By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Sign-ups began Tuesday for the second free spay and neuter clinic hosted by Helping Paws Across Borders and Border Animal Mission (BAM).
Jessica Halprin, who heads Border Animal Mission, Del Rio’s newest rescue organization, said the clinic will be held March 27 through March 31 at the Chihuahua Neighborhood Facility, 1401 Las Vacas St.
Halprin said the organization is grateful for local support.
“We are so grateful to the city of Del Rio and Interim City Manager Manuel Chavez for donating the use of their building to us for this event,” Halprin told The 830 Times. “We are also very grateful to County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr., the Val Verde County Commissioners Court and Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez for helping our vets and volunteers with much-needed food throughout the clinic as we work 12-plus hour days to spay and neuter even more pets than we did during our first clinic in January.”
During that first clinic, veterinarians working with BAM and Helping Paws Across Borders spayed and neutered 439 local pets.
Halprin said anyone wishing to sign up must email HPABFREECLINIC@GMAIL.COM and provide the following information:
• Owner name
• Town of residence
• Phone number
• Animal name
• Dog or cat
• Male or female
• Estimated weight
• Any medical issues in the past month
She said those registering multiple pets should include the same information for each animal.
“All information is required; incomplete emails may result in your appointment not being scheduled,” Halprin said. “Please send only one initial email. The scheduling team is working hard to get back to everyone as quickly as possible. Sending multiple emails causes confusion in the scheduling process.”
Each pet accepted into the clinic will receive pre-med deworming and anti-anxiety medication, a heart and lung check, surgical preparation, spay or neuter surgery, monitoring with IV fluids, recovery time and post-operative care. Additional services include nail trimming, ear cleaning and tick removal. Pets will also be sent home with medications, flea and tick prevention, heartworm prevention and discharge instructions.
Halprin said the value of a spay surgery ranges from $400 to $700, while neuter procedures typically cost between $350 and $500.
She explained BAM has partnered with Helping Paws Across Borders, a traveling nonprofit mobile surgical clinic staffed by veterinarians, technicians and volunteers from across the country.
“The main Helping Paws Across Borders team drives more than 12 hours from New Mexico with trailers full of equipment for this event,” Halprin said. “We are extremely grateful that the county is helping feed them every day they are here.”
About 40 volunteers are expected to assist with the clinic. The county has allocated $6,000 to provide meals during the five-day event.
BAM is covering housing costs for the visiting volunteers and veterinarians and is continuing to raise funds to offset those expenses.
On March 23, National Puppy Day, Texas Roadhouse will host a “Dine to Donate” event from 3 to 10 p.m. Ten percent of meal proceeds will benefit BAM for customers who present the event flyer.
The organization is also accepting donations of new or gently used linens, which can be dropped off at PetSense or Texas Roadhouse.
