By Manuel Figueroa, and Victoria Uribe
A new $1.3 million spay and neuter clinic will open at the Brooks-City Base campus this fall, as a result of a partnership between the City of San Antonio and Brooks to share the cost of construction.
The new 2,280 square foot clinic will be located at 8234 City Base Landing and will help support the citywide effort to reduce the stray dog and cat population by making spay and neuter services available at a low-cost and accessible. It will include two exam rooms, a surgery prep area, a surgery room with two surgery tables and separate holding rooms for dogs and cats.
Lisa Norwood, public relations representative for ACS, said the location of the clinic was strategically chosen.
“It really came down to existing resources. There were no resources in the Brooks City-Base area,” she said. “This [clinic] will take care of that issue. The clinic is not only for District 3 residents, but for those in the surrounding community.”
While no exact intake goals are set, Norwood hopes the Brooks City-Base clinic will reach a goal similar to the Brackenridge clinic of 4,000 spay and neuter services per year.
Norwood said she could not provide specifics on intake goals and service cost until the vendor bidding process is complete.
San Antonio Animal Care Services and Brooks-City Base will split the funding cost for the clinic equally. ACS will lease the facility for 35 years with a one-time rental fee of $100 plus annual expenses for common areas such as maintenance, janitorial and waste disposal. Brooks will maintain the building and land.
“The Brooks clinic will be in a prime location to serve residents of District 3 and the surrounding community,” said District 3 Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran, in a statement released through Brooks-City Base. “This is an opportunity to build responsible pet ownership and I am pleased that Brooks is proving that their partnership with us is transformative and outstanding.”
ACS believes this clinic will provide assistance for pet owners who want to take care of their pets, but lack the funds to do so.
Local South Side clinics have experienced large amounts of strays in the surrounding streets for the past few years.
“We’ve been here 30 years [and we see] about 50 a month of dogs and cats total [in the area],” said Rena Perez, veterinary assistant at Pet Vaccination Clinic. “About 10 to 15 strays are brought in a month by residents who find an animal hit by a car or if they have some type of injury.”
The roaming cat and dog population have been a problem for residents on the South Side of San Antonio. A monthly average of 1,000 healthy dogs and cats are picked up off the streets by ACS within the city limits. Not included are the ones brought in by pet owners themselves.
“Educating the community about the benefits of spaying or neutering their pets and making these services easily accessible are key to reducing the roaming pet population,” Viagran said.
