I need your best spay/neuter promotions

I need your best ideas.

Kansas City is very lucky to have a couple of great low-cost spay/neuter facilities that target low-income areas of the city.

Like many cities, Kansas City has an over-abundance of bully-breeds entering our shelters -- which is even more problematic here because about 35% of our metro population cannot adopt the bullies because they are illegal in those communities.

One of our spay/neuter facilities is a stand-alone spay/neuter facility. It's not a rescue, shelter or affiliated with any adoption facility. All they do is spay/neuter.

So what types of programs can we implement to encourage people of hard-to-adopt breeds to alter their dogs?  And what is the best way to get the word out to these owners of our promotion?

Money and resources are of course options here....but I know other communities have been successful with this, so I'm just trying to get a handle for the ideas that people have had that have been most successful in helping get dogs altered. 

Bring 'em. 

And thanks.

Comments

[Pitties Place]

We (Measle's Animal Haven) have been doing a "Pit Fix 2009". We partnered with a local low-cost spay/neuter clinic and have been offering spay/neuter plus a rabies vaccine for $20. We received grant money to help offset the cost through a statewide program strictly for spay/neuters. The normal shelter cost would be in the $60-$70 range. We advertise on our rescue website, flyers in pet supply stores and at the local animal shelters. The response has been phenomenal. We are currently doing various fundraisers in order to raise more funds to try and help meet the demand

[Nichole]

I know we got some fliers from an Los Angeles group that was doing a "pimp your pit" promotion that worked well. I think it depends on the demographic of the typical owners in your area, but we're looking at something similar to that.

[MichelleD]

Can you elaborate Nicole?

[EmilyS]

http://www.laweekly.com/2006-02-23/columns/pit-stop/

http://downtowndogrescue.org/events.htm

very creative!

[MichelleD]

Wow, Downtown Dog Rescue is da bomb! We need to get their numbers...MSN proponents SWEAR that "certain element" won't alter their pets.

[Dan]

Sometimes one needs to be able to sift the good stuff away from the bad. So, leaving aside what people think about the HSUS, they did a survey with Maddie's fund to answer the questions about how to market s/n to people

The results are here:

www.hsus.org/web-files/.../HSUS-Gulf-Phase-1-FINAL-Public.pdf

But remember:

"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I
remember. Involve me and I learn."
— Benjamin Franklin:

www.mtspayneutertaskforce.org - look at how they invite in the very people whose behavior they want to change. But you have to respect, like, and believe in the ability of that group, which is a much harder concept for people to implement than it sounds like.

Without that, you are left with voucher programs, less expensive spay/neuter clinics, and veterinarian's offices (the things most cities are doing today), the solutions we have had for 50 years. They do a trememdous job at reaching those with >35K of household income, not nearly as good below that, where the majority of the pet owners are that are filling the shelters live. MSN makes it worse.

Read a little of the work of Kurt Lewin and the theories of how to get people to participate. When we start to respect and like the people, and truly invite them to be part of the soution, we will make great strides in taking care of this problem.

[MichelleD]

Here is the complete link on that: www.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/HSUS-Gulf-Phase-1-FINAL-Public.pdf

Dan, you hit the nail on the head of what is wrong in KC. ALL of our orgs are filled with middled aged white women. There is no "outreach" done to include the people in our campaigns. Only "outreach" to get them to alter their pet. And for people that don't agree with every "fact" we've come to believe in the AW world, they are either convinced or dismissed.

KCDA had a great program going called Pit Bull University, to include low income people that owned targeted breeds get some training for their dog. But we got so wrapped up in legislative issue and the person organizing it moved, so it got scrapped.

[EmilyS]

Michelle, I'm sure you don't mean it's the fault of middleaged white women that they fill the orgs... Where ARE the men?

[Brent Toellner]

I'm right here!

But yeah, seems like more guys should be clamouring to get involved. Dogs can be manly and there are a lot of women involved, why wouldn't you?

