Department of Health responds to spay & neuter clinic concerns

San Carlos — Recently it has come to the attention of the Department of Health and Human Services that there may be some citizens concerned with the spay and neuter clinics being held at the San Carlos Boys and Girls club. We wish to address these concerns, and explain that the point of the clinics is not to put the health of animals over the health of people, but rather to directly improve the health of San Carlos residents, especially our children.

There is currently an epidemic of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) on the San Carlos reservation, which has affected many families.

It is already responsible for the death of two people just since March.

RMSF is spread by ticks that live on dogs, and the spay and neuter programs being carried out at the Boys and Girls club will help save lives.

The clinics are being hosted by two separate entities: the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association-Rural Area Veterinary Services program (RAVS) group, a non-profit veterinary outreach program offering community service and veterinary education to bring FREE veterinary services to underserved rural communities and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), a government organization committed to improving the lives of all Americans.

To date, the RAVS program has hosted two clinics in 2012: the first clinic in March provided wellness and immunization services to the pets of San Carlos and the second clinic, which was held the week of May 14th, provided primarily spay and neuter services. The May clinic alone provided over $69,950.00 of services to the people of San Carlos; combined with the wellness clinic in March, $112,000 worth of veterinary services has been provided free-of-charge in 2012 alone.

The spay and neuter clinic taking place at the Boys and Girls club during the month of June is being hosted by the CDC as part of the ongoing Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) Rodeo project taking place on San Carlos, in cooperation with the San Carlos Department of Health and Human Services. Like the RAVS clinics, the spay and neuter program is provided free of charge, and aims to spay or neuter up to 400 dogs. The RMSF Rodeo project is currently for Peridot Heights residents; the Peridot area was chosen by the San Carlos tribal council because it has the most number of cases of RMSF. If the trial project works, the tribe will consider expanding the program in future years.

For the complete article see the 06-13-2012 issue.

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