The Big Fix helps control pet population

Melissa DeMoss nearly lost her pit bull when she delivered a litter of 18 pups recently. She knew she was not going to go through that ordeal a again.

So DeMoss turned to The Big Fix, a spay-neuter program that assists pet owners to get their pets fixed.

“It’s an excellent program. It was a blessing in disguise,” said DeMoss, who has had both of her female pit bulls fixed with the help of the program.

“We’ve probably fixed 500 to 600 animals through this program this year, said Porterville Animal Control Officer Augie Gonzalez. In fact, he stressed, the Porterville Animal Shelter is seeing fewer puppies and he attributes that to the program.

He said they had a 50 percent drop in the number of puppies in March from March of 2010.

Program coordinator Angela Vera said Porterville was the only city in the Valley approved to offer the program that is funded by grants such as from the Petco Foundation and the NASCAR race driver Greg Biffle Foundation. It is administered by the Central Valley Coalition for Animals.

Vera said pet owners are asked to pay a share of the costs and that varies depending on the cost of the procedure and their ability to pay. She said spaying or neutering can run from $65 up to $200 depending on the size of the animal and the condition of the animal — such as if the animal is in heat or pregnant.

“We want the individuals to be helped. We don’t want to say no,” added Vera who has overseen hundreds of procedures, even meeting the owners at the vet as they drop off their animal.

Local veterinarians are contracted to do the procedures and that helps to lower the costs.

Gonzalez said animal control picks up 250 to 300 dogs a month. “We’re handling 600 calls a month,” he added.

Of those picked up, about 30 are claimed by their owners and another 100 are shipped out for rescue. “Over 100 a month are put down. Last year Porterville put down just shy of 1,000 dogs,” he said.

The Big Fix is designed to reduce the number of animals that need to be put down. The program has been in place since January and while funding is running short, there is still more to help pet owners.

Vera said the CVC picked Porterville because of the cooperation of volunteers.

To apply for assistance, call 793-6975.