Sterling Shelter Clinic

We are committed to providing low cost spay/neuter and other veterinary services to privately owned animals, shelters, rescues, and animal control officers. By bringing your pet/s here to our clinic to be spayed or neutered, you are also helping care for the homeless pets in our shelter. All monies generated from the clinic goes to help the homeless animals in our care! PLEASE READ THE MYTHS ON LO

W COST SPAY NEUTER SERVICES HERE http://sterlingshelterclinic.org/myths-on-low-cost/

Our veterinary clinic is located at the Animal Shelter Inc. We offer many programs for both shelters, rescues, animal control officers as well as the general public. Vaccines and micro-chipping are also available at the time of surgery. THIS PROGRAM IS NOT LIMITED TO INCOME REQUIREMENTS. A valid rabies vaccine is mandatory per state law before or can be administered at the shelter same day before surgery. For more information/questions or to schedule an appointment please email [email protected] or call at 978-422-8449. Here are just some of the programs our clinic offers:

Pediatric Spay/Neuter Program – Established February, 1999 - Our shelter has maintained a 100% compliance rate on spay/neuter of all animals before they leave the shelter. This includes puppies and kittens as young as 8 weeks UNLESS there is a MEDICAL necessity that would cause fatal complications or risk the pet's life. Early age spay / neuter is the surgical sterilization of companion animals prior to the conventional age of 6 months. For shelters it can mean 100% sterilization compliance rates, fewer returned animals, and improved staff morale

Spay Your Mama & Neuter Your Daddy– Established January 2001 – our shelter provides low/no cost spaying/neutering for pet owners that have recently surrendered a litter. Pets who enter this program must meet specific criteria for our services. It is our goal to accept the litter (where they will be spayed/neutered and receive any necessary medical prior to adoption), spay the mother (and/or neuter the father) dog/cat so they do not become repeat offenders of continual litters reproducing in our community. Prior to instituting this program, we repeatedly saw multiple litters of puppies/kittens coming from the same household. We have spayed hundreds of dogs/cats that would have otherwise kept delivering puppies/kittens in to our community. IF YOU KNOW OF A PET THAT WOULD BENEFIT FROM THIS PROGRAM PLEASE CONTACT OUR SHELTER 978-422-8585 or email [email protected]

Rescue Group Assistance – Established 2003 - our shelter clinic provides low cost spay/neuter and medical care for several dozen N.E. Animal organizations that do not have funds or veterinary care available to them. This program allows organizations to adopt out pets maintaining a 100% compliance rate on spay/neuter PRIOR to adoption. To date our clinic has performed thousands of surgeries/treatments and medical procedures for several dozen groups. Additionally, our shelter collects and donates thousands of pounds of pet food and supplies each month for animal welfare organizations in need and less fortunate than ours. Veterinary Training Program - Established January 2005 – Updated program in 2012 - Tufts University 4th year vet students spend one week rotations in our on-site shelter veterinary clinic providing them hands on surgical experience. Over 60 students rotate through this program each year where they perform several dozen spays/neuters and other miscellaneous surgical procedures they would never be permitted to do in a private practice vet hospital. We have the opportunity to educate the students about pet overpopulation problems, pediatric spay/neuter procedures and protocols (practiced in few veterinary hospitals/shelters throughout all of the United States), shelter medicine and herd health/management. New graduates will leave school with a sense of accomplishment and passion and we hope "give back" to the homeless animals in their community in the future. Many of our externs have gone on to specialize and focus in shelter medicine and are currently working with shelters nationally! In addition, many of the students have gone on to develop official Shelter Medicine programs in their own Colleges which proves that this program is extremely beneficial. Feline Feral Fix – Established 2010 – offering low cost spay/neuter for feral cats. Ferals lives are short and usually harsh. They struggle to find food and water in an environment filled with the constant threats of disease, starvation, cruelty and predation. They are the abandoned, the lost and the wild. The number of feral cats in the U.S. is estimated to be in the tens of millions. Sadly, many communities still opt to control populations using outdated methods, including lethal elimination or relocation. Not only are some of these methods horribly cruel, they are also highly ineffective. Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) as the only proven humane and effective method to manage feral cat colonies. For more information/questions or to schedule an appointment please call 978-422-8449 or email [email protected]

Spay – 4 – M.A.. – Spring 2013 – our on-site veterinary clinic offers low cost spay/neuter for friendly, healthy dogs and cats to the public. Vaccination and micro-chipping are optional, but to participate in the program, pets must receive spay or neuter services. Most importantly - This program is NOT limited by income requirements. The clinic can discuss options for pricing on other vaccines/tests – a valid RABIES vaccine is mandatory per state law before or at the shelter before we surgery. Our staff veterinarian has the right to refuse surgery if the pet is aggressive/sick. For more information/questions or to schedule an appointment please call 978-422-8449 or email [email protected]. Please NOTE: This program is NOT designed to replace your current annual veterinary annual exam and general care.