Animal Rescue League of Boston’s Spay Waggin’ once again coming to Fall River this week

On Tuesday, November 21, the Animal Rescue League of Boston’s Spay Waggin’ will once again be in Fall River to spay/neuter nearly two dozen animals as part of an ongoing collaborative effort with ARL, the Massachusetts Animal Fund (MAF), and Fall River Animal Control.

This collaboration has a become vital resource for the Fall River pet community.

Since 2018, Fall River Animal Control has hosted the clinic in collaboration with ARL and MAF. The surgeries are under the MAF voucher program, which distributes vouchers to qualifying low-income pet owners to subsidize the cost of the important procedure. More than 150 animals have received surgeries through these clinics since the collaboration began five years ago.

Due to high demand, many clients have been on a waiting list for a number of months to have their pets spayed or neutered, and ARL is pleased to once again be providing this vital service that’s greatly needed in the Fall River Community.

“Fall River is already a struggling community, but since the pandemic, it seems as if getting spay/neuter services has proven to be even more difficult,” said Cynthia Berard-Cadima, Fall River Animal Control Officer. “People contact us daily, asking for funds. Many are out of work and our homeless community is growing. We are stretching every dime and our veterinarians are donating time and services more than ever.”

Clients will begin arriving with their animals around 8:30 a.m. and will be picking up their animals in the afternoon following surgery and recovery time.

Clinics like this that provide subsidized spay and neuter services are at the core of MAF, which is primarily funded by the voluntary tax check off (Line 33f) on the Massachusetts resident income tax form. Since 2014, the MAF voucher program has helped provide spay and neuter services for more than 17,500 animals.