By HANNAH GUNNELL
The Humane Society of Johnson County will break ground on the county’s first full-service low cost spay and neuter clinic next week.
Executive Director Anne Sutton said this project has been in the works for over two years.
“We’re kind of mirroring the low cost clinic on the Low Cost Spay Neuter Clinic in Brownsburg,” Sutton said. “They’ve been my mentors in getting this started. We currently use them as a transport service for the spay and neuter service in our community twice a month. In brainstorming on how to get this started, where to seek funding and those things, we’ve worked closely with Tammy [Sollenberger], the executive director out there. I started meeting with her in August of 2023 and it was amazing how the doors just opened from there.”
A professor from Franklin College reached out to partner on a feasibility study that students needed to complete for that class, which laid the groundwork for HSJC to begin applying for grants. Then they received a $250,000 grant from the Johnson County Community Foundation, which they were able to match with private donations and bequests. Then the Branigin Foundation donated another $86,000, which gave HSJC nearly $600,000 to build an additional 3,200 square feet for the clinic at its current location, 3827 N. Graham Road in Franklin.
There is not a timeline for construction, but a groundbreaking will be held at 10 a.m. Aug. 15 and Sutton is inviting everybody, she said. Brown Construction will be completing the work. She hopes the new clinic will be open by the beginning of next year.
When it does open, HSJC will no longer have to transport animals to Brownsburg to receive spay and neuter service, which also includes the rabies vaccine. This is estimated to save the nonprofit at least $40,000 per year in transportation and service costs, Sutton said.
The plan is to hire one new veterinarian and perform surgeries three days a week.
“We’re looking in the first fiscal year to spay and neuter 3600 animals, which will eliminate over 20,000 unwanted litters, so the impact will be huge,” Sutton said.
This cost would be substantially cheaper to pet owners than if they were to take their dogs and cats to a traditional veterinarian.
“If you were to adopt a female puppy, and you want to get her spay and neutered at a full service vet, and it would include the rabies vaccine, I’d say that’d cost you between $700-$1,200 at a full service or traditional vet — our service, including the rabies vaccine would be $150 for a medium sized female dog, Sutton said.
Sutton added that the Humane Society of Johnson County houses dogs and cats, so the new clinic will help reduce the amount of time an animal stays at the society before getting adopted.
More information about HSJC can be found on its website, https://www.hsjc.org.