Benton City nonprofit treats 25,000th animal

A local nonprofit that provides low-cost spay and neuter services recently treated its 25,000th animal.

A gray-and-white kitten named Sarah was spayed Dec. 8, bringing Prevent Homeless Pets in Benton City to the milestone number.

And the organization shows no signs of slowing down.

Its spay and neuter clinic appointments this week are booked up — in fact, “the last several months we’ve been scheduling out up to a month in advance,” said Harriet Johnson, the group’s director.

It’s what the group wants to see. Prevent Homeless Pets’ mission is to save the lives of homeless dogs and cats by increasing access to affordable and high-quality spay and neuter services.

The group performs the surgeries on unowned dogs and cats, including feral, stray and abandoned animals and those from shelters and rescues.

It also spays and neuters pets owned by people with low incomes.

It’s in the midst of its annual “Stitch-in-Time” fundraising campaign, with the money raised between Dec. 1 and Jan. 15 matched by some supporters.

The goal is to raise $18,000, bringing the total to $36,000 with the match, to cover equipment maintenance and recurring expenses such as rent, utilities, veterinary licensing, insurance and staff, Johnson said.

Prevent Homeless Pets formed in 2009.

Johnson had been volunteering in a shelter and was heartbroken after a cat she’d bonded with was euthanized to make room for several strays who’d been dumped in a rural area.

“I thought, ‘I can’t do this anymore. It’s too hard on your heart. But then I thought, ‘if I don’t do something, who will?’ ” she said.

The group worked out of borrowed or rented space before moving into its own clinic at 812 Della Ave. in Benton City in 2013.

Johnson said 2016 has been a good year, with more procedures than the year before — 4,786 cats and 1,085 dogs spayed or neutered as of Dec. 15.

To donate, go to preventhomelesspets.org or mail a check to the group at 812 Della Ave., Benton City, WA 99320.

This story was originally published December 27, 2016 at 6:22 PM with the headline "Benton City nonprofit treats 25,000th animal."