PROPOSED

Amount Requested:
$5,000.00

Proposed Program Target:
Owned Cats, Feral Cats

Estimate Geographic Area Served:
Blaine, Camas, Cassia, Goodies, Jerome, Lincoln, Minidoka, Twin Falls

Estimated Time to Use:
6 months

Estimated Surgeries:
53

Estimated Owned Cats:
18

Estimated TNR Cats:
35

Estimated Owned Dogs:
0

Estimated Average Cat Spay Cost:
$162.50

Estimated Average Cat Neuter Cost:
$107.50

Estimated Highest Cat Spay Cost:
$230.00

Estimated Highest Cat Neuter Cost:
$160.00

Estimated Average Dog Spay Cost:
N/A

Estimated Average Dog Neuter Cost:
N/A

Estimated Highest Dog Spay Cost:
N/A

Estimated Highest Dog Neuter Cost:
N/A

Estimated Additional Costs:
(Vaccines, Deworming, Parasite Treatments)
$4,030.00

Estimated # of Veterinary Hospitals:
2-3

Estimated Average Wait Time for Surgery:
30 days

Estimated % of People Using Their Vet:
Not Estimated

Estimated % of People Without an Established Vet:
Not Estimated

Estimated Marketing Plan:
Social media, Website, Flyers

Estimated Collaboration:
Magicats, Inc.

SPRING 2024 PET LOVERS FUND
END OF GRANT REPORT
FOR CLOWDER 9 RANCH

GRANT PROPOSAL VS. FINAL STATISTICS

PROGRAM AND GENERAL REQUESTS REPORT 

1)   Briefly restate the plan outlined in the original request.  Were any modifications to the plan necessary?  If so, please describe.  What effects have the modifications had?

Clowder 9 Ranch’s original plan, as proposed in March 2024, was to use grant resources from the Pet Lover’s fund to spay and neuter owned and feral cats in the Region 5 area of Southern Idaho.  Our original request was for $5,000 in funding to spay approximately 25 cats and neuter approximately 28 cats, for a total of 53 cats being altered.  Our original proposal was written focusing on feral and community cats, and we intended to spay or neuter 35 unowned community cats.  Our secondary focus was to assist cat owners with low or no-cost spay and neuter financing options, and we estimated that we could help 18 owned cats.  When writing our proposal, we estimated that we would work with 2 to 3 different veterinary hospitals in the Southern Idaho region, but the hospital agreements had yet to be secured at the time of submission due to a lack of response or interest from local veterinary hospitals.

In April 2024, Clowder 9 Ranch was awarded $3,300 in grant funds from the Pet Lover’s Fund to assist in spaying and neutering cats in the Region 5 area of Southern Idaho.  The $1,700 difference from our request to our award immediately resulted in a modification to our original plan and would subsequently reduce the number of cats we would be able to spay or neuter.

A second modification to our proposal arose when our first request was to help spay a female dog in Buhl, ID.  Our original proposal did not account for assisting owned dogs, but the apparent and real need for these services encouraged us to help dog owners in addition to owned and feral cats.  Our inclusion of owned dogs also meant that our grant funds would be exhausted sooner, as it is expected for a dog spay or neuter to be double the cost of a cat.

A third, but anticipated, modification was the need to find veterinary clinics willing to participate in these spay and neuter programs.  While we had not estimated how many requests for financial assistance would come from people who were established with a local veterinarian, our final results reveal that just 25% of the requestors had a veterinary hospital they could use.  The other 75% were not established patients with a local veterinarian and were not able to get established due to the veterinarians not accepting new patients.  Although Clowder 9 Ranch has an established relationship with West End Veterinary Clinic in Buhl, ID, following the spay of our second owned dog, the management informed us that we would no longer be able to use them for dog spays or neuters, and asked us to limit the number of female cats brought in under the grant.  This request was made due to limited veterinarians and their surgery schedules already being overloaded with established patients.  Additionally, the clinic was concerned that the owners would infer that a client-patient relationship had been established because their dog or cat was spayed or neutered at their clinic.  Following this request, we sought other veterinary hospitals that would be willing to help spay and neuter dogs and were met with resistance and refusal.  In the end, we utilized West End Vet strictly for neutering male cats and we have been able to rely heavily on Mountain Humane in Hailey, ID, to spay and neuter dogs, and Blue Cross Animal Hospital in Burley, ID spay female cats.

