A new animal microchipping and de-sexing monthly mobile clinic will help Dubbo City Animal Shelter and Wellington pound to manage the influx of non-de-sexed animialrs, and animals without microchips coming through its doors.
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The service comes after Dubbo Regional Council partnered with the Animal Welfare League NSW as a result of the high volume of animals coming in since COVID-19.
The mobile clinic is equipped with 35 recovery cages, a quarantine section, a wet area to prepare the animals for surgery and a surgery area with two benches as well as having washing machines, a basin and storage areas.
Animal Welfare League NSW senior veterinarian Nicole McMillan said the clinic will be able to perform surgery on up to 40 animals a day- on a good day.
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"We will sedate the animals, prepare them for surgery, then after surgery we will keep them for a couple of hours in the recovery cages before they can go back to their owners, or back to the pound," Ms McMillan said.
The clinic will operate at the animal shelter in Dubbo for a whole week once a month.
Dubbo City Animal Shelter and Wellington Pound Coordinator Kirra Larkin said the mobile clinic takes the pressure off Dubbo Regional Council rangers and will help decrease the number of pets getting euthanised.
"A lot of non-desexed animals that end up at the pound end up needing to be rehomed as the owners can't afford to pay for the registration fees which are mandatory under the NSW Government legislation. I think for a non-desexed dog the fee is $260, whereas it is only $60 for a desexed dog," she said.
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By desexing the animals before re-homing them it is also reducing the unmanageable reproduction numbers seeing as, cats, in particular, can breed 'like crazy'. Ms McMillan said the clinic will start operating in Dubbo 'very soon'.
It is hoped if the new program is successful with Dubbo Regional Council, and with support from local vets, it will eventually be extended to allow other members of the public to access the service.
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