Crossville’s A Time 4 Paws Spay and Neuter Clinic has openings for residents in need of services for their animals.
Clinic President Karen McMeekin said the clinic provides affordable spay and neuter surgeries along with other services for local dogs and cats. McMeekin said the clinic needs more clients, as the clinic could lose its veterinarian due to a lack of workload. McMeekin said that without a veterinarian, the clinic would not be able to continue offering spay and neuter services.
“We think that if we can keep offering these services to people, it will keep more animals out of the shelter, it will keep them off the streets, and it will stop them from multiplying if we have the low-cost spay and neuter right here in our town,” McMeekin said.
McMeekin said the clinic received the Tennessee Animal Friendly Grant, which eliminates or reduces the cost for spay and neuter services for low-income families. McMeekin said the clinic is also offering regular low fees in an attempt to get more surgeries scheduled.
Those looking for affordable spay and neuter services can schedule an appointment by calling A Time 4 Paws Spay and Neuter Clinic or schedule online via their website.
McMeekin said the current veterinarian is the fourth vet the clinic has had since the spay and neuter clinic opened about a year ago. McMeekin said vet shortages are a major factor in why acquiring and retaining veterinarians is difficult.
“The others were coming and helping us one day a week, for close to six months,” McMeekin said. “They would do other jobs, and then we would have a relief vet, which cost us even more money. We were paying up to $1,000 a day for a veterinarian to come to do 30 surgeries, and that’s really, really expensive. But they had to come from Knoxville or Chattanooga, and so they were trying to fit us in their schedule as a relief veterinarian. This veterinarian is wonderful, and she is good at what she does, and she has a good history, and we really want to retain her, so we’ve got to schedule, and we’ve got to have clients coming.”
McMeekin said even though Cumberland County has a good animal shelter, stray cats and dogs are becoming more of an issue. McMeekin said spay and neuter services are expensive nowadays, which is why most pets are not spayed, neutered, or often abandoned.
“With the public having to pay $400-$500 to get a dog fixed at a regular GP, which is a General Practice veterinarian, they can’t afford it,” McMeekin said. “So, having a clinic like ours in our community is absolutely the most important part of what our organization has been doing all of these 20 years.