The effects of these modifications are seen in fewer animals being spayed or neutered due to one-third less in funds awarded versus requested, coupled with the organizational choice to allow and accept dogs as part of our program.  Additionally, the modification of finding alternate veterinary services proved frustrating and limited, but we feel confident that we now have a solid foundation for the future of this program.

2)   What methods or strategies are being used to gather data on the program?  Are there any findings of interest?  If so, please elaborate.

Clowder 9 Ranch has implemented an online request form to gather data from requestors.  This online form captures data from the requesting party regarding their receipt of government assistance, military or veteran status, and any monetary contributions they can afford to pay for their animal’s surgery.  Our online form also asks how they heard about us, if they have an established veterinarian, and if they can provide their own transportation on the day of the surgery.  We have a section in this application to gather history on their pet, including species, gender, age, and vaccine history.  The submission of our online form serves as the official “request date” and allows us to track the days between a request and when the surgery is performed.

While the online application represents the initial request, the final invoice for services represents the completed request.  The data we extrapolate from these invoices includes the cost of the surgery, any additional procedures related to the spay or neuter, pain medication administered or sent home, and any preventative treatments such as vaccines or deworming.

Considering that this was our first year receiving grant funds and offering spay and neuter assistance, we had not formed any expectations or anticipated outcomes.  However, as we close our first offering, we have noted some interesting findings.

a)   75% of the people requesting assistance did not have an established veterinarian and could not get established.  This finding does not surprise us considering the ratio of veterinarians to pet owners in the Twin Falls County area.

b)   We are surprised, and honored, that 42% of the requests we received were by referral from another local rescue and 34% were referred by family or friends.  17% heard about our program through social media, and 7% noted Other.

c)   Although the average time between the request date and the day of surgery is 62 days, this number does not necessarily reflect the unavailability of the veterinary hospital, in fact, we found that many of them could accommodate surgery within 28 to 35 days.  The primary factor of this average of 62 days stems from kittens specifically being too young at the time of request.  Another factor that increased this average was the need for four dogs to delay surgery due to family emergencies.

d)   Our original proposal outlined the average costs anticipated for a cat spay and a cat neuter.  These averages were compiled from the lowest quoted price and the highest quoted price of each procedure.  We are pleasantly surprised to find that our actual averages for feline spays and neuters were approximately $40 less than estimated.  We feel this is due to exclusively using West End Vet for feline neuters, as they offer the best value in the Twin Falls region.  Since we had not anticipated spaying and neutering dogs, the average costs of those procedures were not addressed, but I feel confident that Mountain Humane provides exceptional services at discounted rates to non-profits.

3)      Lessons Learned:  What do you consider to be the greatest strength(s) of the program?  What do you consider to be the most important concern(s) – apart from finances – currently facing the program?

PROGRAM STRENGTH - The flexibility provided by the grant foundation to the grant recipients to distribute their awarded funds in ways that best serve their specific community gives great strength to this program.  Organizations can design a distribution program that best suits their capacity and capability and is also beneficial to the recipients.  Some organizations participate using the voucher method and offer set dollar amount vouchers to be used within a certain time frame.   While other organizations may pre-pay a contracted veterinary clinic their full grant award, and then offer appointments for a certain number of surgeries as budgeted by their proposal.  Clowder 9 Ranch implemented a “pay as you go” strategy since we utilized multiple veterinary clinics in the area.  We would either pre-pay based on the quote or contact the clinic the day of or after surgery to settle the bill.  This method worked very well for us and allowed us to manage the grant funds properly and completely as per the grant requirements.

PROGRAM CONCERN - As mentioned in an earlier section of this final grant report, the greatest concern we face in using this program is the availability and willingness of participating veterinarians in the area.  75% of the grant recipients did not have an established veterinary relationship and were unable to secure one.  The 25% of those who were established with a veterinarian chose to use that vet, but were open to using another vet if they could get in sooner.

