The Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA spayed or neutered nearly 7,100 cats and dogs in 2011.
That compares with 4,970 last year.
Some days the staff at the shelter performs up to 50 surgeries, said Executive Director Susanne Kogut.
Kogut said the spayings and neuterings have helped contribute to a drop in the number of animals taken in annually, from about 5,000 each year to fewer than 4,000.
The shelter spays or neuters virtually every animal it adopts out, along with some animals from the community. The animals of the community are “fixed” at a subsidized rate.
“Especially with the economy and the other things that people are focused on, the cost of spay/neuter just can be too much for people,” Kogut said.
Shelter officials also offer specials when there aren’t too many animals needing to be spayed or neutered and for animals they’re seeing a glut of in the community.
At the moment, the shelter is offering free procedures for pit bulls and cats.
There’s also a small program, which officials hope to expand, that goes into poor communities (so far mostly mobile home parks) and knocks on doors looking for pets to spay or neuter.
People in those communities often lack both the money to have the procedures done at a vet and the transportation to get the pets to the shelter to have it done at a reduced rate, Kogut said.
Kogut said people have been receptive to and thankful for the program.
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