lead Agency, with seven private practice veterinary hospitals and one participating non-profit veterinary hospital.

Dogs and cats belonging to low-income residents throughout rural East Tennessee's Loudon and Monroe Counties were targeted for spay/neuter surgery with the aim of reducing intake and euthanasia at the County's shelters. According to research, more than 63% of the owners who surrendered pets to the county shelters qualified as low-income.

The spay/neuter goal was to perform 3,636 spay/neuter surgeries beyond the 381 spay/neuter surgeries SNAP performed in the baseline year of Calendar Year 2005.

Total Maddie's^® Surgeries: 4,101
(An additional 1,061 spay/neuter surgeries were performed through a local voucher program.)

By project's end, total shelter intake had declined 20% from a peak of 10,118 to 8,101. Euthanasia also dropped from a high point in 2009 of 6,464 to 3,742 in 2010, a decline of 34%. Additionally, the community-wide Live Release Rate rose from 37% in the baseline year of 2005 to 47% in 2010.

"We are pleased that for the first time in both counties, intake and euthanasia rates are down significantly," says Mike Cleverdon, President of SNAP.  "We are so grateful for Maddie's Fund help.  We are hopeful to continue this trend until no healthy animals are euthanized in our shelters."