Alabama Veterinary Board moves to Close Spay/Neuter Clinics

Alabama… what a fouled up, messed up, idiotic state.

Just follow the stink of money, and you’ll find the state’s politicians and business leaders copulating together in the filth of that slop trough.

Bunch of God damned bastards… every God damned one of ’em ought’a go straight to Hell.

—

Proposed Alabama vet board rule could close spay/neuter clinics

Published: Thursday, September 27, 2012, 10:40 PM     Updated: Friday, September 28, 2012, 7:48 AM

By Kim Chandler — Montgomery Bureau

Dr. Desiree Mason checks on a dog after surgery at the Alabama Spay/Neuter Clinic on Crestwood Boulevard. The State Veterinary Board is considering new regulations that could cause the nonprofit clinic others like it in the state that spay and neuter to shut down. The board is considering whether to change the rules which state that all the equipment in clinics must be owned by a vet. (Tamika Moore/The Birmingham News)

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Michelle Pierce waited Thursday at the Alabama Spay/Neuter clinic to pick up Mystery, the stray calico cat named after she mysteriously waltzed through Pierce’s dog door one evening, and the three kittens — Tigger, Chelssey and Zure — that came along with her.

“I think it’s better to go ahead and get them fixed even if I found them a home … . They multiply like rabbits,” Pierce said.

As the cats, still drunk from anesthesia, recovered in a dog crate, Pierce paid a total of $48 for having them fixed — a break over the clinic’s already low rates because she qualified for assistance.

Pierce said she wouldn’t have been able to afford the prices at a full-service veterinary clinic.

“I would have had to take them to the Humane Society. This place is a life-saver for animals and for folks with low income,” Pierce said.

Operators of the nonprofit spay/neuter clinics say new rules under consideration by the Alabama State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners could close the four clinics that operate across the state. The proposed rules would prohibit non-veterinarians from hiring veterinarians and would prohibit non-veterinarians, including non-profit groups, from owning veterinarian equipment.

Dr. Margaret Ferrell spays a dog at the Alabama Spay/Neuter Clinic on Crestwood Boulevard. The State Veterinary Board is considering new regulations that could cause the nonprofit clinic others like it in the state that spay and neuter to shut down. The board is considering whether to change the rules which state that all the equipment in clinics must be owned by a vet. (Tamika Moore/The Birmingham News)

“It could make it difficult to stay open,” said Mark Nelson, executive director of Alabama Spay/Neuter in Irondale. Nelson said Alabama Spay/Neuter owns the equipment and contracts with a veterinary practice to perform surgeries.

Nelson said he believes some veterinarians see the low-cost spay-neuter clinics as competition, but he believes the clinics largely serve a different clientele — people who otherwise couldn’t take their pets to a veterinarian.

The clinic is projected to perform 10,000 surgeries in 2012. The costs range from $45 to $80. Nelson said that, even with the clinic’s low rates, half of its clients qualify for some type of financial assistance.

“If they can’t afford $80, they are not going to go somewhere and pay $300 to get that cat or dog spayed,” Nelson said.

The Alabama State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners will hold a public hearing on the rules Oct. 10.

Efforts to reach the director of the board and the board’s attorney were unsuccessful. But the proposed rules indicate the board wants to make sure veterinarians are making all decisions that could affect the animals in their care.

Dr. Margaret Ferrell, who works for the practice that performs the Irondale clinic’s surgeries, said she is in charge of medical decisions, and animals in need of more services than she can offer are referred to a full-service veterinarian.

Carolyn Tittle prepares a cat for surgery at the Alabama Spay/Neuter Clinic on Crestwood Boulevard. The State Veterinary Board is considering new regulations that could cause the nonprofit clinic others like it in the state that spay and neuter to shut down. The board is considering whether to change the rules which state that all the equipment in clinics must be owned by a vet. (Tamika Moore/The Birmingham News)

“I went to vet school to help animals. This is the most rewarding way I could have ever imagined being a veterinarian. I get to help 40-plus animals every single day,” Ferrell said.

“If I don’t think they are a good candidate for surgery, they don’t get surgery. They get referred to a veterinarian,” Ferrell said.

Ferrell said, “We do occasionally see clients who can afford a full-service clinic but they choose not to .¤.¤. but the majority of our clients are working poor.”

Overpopulation

Rachel Tears, founder, president and executive director of the Alabama Animal Alliance in Montgomery, said the proposed rules “absolutely could” shut down the clinics.

“They now want to say a vet cannot contract with a non-veterinarian. I’m not a vet. .¤.¤. They are trying to stop the relationship we have. They are trying to stop the affordable spay-neuter for our state residents,” Tears said.

Tears and Nelson said the groups were founded to address Alabama’s pet overpopulation problem.

Nelson said more than 100,000 animals are euthanized in shelters each year in the state.

On Thursday, 96 animals were taken to Alabama Spay/Neuter for surgeries. Owners picked up their pets about 4 p.m. People walked out the door with a parade of tail-wagging dogs and grouchy cats.

One dog owner complained the prices her vet wanted to charge to spay her dogs were “highway robbery.”

Sandra Holliday of Steele picked up two cats — a female and her kitten — that had shown up in her yard. Holliday said she takes her indoor cat to a full-service vet, but she’s trying to help the neighborhood strays and keep them from multiplying.

“I think there will be a lot more cats and dogs put to sleep if (the clinics) aren’t around,” Holliday said.

—

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/09/proposed_alabama_vet_board_rul.html