KIPU — The Kaua‘i Humane Society announced Friday that it received its first-ever grant-in-aid from the state of Hawai‘i, totaling $223,000 for the year.
The funding is allocated to spay and neuter initiatives. The funding will allow all public spay and neuters, despite the animal’s gender or weight, to cost $35 per animal through the end of February 2024. Per state law, the surgery includes a microchip if the animal does not already have one.
Kaua‘i Humane Society Executive Director Nicole Schafer Crane said the goal is to fix as many animals on Kaua‘i as possible, in an effort to decrease the overpopulation crisis.
“The most effective way to solve pet overpopulation is to spay and neuter. One of the primary factors of pet overpopulation is allowing cats and dogs to reproduce without securing a home for them to go into,” Crane said.
”Kaua‘i Humane Society takes in thousands of dogs and cats that do not have homes, and in 2022 more than 1,000 of the animals that came into KHS were born in 2022. If 1,000 animals are being born homeless on Kaua‘i, it means we have a crisis.”
Previously, surgeries cost $50 per cat, and up to $125 for a female spay of a dog weighing more than 50 pounds.
The funding has also allowed the Kaua‘i Humane Society to purchase additional surgical equipment, and will allow the society to hire a temporary veterinary technician, veterinarian, and potential veterinarian relief should it be required.
“Spaying and neutering keeps pets safe. It greatly reduces the risk of cancers and disease. It reduces the behaviors of roaming and fighting,” Crane said.
”It reduces the homeless pet population that, when free-roaming, is at the risk of starvation, disease, parasites and vehicular accidents. It also decreases pet waste pollution that can get into waterways, and it protects wildlife at risk of predation.”
Low-cost spay and neuter clinics are offered weekly at the Kaua‘i Humane Society. Online scheduling and more information can be found at kauaihumane.org/service/veterinary-services/.
Volunteer drivers wanted
The Kaua‘i Humane Society is also looking for volunteer drivers to help transport pets for those without reliable transportation.
“Our goal is to ensure that every pet owner who wants their pet fixed will receive the assistance to do so,” Crane said. “Our goal is all of them.”
She said spaying and neutering is the only way to get the number of stray animals down to a manageable number. The society has suffered from extreme capacity issues for years because there is a constant influx of animals entering the shelter. Spaying and neutering not only decreases the number of animals entering the shelter system, it can also increase the lifespan of pets.
Puppies can become pregnant as early as six months, and kittens can become pregnant as early as four months. It is very important that all pets are fixed as early as possible. Dogs and cats can and should be fixed as early as 2 months old, as long as they weigh at least 2 pounds, she said.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 ordfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
