PUHI — Now’s the time to sign your animal up for the Mobile Animal Sterilization Hospital clinic happening at Kauai Humane Society Sept. 18-23. Hosted by the global nonprofit Animal Balance, the MASH clinic will bring an influx of veterinarians
PUHI — Now’s the time to sign your animal up for the Mobile Animal Sterilization Hospital clinic happening at Kauai Humane Society Sept. 18-23.
Hosted by the global nonprofit Animal Balance, the MASH clinic will bring an influx of veterinarians and veterinarian technicians to do at least 600 surgeries over the course of six days.
The timing is perfect, with the temporary closure of the KHS sterilization clinic, said Scott Pisani, executive director of KHS.
“I know people are still concerned that we are still on hiatus with the spay and neuter clinic, and so are we,” Pisani said. “It’s taking longer to fill positions than we thought.”
He’s actively interviewing veterinarians and veterinarian technicians to bring the staff levels up to par before reopening the clinic.
“It’s good to have the MASH clinic coming in so we can provide that service,” Pisani said. “But once our own spay and neuter clinic is up and running again, we do intend to still have these events.”
Owned dogs and cats are the focus of the MASH clinic, but there are a few spots available for feral cats that are trapped that week.
KHS has 350 reservations already booked for the MASH clinic. There are still spots available, but they’re filling up quickly.
About two-thirds of the reservations are cats, and the remaining one-third are dogs.
“We’ll do walk-ins as well, but we want to get everyone in, so it’s best to make a reservation,” Pisani said.
The event will be held at KHS and will use its spay and neuter facility to house the Animal Balance veterinarians and technicians.
People have already started stepping up and volunteering for the event. But KHS still needs to fill more than 100 shifts with volunteers, so they’re asking for community help.
“We need somewhere around 30 volunteers daily to make this happen,” Pisani said. “It’s a lot of people that we need.”
A minimum of two hours will be scheduled for each animal for recovery time. People will generally drop animals off in the morning, then pick up in the afternoon.
“The scheduling has a process to it. They usually put the more complicated surgeries in the morning so the vets are fresh,” Pisani said.
To reserve a space at the MASH clinic, email adoptions@kauaihumane.org or call 632-0610 ext. 101.
To volunteer, email KHS volunteer manager Owen Strong at owen@kauaihumane.org.
