Spay and neuter services available in-house at Juneau Animal Rescue

A tabby cat photographed at Juneau Animal Rescue on July 21 2022, Juneau Alaska (Photo by Paige Sparks/KTOO)

Juneau Animal Rescue is resuming spay and neuter services for cats and dogs. The services are in-house at the rescue for the first time since 2014.

Samantha Blankenship is the executive director of Juneau Animal Rescue. She said they are offering a variety of price ranges depending on income. Cats and smaller dogs can get fixed for prices as low as $55 for male cats and $130 for male dogs, if pet owners qualify.

“But we also are offering spaying and neutering for full price to people as well, because we know the veterinary shortage in town is real,” Blankenship said. “The money from that goes back in to help the animals here at the shelter.”

Samantha Blankenship holds a recently fixed cat at the Juneau Animal Rescue Center on July 21, 2022. (Photo by Paige Sparks/KTOO)

Blankenship said that nationally, nearly 3 million fewer pets than expected were spayed or neutered over the course of the pandemic, according to a recent study

In Juneau, the impacts were clear. Juneau Animal Rescue had been offering low-cost services at Southeast Alaska Animal Medical Center until they closed in April. This summer, Juneau Animal Rescue had its highest number of cats in need of homes in two decades

The spay and neuter services are limited to healthy animals that aren’t considered senior in age. The clinic won’t be doing blood work on animals to determine their health before spaying or neutering them. 

“Right now, we’re getting people in pretty quickly,” Blankenship said. “So now is a good time to book your appointment.”

Blankenship said pet owners should bring paperwork with them that shows they qualify as low-income, along with any vaccine paperwork.

Applications are at juneauanimalrescue.org/spay-neuter.

Yvonne Krumrey

Local News Reporter, KTOO

Juneau is built on hidden and assumed layers of power and access, influencing how we interact with identity, with the law and with each other. I bring you stories of the gaps in access to power, and those who are working to close those gaps.

Sign up for The Signal

Top Alaska stories delivered to your inbox every week

Read next

Site notifications
Update notification options
Subscribe to notifications