ASPCA Celebrates Grand Opening of ASPCA Spay/Neuter Clinic In Glendale, Queens

NEW YORK--The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) today announced the grand opening of its new stationary spay/neuter clinic located in Glendale, Queens.* The clinic will focus on providing spay/neuter services for animal rescuers with free-roaming/feral cats and rescued dogs and cats, but will spay/neuter owned large-breed dogs by appointment, as well as handle emergency walk-ins.

"The opening of our stationary Spay/Neuter Clinic is a tremendous addition to the ASPCA's spay/neuter program," said Aimee Christian, vice president of spay/neuter operations for the ASPCA. "We will be able to perform approximately 10,000 more surgeries each year, in addition to the 30,000 we handle aboard our five mobile clinics, for a total of 40,000. This will reduce the number of puppies and kittens born without homes and move us closer to our ultimate objective--to end dog and cat homelessness in New York City."

The ASPCA clinic will focus on providing spay/neuter services for animal rescuers with free-roaming/feral

cats and rescued dogs and cats, but will also spay/neuter owned large-breed dogs by appointment, as well as handle emergency walk-ins. The clinic is an interim facility that will operate through 2012, when the ASPCA expects to complete construction of a permanent spay/neuter clinic at its Manhattan headquarters.

The new clinic is outfitted with modern equipment and works in tandem with the ASPCA's transport service, which provides free rides to spay/neuter candidates, including feral cats and cats and dogs from local rescue groups, with a minimum of 20 animals.

"These transport services and our new Queens clinic are part of a larger effort to make high-quality spay/neuter services accessible and affordable to all cats and dogs in New York City," added Christian.

A notable benefit of the opening of the Glendale facility is the projected increase in the number of spay/neuter surgeries performed specifically on feral cats. Last year, the ASPCA performed 7,000 surgeries on feral cats; the new clinic could help the ASPCA triple that number. The ASPCA will work with several Trap/Neuter/Return (TNR) organizations in order to effectively target free-roaming/feral cats in the five boroughs.

The ASPCA clinic will perform surgeries Tuesday through Saturday and will provide transportation for rescuers and feral cat TNR programs located in the five boroughs.

The Glendale facility will also allow for an influx of owned animal surgeries, because it creates openings on the ASPCA's network of Mobile Spay/Neuter Clinics, which will continue to travel the five boroughs and now will exclusively service owned dogs and cats.

Additional services available at the ASPCA's Glendale Spay/Neuter Clinic include:

• Feral cat trap rentals
• Flea and tick medication
• Antibiotics when appropriate
• Nail trimming
• Microchipping
• E-Collars
• Overnight recovery services for ASPCA-transported animals
• Plastic pet carrier loans

To help equip the surgical suites of the Glendale clinic and aid in the successful opening of the ASPCA Spay/Neuter Clinic, the ASPCA recently received a $125,000 grant from PetSmart Charities, Inc., which helped purchase much needed medical equipment and supplies.

For more information on the ASPCA's spay/neuter program, please call (877) SPAY-NYC.

*The clinic's actual mailing address is 70-25 83rd Street in Ridgewood, Queens 11385.