Peoria County Animal Protection Services can now provide spay and neuter services around the community with a new mobile service unit.
The unit is outfitted with housing for up to 20 animals, a generator, and the surgical space for two doctors to perform surgeries at the same time.
Spaying and neutering is used to reduce pet overpopulation that contributes to shelter overcrowding and more animal euthanizations.
PCAPS director Rebecca Spencer said the mobile surgical suite is a project that was years in the making.
“For many years, we had a contract with the Peoria County Veterinary Medical Association to provide veterinary services and spay/neuter for the animals in the shelter,” Spencer said, “And as the years have gone by, they've struggled to meet the high demands for spay and neuter surgeries. And so we started to kind of seek out other opportunities”
For now, Spencer said the unit will remain on the PCAPS campus and function as an on-site surgical suite. She said it will be open three days a week and doctors will be able to sterilize 8-10 animals a day.
“We do have the option to go out in the community, [but] at this time, we're really just using it as a surgical suite on site. We do have plans in the future to do some outreach and things like that. But right now, we are just excited to get some surgeries done,” Spencer said.
The introduction of a surgical suite to the PCAPS campus has allowed for the re-implementation of the agency's low-cost spay and neuter service program. Residents can register for the program beginning April 1, as well as the first day of every month after that.
