PAWS Chicago is using aggressive adoption, targeted spay/neuter and humane education programs to help make Chicago a no-kill community.
The PAWS Chicago Lurie Spay/Neuter Clinic performed 8,796 surgeries in 2005 (3,343 on cats and 5,453 on dogs). This was an increase of 22% over the previous year with no major change in staffing levels, and it exceeded the aggressive goal of a 20% annual growth rate.
In 2005, the Spay/Neuter Clinic performed 5,593 fully subsidized ($0) surgeries for qualified individuals living in a targeted "Free Fix" zip code within Chicago or for those on Public Assistance. The "Free Fix" zip codes represent neighborhoods with a high stray pet population and a lower income profile. 64% of surgeries were fully subsidized, up from 58% in 2004. This confirms that the spay/neuter program is considered a valuable service by the individuals who are most in need.
The customer show-rate for appointments increased from 70% in 2004 to 80% at the end of 2005. The Clinic attributes much of its growing success to positive customer experiences.
The Clinic's Humane Education and Community Outreach team made a dramatic increase in presentations to targeted audiences in "Free Fix" zip codes for 2005. The Community Outreach volunteers made 63 presentations to over 3,900 children and 600 adults in schools, summer day camps, church groups, and police departments.
In addition, the team distributed over 94,000 flyers and participated in 50 events, all within the targeted community. This effort was made possible by a committed volunteer base. Volunteers are paramount to the Clinic's success in educating the community about the importance of spay/neuter, which will enable PAWS Chicago to achieve its mission of helping to build a no-kill city.
Laura Hinze, Director of the Lurie Family Spay and Neuter Clinic, sat down with Maddie's Fund to talk about the Clinic's role in reaching this ambitious goal.
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Lurie Family Spay and Neuter Clinic: By the numbers
The Lurie Family Spay/Neuter Clinic has performed approximately 30,000 total surgeries since the Clinic opened its doors in 2000. 65% of those surgeries were for cats; 35% for dogs. The goal for this year is 9,000 surgeries. When the Clinic first began, 36,000 dogs and cats were euthanized in city shelters. Last year, total deaths were 24,000, a 33% decline.
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Q. Laura, why do you think your spay/neuter Clinic is doing so well?
A. First off, because we fill a void – the majority of our clients would not be able to afford to have their pets neutered without our free and low cost services. In addition, we engage in aggressive community outreach and marketing to reach our target population.
We established a targeted strategy from day one. We asked: where are Animal Control's strays coming from and where do the most needy pet owners reside? Once we discovered the majority of strays were coming from fourteen lower income zip codes, we decided to focus on these areas and on helping pet owners who receive public assistance. In sum, our success is due to:
- our narrow goal and maintaining the discipline to focus on our goal
- the Clinic's proximity to our target population
- aggressive marketing and outreach to our fourteen targeted zip codes and to those residents receiving public assistance
Q. Where is the Clinic located?
A. We are strategically located in the heart of the communities we're trying to reach! We are Chicago's only high-volume, free clinic located in and serving low-income communities where the majority of stray and unwanted pets originate. The clinic is accessible by public transportation and is conveniently located near major traffic patterns in the city.
We also offer a free transportation program to pet guardians on public assistance. We want to ensure our services are accessible to those who need it the most.
In addition we offer a mass transport option for any pet guardians who need help with transportation to/from community centers which serve as gathering points for pets.
Q. What is the total population in your fourteen zip codes?
A. There are approximately one million people in our targeted zip codes. The other piece of our target market consists of those on public assistance.
Q. What would you say is the demographic breakdown of these zip codes?
A. We reach a very large segment of African-American and Hispanic populations.
Q. Are your staff and volunteers able to handle language challenges?
A. Our front desk staff is bilingual. Some of our volunteers are bilingual as well. We also produce marketing and awareness materials in Spanish to further facilitate our outreach efforts.
Q. Which of your surgeries are free?
A. Surgeries are free for those living in our target zip codes, and for people on any form of state public assistance. For everyone else, the cost of spay/neuter surgery for dog or cat, male or female (no matter the size), is $40 including a distemper shot.
