Agency Details:

Community Spay/Neuter Initiative Partnership (C-SNIP)

C-SNIP's mission is to significantly reduce the overpopulation of dogs and cats in West Michigan by providing low-cost spay and neuter services and by supporting all efforts that promote humane population control.

Description:
C-SNIP is a spay/neuter clinic offering affordable pet sterilization surgery to caretakers unable to afford a private vet. C-SNIP is the only agency in West Michigan committed entirely to prevention as the humane solution to pet overpopulation.

History:
In November 1998, a small group of West Michigan Animal Welfare activists met to address the need for a reduced-fee dog and cat sterilization clinic open to the public. They applauded the fact that Kent County has long encouraged sterilization by offering reduced license fees for sterilized dogs and that both the Kent County Animal Shelter and the Humane Society of Kent County required the sterilization of adopted shelter animals long before it became state law. Still, these two shelters are forced to kill many thousands of healthy dogs and cats each year because there are simply too many for the community to absorb.

Most animal control/welfare agencies spend the bulk of their budgets on capturing, accepting, sheltering, feeding, inoculating and adopting their animals and in euthanizing and disposing of the bodies of those unclaimed or unplaced. Nationwide, less than 5% of their budgets is spent on measures to prevent unwanted litters. Yet everyone can agree that preventive measures are essential to progressive animal welfare/control programs.

C-SNIP's founders set out to establish the area's only reduced-fee pet sterilization clinic and decided, for the convenience of its clients, to make it a mobile clinic. They shared their dream with neighborhood leaders, law enforcement personnel, government officials, animal control and rescue groups and officials for the Health Department. All agreed the need was there. C-SNIP researched established spay/neuter programs to determine what would work well in our area. They submitted grants to local and national foundations and received the funding necessary to put a substantial down payment on a fully equipped $100,000 mobile clinic accommodating 28 animals. Just two years after their initial meeting, they took delivery of the clinic.

The Board hired a veterinarian and two assistants who began sterilizing animals for the public in early March 2001.

The overwhelming response for our services, plus the surgery space in the mobile clinic did not allow us to accept large dogs for surgery, prompted C-SNIP to seek a permanent location. In May of 2006, C-SNIP opened the doors of its Kentwood clinic. The clinic, located at 1675 Viewpond was donated by a very generous benefactor. This permanent location has allowed C-SNIP to better serve the community and triple the number of daily sterilizations.

As of 2008, C-SNIP employees two veterinarians, four veterinarian technicians and/or assistants, 4 client service representatives performing up to 65 surgeries a day.

Contact people:

Lori Lockyear, Volunteer Coordinator, (phone), (email) Pam Olsen, Special Projects Manager, (phone), (email) Pat Schoen, Program Director, (phone), (email)

Office fax number: (616) 455-8220

Address:

1675 Viewpond Drive SE Kentwood, MI 49508 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.csnip.org

Directions:

From the intersection of 44th Street SE and Kalamazoo Ave SE, head south on Kalamazoo Ave SE. Travel one block and turn east onto Viewpond Drive SE. Our clinic is the third building on the north side of. . . (more)

Last updated on May 29, 2009