In 2007 HAWA provided vouchers for 822 spay/neuter surgeries for the dogs and cats in Haywood County.  Hypothetically, assuming half of the 822 were females and each of these females had an average of 6 offspring for their first litter that was a total of 2,466 kittens/puppies that were not looking for a home or being euthanized in the county shelter!  Actually, since dogs can bear two litters a year and cats at least three and 2/3’s of the females were cats, 6,576 unwanted puppies and kittens were prevented!

HAWA sent 421 cats and 226 dogs on its transports to Humane Alliance Low Cost Spay/
Neuter Clinic in Asheville.  These numbers were made possible by the Janirve and PetsMart grants HAWA received in the spring of 2007.  With these funds, HAWA was able to subsidize low-income residents who could not afford our normal low rates of $55.  The PetSmart grant was a two part grant that allowed HAWA to see if more people would do the right thing and spay/neuter their pets if the price was lower than the normal $55 fee. We ran a cat special of $20/$25 for the first 25 that signed up at the beginning of the month starting in June. The response was overwhelming once the word got out!  This part of the grant is now gone.  However, HAWA learned that while $55 is a low cost spay and neuter rate,  it is not low enough for the major portion of
Haywood County residents. 

In 2008, to encourage more residents to brave the winter months’ weather, HAWA offered a $30 Have a Heart Special in February for dogs and cats combined.  Both transports to Asheville were filled. We are again repeating this for the two March transports. The goal is to spay and neuter as many dogs and cats before the kitten and puppy “season” begins. 

HAWA is hard at work trying to find more funding to continue to reduce our rates to the public. Our goal is to go over the 1,000 mark for 2008.