Low-cost spay, neuter, vaccination clinic scheduled in Fisher Branch
The Manitoba Animal Alliance (MAA) couldn’t be happier that the RM of Fisher has offered to subsidize a low-cost spay, neuter and vaccination clinic that’s coming to Fisher Branch in a few weeks to help residents with cats and dogs.
And the MAA, which is operating the mobile clinic, is hoping to get 15-20 more male cats and dogs booked in.
MAA founder and director Debra Vandekerkhove said this is the first time a Manitoba municipality has offered to help subsidize a clinic, which is geared towards residents that cannot afford regular veterinary services, as well as farmers with lots of intact male and female barn kittens and working dogs.
The RM’s willingness to be “part of the solution” to animal over-population will reduce the suffering of uncared for and untreated cats and dogs and also help protect human health, she said.
“MAA is so pleased with the RM of Fisher. It’s setting a standard and we couldn’t be happier. This is a gamechanger for Manitoba and we hope other municipalities follow Fisher’s lead. We’ve never heard of an RM doing this. I know in Winnipeg some shelters offer residents a low-cost spay and neuter for cats and dogs, but no one is helping rural municipalities. Why not? They have people struggling financially and they have animal population issues,” said Vandekerkhove. “A lot of RMs don’t have animal management services, their own shelters or adoption programs, so animals are constantly being shipped into cities such as Brandon, Portage or Winnipeg. The rest of Manitoba is flooding cities with animals and the shelters and rescues are over-capacity now. We can’t do this anymore. We need municipalities to start taking the lead on controlling and managing their own populations.”
MAA in based in Sandy Hook in the RM of Gimli, but it operates throughout the Interlake, including in First Nations communities. The registered charity was established in 2013 and is volunteer-run. It helps communities deal with homeless, injured and abandoned animals, operates a foster program and organizes mobile veterinary clinics that travel around the province to spay, neuter, vaccinate and de-worm animals.
“We’re not competing with local veterinarian offices with what we offer. This is to help folks who are struggling financially to get full vet care for their animals,” said Vandekerkhove. “We want to offer this to communities that are struggling with cat and dog populations, whether it’s an Indigenous community or not, and encourage people to bring in their animals.”
Whenever MAA does a mobile community clinic, it contacts local vets to let them know and picks up their business cards to hand out at the clinics.
“One of the vets in the RM of Fisher is actually going to be volunteering at our upcoming clinic, which is awesome because we can let people know that this is their vet, the person who comes into Fisher Branch every week,” said Vandekerkhove.
MAA has its own equipment and hires veterinarians to provide clinic services.
“Because we purchased our own equipment, we’ve been able to double our capacity. We’ve gone from doing 50 spay and neuters over the course of two days (prior to 2023) to doing 100,” said Vandekerkhove. “The most we’ve ever done at a single clinic is 63.”
Vandekerkhove said the RM of Gimli has a “serious problem” with cats that aren’t fixed and are suffering from disease and starvation. Because she lives in the RM, she’s aware of the method that some agricultural producers use to control their cat populations – by drowning the kittens.
“The amount of cats in the rural area is awful and there’s suffering and starvation everywhere,” she said. “People are just not making it a priority to get their cats fixed. A spay or neutered cat in a barn is just as good as one that’s not. I have even reached out to some farmers and said we’ll fix your cats, here’s some crates and food and a trap and when you catch them, I’ll take the kittens and get them fixed.”
One shocking incident MAA was called to deal with was the dumping of cats and kittens northwest of Camp Morton.
“It was disgusting. There were 17 cats, kittens and adult females. One of the people who lives in that area was driving down the road and saw two kittens pop out of the ditch. They stopped and found this group. Cats and kittens don’t hang out in groups of 17 unless they were dumped. Somebody tossed them in the ditch and took off,” said Vandekerkhove. “MAA took them all. It’s not something we normally do but this was so cruel. The kittens were six weeks old, eight weeks ago. Who does that?”
This year alone has been busy for the MAA. It spayed, neutered and vaccinated/treated 524 animals (as of July 30) at its mobile clinics, said Vandekerkhove. For the upcoming Fisher Branch clinic, they’ve booked in lots of large-breed dogs like great Pyrenees and bull mastiffs. If male dogs remain intact, they’ll wander, can be more aggressive or even chase or kill farm animals.
“An unneutered male dog can smell a female in heat within five kilometres away. If there’s an intact female down any of these country roads, the male will go looking for her,” she said. “And intact males have higher testosterone and higher levels of aggression so people need to get them done.”
Not only do the clinics protect animal health, but they also protect humans from some of the diseases and conditions unvaccinated/untreated cats and dogs can carry.
“The Interlake area is bad for heartworm and for Lyme disease. Every dog we take from this area, and above the Fisher area, are heartworm or Lyme disease positive or both. Most folks can’t afford the regular price of those medications,” she said.
Medication can kill adult heartworms and their larvae. It’s a parasitic worm that’s spread by mosquitoes and slowly kills dogs, cats and other animals. Heartworm results in lung disease, heart failure and organ damage.
“There are so many risks for animals and prevention is important. Distemper (a contagious virus) will kill cats and dogs. And if your dog gets tapeworms, the eggs can be passed on to kids playing with dogs,” she said. “The Interlake is known for rabies carriers such as skunks and raccoons. Bringing this clinic into a community for people who may not be able to afford a regular vet service helps protect people as much as it helps protect their animals.”
The Express reached out of the RM of Fisher and reeve Shannon Pyziak for comment about the clinic and whether the RM is thinking about offering it again next year, but did not hear back.
When asked earlier this year if the RM of Gimli would be willing to provide funding assistance so that the MAA could host a clinic for its residents, a councillor had said the RM was open to the idea and invited the MAA to submit an application.
Interim CAO Jim Fenske said last week that finance personnel don’t recall having received an application from MAA. He also said he’s unaware of animal vaccination or animal over-population issues within the municipality, but that he’s only just joined the RM and is not fully up to speed on all the issues.
The low-cost clinic coming to Fisher Branch will be charging $125 for dogs and $80 for cats. It includes spay or neuter, tapeworm medication, ear mite control for cats, vaccination and pet food. If an animal is already spayed or neutered, people can still book an appointment for an exam and get updated vaccines, de-worming medication and pet food for $60.
The clinic will be held on Saturday, Aug. 24 at the Ukrainian Home (hall).
MAA plans to start working on some cats on Friday night (Aug. 23) now that it has additional help from Fisher’s veterinarian. And anyone who wants to borrow a cat kennel to transport their animal to the clinic is welcome to pick one up on Friday.
People must book an appointment for the clinic through Sadie Hamrlik, clerk at the RM of Fisher. Email Sadie at sadiehamrlik@gmail.com or fisherclerk@mymts.net or call the RM office at (204) 372-6393.
For more information about the Manitoba Animal Alliance, visit manitobaanimalalliance.com
The RM of Fisher has offered to subsidize a low-cost spay, neuter and vaccination clinic
