New Foundation Takes Spay & Neuter to the Next Level

Dec. 21, 2010 - PRLog -- NORFOLK, VA – Over 12,000 animals are killed in U.S. animal shelters every day because of the overpopulation of companion animals. In 2011, the FiXiT Foundation is debuting to eliminate animal euthanasia due to overpopulation.

“Many animals are never given a chance at life,” said Stephanie Downs, president of the board of directors, FiXiT Foundation. “Over four million animals are killed a year because there aren’t homes for them. These statistics are heartbreaking, and we created the FiXiT Foundation to find a solution that works to prevent these staggering statistics from continuing in the future.”

The FiXiT Foundation seeks to find why populations are not spaying or neutering their companion animals. To do so, the organization is initiating a case study in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, named “The Island Project,” to test out various incentive programs to entice pet owners to spay or neuter their pets.

“The Island Project is a unique approach to determining how we can succeed at getting more people to spay or neuter their pets,” said Dr. Kellie Heckman, executive director, FiXiT Foundation. “Through the program, we are determining what works best in reaching different populations, such as low-cost services, gift incentives or free services. We will then implement the program in the U.S. to reduce the dependence on euthanasia in our animal shelters.”

The Island Project will launch in early January and provide the FiXiT Foundation with scientific data on what works to reach a high level of awareness for spaying and neutering pets. In addition to The Island Project, the FiXiT Foundation is launching an initiative where people can sponsor pet owners in order to spay or neuter their pets.

“In initial research, we’ve found that affordability is a major factor in why people aren’t spaying or neutering their pets,” said Heckman. “Through GetYourFix.org, people will be able to connect with a pet owner to spay or neuter their pet.”

In addition to sponsorship opportunities, GetYourFix.org will connect pet owners to shelters in their areas that offer low-cost spay or neuter services. Currently, the FiXiT Foundation is partnering with animal shelters across the United States so all participants have accessibility to spay and neuter programs. The program is expected to launch in February 2011.

“Our goal with the FiXiT Foundation is to take spay and neuter to a new level so we can finally knock out the issue of overpopulation,” said Downs. “Right now, we are treating the symptom, but we need to treat the problem by removing the barriers to spay and neuter.”

For more information about the FiXiT Foundation, please visit http://www.fixit-foundation.org.

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The FiXiT Foundation was established to eliminate the dependence on euthanasia in the U.S. The organization hosts “The Island Project” in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, to determine the best way to approach the lack of spaying or neutering pets in some populations. Additionally, GetYourFix.org is a resource to help Americans find sponsorship opportunities to spay or neuter their pets. For more information, visit http://www.fixit-foundation.org.