At the time of my grant submission, I contacted four of the nine veterinary hospitals in Twin Falls County to discuss using their clinics for spaying and neutering.  Three of those hospitals politely declined any participation and the fourth never responded.  We are fortunate to have West End Vet established for feline neuters and the occasional feline spay.  Most of these can be scheduled within 21 days of the initial request.  However, due to their overwhelming schedule, they have asked us to find alternate clinics to perform the dog spays and neuters.  Clowder 9 Ranch is also established with Fairview Vet in Buhl, but they too suffer from an overwhelming schedule and their wait times were two to three times that of West End.  Fortunately, Mountain Humane in Hailey, ID is happy to help and provides our non-profit with a significant discount.  The one downside to this is the distance the owners must drive to obtain these services.  However, at the time of the report, there were no complaints or cancellations, and the recipients were happy to do their part in getting their pet spayed or neutered, especially since there was little to no cost on their part.  Their average wait time for an appointment is 30 days.

A second concern is evident in the costs of the procedures and services depending on the veterinary hospital.  West End Vet, Fairview Vet, and Mountain Humane offer quality services at reasonable prices for spay/neuter and preventative treatments such as vaccines and deworming.  Other veterinary hospitals in the area quoted us nearly three times the amount of a neuter at West End and two and half times the cost of a spay.  Additionally, we were appalled by the costs of preventative vaccines at some clinics; a Rabies vaccine was $59, as was a lifesaving FVRCP combo vaccine.  At a time when diseases such as panleukopenia and canine parvovirus are on the rise, and rapidly mutating upper respiratory viruses are spreading like wildfire, it begs the question, “Why are preventative vaccines like Rabies, which can only be given by a vet, marked up nearly 2,500%, or a feline combo vaccine four times that of one purchased at a local feed store?”.  What is the message these clinics are sending?  Interpretation is subjective, but to an average middle-class working person, the message I hear is “we place a priority on money over the well-being of your pet.”  Fortunately, the three clinics we will continue to work with offer excellent services at very reasonable prices.

4)      As applicable, explain any plans for ongoing funding, expansion, modification, or replication of the program.

We at Clowder 9 Ranch are incredibly pleased with the results of this preliminary program offering.  As first-time Pet Lover’s Grant recipients, we had several wrinkles to iron out regarding the who, what, where, when, and how.  During this cycle, we have been able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of our program, and as we get ready to move to the next cycle, we intend to capitalize on our strengths and fine-tune our weaknesses.

Our online submission form has been one of our greatest strengths and allows us to capture all pertinent data in one easy-to-use application.  We will continue to utilize that in all future program offerings.

Another strength that came from this pilot program is the ability to expand our program offerings to include owned dogs.  Owned dogs comprised 23% of our total number of animals spayed and neutered.  We will continue this in all future program offerings.

We are pleased and comfortable with our payment and accounting methods and will continue to work on a pay-as-we-spay program.  This method allows us to account for all money spent and properly budget for future surgeries without leaving money on the table or overextending ourselves.

Throughout the pilot program, we routinely evaluated the participation of local veterinary hospitals, the services they could offer, and the price of these services.  A future modification we intend to implement is to utilize West End Vet for our feline neuters and the occasional feline spay, and if available, Fairview Vet for the same.  Mountain Humane will be our primary and preferred clinic for spaying dogs, and Blue Cross Animal Hospital will be our primary and preferred clinic for spaying cats.  These four clinics provide quality services at exceptionally reasonable prices and have established fair and clear boundaries making our scheduling protocol more streamlined and consistent.

Concerning ongoing funding and year-round program offerings, we are exploring the idea of continual fundraising, additional grants, and have considered seeking funds from local city and county councils through surplus budget funds.  In the meantime, our first plan is to submit again for the Pet Lover’s Fund and let this unique and extraordinary program serve as the foundation for our spay and neuter assistance program.

5)      List other funding sources and amounts received during this period for this program.

IN CLOSING

Clowder 9 Ranch is incredibly grateful to have been awarded $3,300 in grant funds from the Spring 2024 Pet Lover’s Fund offering.  We are pleased with the results of our pilot program offering and take considerable pride in knowing we helped spay and neuter 31 animals in the Twin Falls County area.  This pilot program has allowed us to explore and consider the many strengths and weaknesses surrounding the spay and neuter services within our community.  Going forward, we intend to capitalize on our strengths of helping both dogs and cats, seeking increased and future funding to offer a year-round program, and properly managing our budget to spay and neuter as many dogs and cats as possible.  We intend to nurture and fine-tune any weaknesses and make them our strengths.  This will include continuing to build strong and respected relationships with the veterinary clinics we work with and serve as an example to other organizations to expand our collaboration efforts.  A lesson we learned throughout this journey is that “If everyone did just one small thing, together we can do many big things.”