I think what Michelle means is that unfortunately the people who are involved in animal welfare tend to not be very representative fo the people they most need to reach out to...which makes forming those trusting relationships more challenging.

[KC KS Kills Dogs]

Where do these groups that are making progress get the funds for all the freebies???

I can't get the middle age white women to understand this concept of FREE and they keep insisting on doing outreach with a doorbag that consists of a price list of services, a free toy, and if they are generous that day, a dog treat.

The biggest obstacle in neighborhoods I see that desperately need the services is money, no way to the clinic, and no groups really hitting hard in the lowest income areas. Unfortunately those areas are typically higher crime areas and the groups I am aware of are afraid to go there. There is an individual that sometimes leads teams into some of those areas, but I feel they ramrod the s/n message and turn off the people that are most in need of the services.

I personally think it needs to be a bit of a party atmosphere, with a good a good catfish fry, a DJ, and respected members of that targeted community promoting s/n. A mobile clinic would really, really be effective.

[MichelleD]

Brent clarified what I was getting at however...

I think women do run off a lot of the men. There is too much drama in rescue with too many whinney, emotional women that all have their set in stone opinions of how things should be done. I've heard this sentiment from men (one a prominent speaker at teh BF conference) and why I stay away from rescue as far as I can as well (please note we have a foster in our home 90% of the time).

Many have become too jaded to see the progress that's been made and are stuck in the mindset that things SHOULD be done a certain way - regardless of whether it works or not! (see KCK's post) Group think is a horrible problem. (Leaving an animal outside is unthinkable but leaving a dog in a crate all the time is just fine - huh? Who thought that up!?)

KC has over 200 animal welfare orgs in our metro because no one can get along. KCDA was formed because the pit bull org we were a part of thought fighting BSL on a political and legislative level wasn't important!?!?!?!?!

That being said we are making great progress. I think we could do it faster if people could get along and give up the old ideas on AW but very pleased in the direction we're heading! This post has given us some great ideas and I already have an email out to our local S/N clinic about the Downtown Dog ideas.

[EmilyS]

hmmm.. so why don't the men like, start their own group of outreach to the poor community? Or maybe the middleclass white guys are just as clueless... or afraid?

Not disputing your experience or saying that women can't be rigid drama queens.. but then the biggest drama queen I know of outside of Ingrid herself is Wayne Pacelle.

Every social issue (not just dogs) is splintered into factions; no one every agrees with anyone else. All you can do really is find a bunch of compatible people and do the best you can at doing what you think is right.

[MichelleD]

Agreed on all accounts Emily! I'm still with Brent that is seems like a good place for single men to volunteer their time (lots of single women) or married men to spend some times with their wife.

HAHA! You're right about Wayne...do you think its any coincidence that they picked a good looking man to head up their org? Of course, everytime I see his face I puke in my mouth a little bit.

[IndyElmer]

Nichole is talking about the Downtown Dog Rescue's events (to which Emily provided links in her post) - their posters/flyers are so cool!

[Dan]

EmilyS: I agree. Maybe we all need to work on finding common ground. I think most of us want the end result to be the same, we just keep tripping over each other on how to get there.

Anyway, you mentioned middle-class white guys - How about middle-age low income?

2 guys, (1 married old guy - that's me) and a woman (married) started Community Pets.

Research suggests that the people who are producing the majority of animals for the shelter face barriers such as money, transportation, motivation. Lowering those barriers, we were invited to the Spokane Reservation "Love Your Pet Days", where the surgeons s/n 138 pets, mostly owned dogs, over 2 days. There were even a couple of adoptions of pups from whole litters.

All voluntary, at no cost to the owners.

Private donations, a grant, borrowed equipment, a lot of sweaty labor - and a bunch of hard-working pet owners who came together for two day.

Those people took on this issue and made their community better.

You can see the pics at
www.communitypets.org

for more information:
info@communitypets.org

on to the next one...