By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Wood County has been asked to join the “Big Fix” program to spay and neuter dogs. The pilot program in Lucas County last year resulted in more than 400 dogs being fixed, according to Steve Serchuk, a volunteer with the program.
“It will make the county safer,” Serchuk told the Wood County Commissioners last week. “It will save the county money. It will lead to more people licensing their pets.”
Serchuk said Lucas County started the spay-neuter program after determining that almost one-third of the 57,617 licensed dogs in the county were not fixed. “We were blown away,” he said.
So Lucas County, Toledo and the Toledo Community Foundation chipped in $9,000 each to reach out to the areas with the highest population of dogs that hadn’t been spayed or neutered. The goal was to fix 350 dogs – but the program exceeded expectations and 409 dogs were spayed or neutered.
The success led Lucas County to apply for a matching grant of $25,000, and ask Wood County to join the project by chipping in $7,500 to have the amount matched by the grant. Wood County has approximately 21,000 licensed dogs. The funding would provide for 200 to 225 dogs being fixed.
Serchuk said the county would benefit from more dogs being fixed. He presented the following information:
- 60 to 90 percent of dog attacks involve intact male dogs.
- Spayed and neutered dogs are less likely to roam and their behavior is better.
- “This will deal with the cause of pet overpopulation, not the result,” he said.
The average cost to fix a dog ranges from $100 to $250, with the costs being highest for large female dogs. “People will spay and neuter their dogs if the cost is cheap enough,” Serchuk said. “It’s not a macho thing. They don’t have the money.”
The average cost to fix a dog with Humane Ohio is $75.
Most people who take their dogs to veterinarians and can afford the cost, already have their dogs spayed or neutered, he told the county commissioners. This program is for those who don’t have the money to spare.
“It’s one less dog that can reproduce. It’s one less dog that is probably going to roam,” Serchuk said.
Ohio allows counties to charge more for licenses for unfixed dogs, but neither Wood nor Lucas counties have opted to do that. The “Big Fix” is a more positive way to tackle the problem, according to Serchuk. “This is a carrot approach,” he said.
To expand the program to Wood County, Serchuk asked that county take the following steps:
- Commit to the $7,500 for the matching grant.
- Add a line to the dog license application form asking if the dog is spayed or neutered.
- Insert a coupon into the license renewal applications.
Wood County Administrator Andrew Kalmar said the county auditor would have to be consulted to see if the forms could be changed, and the prosecutor would have to approve the spending of public funds on the program.
Serchuk, a cat person himself, said his only motivation is to improve the region for humans and animals. “My incentive is to make this a better place for people and pets.”
