Calaveras animal services highlights spay/neuter vouchers, microchip and rabies clinics; shelter adoption update

Calaveras County Animal Services (CCAS) used the board’s staff-announcement period to promote spay-and-neuter vouchers, upcoming free microchip and rabies clinics, volunteer activity and recent adoption figures.

Shauna (shelter staff) introduced a dog named Hannah, a recent shelter arrival and nursing mother whose five surviving puppies have already been adopted. Shelter staff used the story to encourage resident participation in CCAS’s voucher program and to recruit foster homes. Shauna said volunteers provided significant care hours in March: dog volunteers logged "over 710 hours" and cat volunteers logged 84.5 hours in March; staff reported the shelter currently had 21 adoptable dogs and four adoptable cats.

CCAS announced a free microchip and rabies clinic at the county government center the coming Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., with Dr. Cathy Gatlin as the attending veterinarian. Additional free clinic dates listed were May 3, June 14, Sept. 13 and Oct. 11. The shelter also said it has spay/neuter vouchers available through a grant shared with the local Humane Society and with Friends of Calaveras Animal Services (FOCUS); staff said the grant has helped more than halfway toward an estimated goal of assisting 1,000 animals and that about $44,400 of a $175,000 grant remained (staff framed amounts during the announcement).

Staff emphasized that all animals adopted from the shelter are spayed or neutered prior to adoption. CCAS asked residents to call (209) 754-6509 for adoption, fostering and voucher appointments and directed interested residents to the county’s CCAS website and the Humane Society for program paperwork.