Rescued Siamese Cat is the 10,000th Spay/Neuter at OHS

June 30, 2009

 

See video of 10,000th spay/nueter
Rescued Siamese cat Mallory was the 10,000th animal altered at OHS (click for larger image).
Jamie Leinbach prepares Mallory for surgery (click for larger image).
Dr. Zarah Hege performs the surgery on Mallory (click for larger image).

A Siamese cat who was among 37 pets rescued from one household today became a major milestone in the fight against pet overpopulation. 

 

Mallory was the 10,000th pet spayed or neutered at the Oregon Humane Society's recently opened Animal Medical Learning Center. The nine-month old  Siamese cat, was rescued earlier this month from the residence of a deceased Boring, Ore. woman.

 

"We think its very fitting that a cat who came from a home that contributed so much to pet overpopulation will be the 10,000th animal altered at our medical center," said Dr. Kris Otteman, OHS Director of Shelter Medicine.

 

"Every pet we spay or neuter brings us one step closer to the solving the huge problem of pet overpopulation." 

 

After Mallory recovers from her surgery (recovery usually takes one day), she will be available for adoption.

 

New Facility is One-of-a-Kind

 

Since opening in Sept. 2007, the state-of-the-art medical center attached to the OHS shelter in northeast Portland has averaged 30 surgeries per day on shelter pets.

 

The breakneck pace is made possible by a staff of OHS veterinarians and assistants aided by medical students and a faculty member from Oregon State University.  

 

The Portland shelter is the only humane society in the nation to have a full-time university faculty member assigned to it. All fourth-year veterinary students from the Corvallis university must complete a mandatory two-week rotation at the OHS medical center.

 

Although the majority of procedures are spay and neuters, the medical team has performed over 1,000 additional surgeries covering virtually every aspect of animal medical care.  

 

Pet Overpopulation Remains Major Problem

 

"We're fortunate to have a great team here and a great partnership with OSU. But we have to continue to spay and neuter thousand of more pets every year if we are ever going to make inroads into pet overpopulation in Oregon," said Otteman.  

 

The OHS medical center has three operating suites, radiological and laboratory facilities, plus a pharmacy and recovery rooms. It provides a full range of medical care to thousands of animals at the OHS shelter.

 

Watch the Video (if not visible, visit YouTube)