Brother Wolf launches second low-cost mobile spay-neuter clinic for WNC

Press release from Brother Wolf Animal Rescue:

Brother Wolf Animal Rescue is celebrating the launch of a second, low-cost mobile spay and neuter clinic to serve animals in Western North Carolina. Brother Wolf started its first mobile clinic in November 2018, which performed over 5,000 alteration surgeries last year. Together, the units will average about 180 surgeries each week and will serve nine counties in WNC once the second unit is fully operational.

“Spaying and neutering is essential to lifesaving, so when Fido Fixers asked us if we wanted to launch a second low-cost, spay and neuter mobile clinic in Western North Carolina, we knew we’d jump through any hoops necessary to bring this resource to our community,” said Leah Craig Fieser, Executive Director of Brother Wolf Animal Rescue.

Brother Wolf has been working since fall 2019 to make this second clinic a reality. The unit is leased from Fido Fixers Inc, a nonprofit that provides mobile clinics to partner organizations in the U.S. The unit had to be picked up from Texas, a cross country transport that was made possible by the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®), which sent staff members from the ASPCA Spay/Neuter Alliance in Asheville to bring the unit back to Brother Wolf.

“We often see unwanted litters of dogs and cats relinquished to an already overcrowded shelter system in North Carolina. By providing affordable spay and neuter services, we can prevent unwanted litters and therefore decrease the number of pets who are relinquished to shelters in the first place,” said Holly Amann, Mobile Clinic Director at Brother Wolf Animal Rescue.

Amann, who also oversaw the launching of the first clinic in 2018, said that it quickly became apparent that one clinic wasn’t enough to meet the existing need. “Several of the counties we travel to have no other low-cost spay and neuter resource in their area. We serve not only people’s owned pets in these counties but also the pets who are in the care of animal shelter and foster organizations in that area,” said Amann.

Between the two mobile units, Brother Wolf Animal Rescue intends to provide their services to Alexander, Buncombe, Burke, Haywood, McDowell, Iredell, Rutherford, Transylvania, and Jackson Counties in 2020. In addition to spay and neuter surgeries, the mobile clinic offers vaccines, deworming, microchipping, and heartworm and FIV tests to its patients.

The need for these services in Western North Carolina has only increased during COVID-19. The coronavirus pandemic halted spay and neuter surgeries as communities were forced to suspend non-emergency veterinary services. This has resulted in a huge backlog of unaltered animals. Amann says this is why the second clinic is more critical than ever.

Brother Wolf Animal Rescue raised $90,000 from their donors to cover the start up costs associated with the second clinic. The low-cost fees (all under $75.00) that the nonprofit charges for mobile clinic services cover the ongoing costs, making it a financially sustainable program.

The second mobile clinic will begin serving the public’s animals in August. People who are interested in having their animal spayed/neutered are encouraged to visit www.bwar.org/mobile-clinic for more information. Brother Wolf is currently maintaining a waitlist of animals who are in need of their services. You can sign up to be on that waitlist through their website.