EUGENE, OREGON – (February 27, 2023) – February is spay/neuter awareness month and Tuesday, February 28 is the 28^th annual World Spay Day, an international campaign that encourages people to save lives by spaying and neutering companion animals and community cats.  Greenhill Humane Society works year-round to promote the importance of spaying and neutering and offers spay/neuter services to free roaming cats. Last year, Greenhill’s surgical team performed over 2,058 spay/neuter surgeries.

In addition to reducing unwanted or unplanned animal pregnancies, spaying or neutering an animal improves the overall behavior and health of animals. Spaying prevents female cats from night-time pacing and loud vocalizations while in heat. Spaying female dogs prior to their first heat cycle prevents uterine infections, uterine cancer, and breast cancer. Neutering males prevents spraying, humping, aggression, and the urge to roam. It also prevents testicular cancer and prostate gland disease and infections. 

“Through education and outreach, Greenhill works to raise awareness of the importance of spaying and neutering companion animals to help reduce unwanted births and improve pets’ health. All dogs, cats, and rabbits are spayed/neutered at our shelter prior to adoption,” said Sarah Bouzad, Greenhill’s Community Engagement & Events Manager. “We also spay and neuter free-roaming community cats through our trap-neuter-return (TNR) program, which helps prevent overpopulation and controls the spread of disease.”

Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is a method of humanely trapping, sterilizing and returning free-roaming cats to live out the rest of their natural lives. This technique has shown to be the most effective and humane solution for feral cat colony management.

Greenhill’s TNR program Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) Program (https://www.green-hill.org/spay-and-neuter-resources/) started in 2009 and since then has provided over 10,000 surgeries to outdoor, unowned, free-roaming cats in Lane County. The program includes low-cost spay/neuter surgery, vaccinations (FVRCP & Rabies), flea and other parasite treatment, an “ear tip” (the removal of 3/8 of an inch from the right ear which is the universally accepted symbol of a sterilized animal), long-lasting pain medication, education, and free humane trap rental. Financial assistance for caretakers may be available through grant funding or the donations of generous supporters.

At the end of 2022, Greenhill welcomed their new Director of Surgery, Rachel Powell, DVM to join their Veterinary Surgery program. Dr. Powell graduated from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 2002 and has spent much of her career in mixed-animal and equine practices. In 2018, she transitioned to shelter medicine and completed the Maddie’s Fund UW/UCD Shelter Medicine Fellowship in 2019. Dr. Powell finds all aspects of shelter medicine to be professionally and personally rewarding but she has special interest in the TNR program to help manage community cat populations and reduce the overall number of cats and kittens in shelters.

In addition to spay/neuter surgeries, Dr. Powell’s team provides necessary life-saving surgeries for the thousands of homeless, neglected, and abused animals that come to the shelter each year. In total, over 2,225 surgeries were performed by the team last year.

Greenhill’s medical care, including the ability to perform spay/neuter surgeries, is supported by generous donors. Monetary donations allow Greenhill Humane Society to provide the Trap-Neuter-Return program to those who need financial assistance. Click here (https://www.green-hill.org/donate) to donate.

To learn more about Greenhill Humane Society and the Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program, visit www.green-hill.org.