East Tennessee Spay and Neuter cares for low income pets
Published 8:57 am Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Photo Contributed Frank Klein, longtime volunteer and recipient of the pet food pantry
Photo Contributed Carol Brown, on the ETSN Purple Bus volunteering with low cost spay-neuter signups.
Photo Contributed Dr. Gail L. Lane, veterinarian, Denise Shadduck vet assistant, and client "Shadow" owned by Bella Odom being seen on the Critter Care Cruiser.
If you are on a fixed income and need assistance caring for your furry friend, you can come to the Tractor Supply parking lot on Friday from 12-1 p.m. to submit an application with the East Tennessee Spay and Neuter organization.
Those wishing to apply are asked to bring proof of income, either a paystub, a check showing food stamps, etc.
For over 10 years, ETSN, which is a nonprofit, has been aiding low income families of Carter County with care for their pets.
The organization focuses on three main aspects: critter care, which provides transport to veterinary services for vaccines, a food pantry for the animals and low-cost spay and neuter services.
According to Stacey Heiden, Projects and Operations Manager for the group, the goal is to prevent people from losing part of their family.
“It’s important for people to know that these animals are very well loved, and these people didn’t start out getting a pet they couldn’t afford,” she said. “A lot of these people have been with us on the pantry for several years because they fell on hard times, or lost their job or retired on a fixed income and they didn’t want to lose their pet, so they had to go to other alternatives to keep them, which is where we come in.”
Heiden said the organization aims to keep animals in their forever homes.
“We want animals to find their forever home,” she said. “What if they are in their forever home and their family has fallen on hard times. We really believe that once they’re in a good home, we can step in a bit and help them keep that pet happy.”
Food donations are available throughout the county, including the library and also Tractor Supply. The organization does ask for nutritional food like Purina.
“A lot of people who are often struggling will feed their pets the really low grade pet food, whatever they can afford or human food — stuff that’s not really good for the animal, so we are looking for nutritional food to supplement that is beneficial to the animal’s health,” she said.
In addition to donating food, people can also donate supplies, money or even volunteer for the organization.
For more information you can go to www.etnspay-neuter.org.