Q. How do clients find out about your spay/neuter clinic?
A. We get our message out by connecting with people through many different community organizations and at various events primarily within the fourteen zip codes. Our best marketing comes from word of mouth from our existing customer base. We work extremely hard to provide our clients with a positive experience, and we put a lot of emphasis on customer service. Everyone is treated with a great deal of courtesy and respect. It's very gratifying that our customer referrals keep going up. This is an indicator that we're doing something good and we're also doing something right.
We continually work to expand our partnerships and work closely with CAPS (Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy), the police force, city aldermen, churches, and many different social service organizations within our target market.
As an example, in partnership with the Animal Welfare League, we table at a monthly pet food bank that draws anywhere from 300 to 600 low-income residents. Before people pick up their pet food, we talk to them about the advantages of spay/neuter, describe the free surgery at our clinic, tell them where we're located and give them information about making an appointment. We actually set up appointments there on the spot.
Animal Care and Control officers also pass out our vouchers for free surgeries when they go into our target neighborhoods.
Q. When it comes to dogs, do you see one size or breed more frequently than another?
A. Not really. We see as many small and purebred dogs as large mixed breeds. We see a lot of Chihuahuas, rotties, shepherds and pitbulls.
Q. Does your Clinic spay/neuter feral cats?
A. Absolutely! We perform surgeries on feral cats any day of the week. In addition, in conjunction with the Chicagoland Stray Cat Coalition, the first Sunday of each month is feral cat Sunday. The Coalition traps and returns the ferals through their network and transports them in and out of the clinic. The surgery itself is free, but we do charge a $20 fee for ear tipping, a rabies shot, and anything else the cat might need at that juncture, such as penicillin, Front Line, or treatment for minor wounds.
Q. Has your Clinic faced any hostility from private practice veterinarians?
A. No because we are not in direct competition with them. In fact, we actually have some vets who refer clients to us.
Q. What are your Clinic's hours?
A. We are open four days per week - Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday - from 6:30am to 6pm. We maximize efficiency by letting a clinic from the suburbs come in and do surgeries on Saturdays when we are closed.
Q. How is your Clinic staffed?
A. There are one veterinarian, three vet techs, two recovery techs, two front desk/phone staff, and one assistant clinic director.
Q. What is your annual operating budget?
A. Our budget, including outreach and humane education, is a little over $800,000. We are a 501c3 and receive no governmental funding. Our funding comes predominantly from donations from individuals and private foundations.
Q. Tell me a little about your outreach and humane education programs....
A. Our community outreach and humane education programs philosophically support and promote our spay/neuter program. Working mainly in our fourteen zip codes or with those on public assistance, we give talks and make appearances at many events each month. We go to churches, schools, fairs, and luncheons. In the month of August alone we participated in fifteen community activities including presentations at a day camp for children ages nine to twelve, a Back to School and Summer Fest, a senior center, a violence prevention event, and a church festival for Our Lady of Fatima. Our presentations and literature cover topics like dog bite prevention, spay/neuter, and responsible pet care. Our goal for this year is to make 56 presentations and participate in 41 events. We are going to exceed that goal thanks to our wonderful volunteer base helping us out! Our outreach program currently consists of one paid staff person and 430 volunteers—about 70 volunteers make up the core.
One of our biggest humane education activities takes place in our Clinic lobby. We've set up a learning center there, filled with free humane education pamphlets. We also play DVD's on basic pet obedience training. The fact is, people have some time to wait when they pick up and drop off their animals, and appreciate having things to watch and read, and they really need the help! We find that clients take an awful lot of literature home with them.
Q. What are your benchmarks for success?
A. It's really important for us to see that we're increasingly reaching our target population. We measure this by tracking the number of free surgeries. Here are our annual tallies:
1,052 free surgeries in 2002
2,308 in 2003
3,866 in 2004
5,260 in 2005 (on target to meet projection)
Tracking total surgeries is also important, and our numbers are getting better each year:
4,176 in 2001
5,570 in 2002
6,202 in 2003
7,291 in 2004
9,000 in 2005 (on target to meet projection)
