By Ava Tallat-Kelpsa
After six months of construction, the Rockbridge SPCA has opened a new clinic that becomes the first in the county to specialize in low-cost spay and neuter surgeries.
The organization had been looking to run a spay-and-neuter facility for many years to help meet the demand for it in the county, according to Tara Rodi, executive director of Rockbridge SPCA. They clinic expects to assist 5,000 animals a year with these surgeries, including helping the 20 cats and 40 dogs currently at the SPCA.
This clinic was made possible by donations from Ruth Sorrels, a woman from Buena Vista, who has since died. Her $350,000 donation helped make the project – which cost a total of $500,000 – possible for the SPCA.
“She was kind enough to leave us a good little bit of money, and we had been talking about doing the clinic for a long, long time,” Rodi said. “It put us over the hump, and we knew right away what we wanted to do with [the donation].”
The clinic is located next to Rockbridge SPCA’s main location at 10 Animal Pl., five minutes from downtown Lexington. The clinic building was once a rented home. Once the previous residents moved out, the SPCA remodeled the building so it could serve as a clinic.
“It’s really convenient for the SPCA, because now we can just walk our dogs and cats up the hill there, and get them all spayed and neutered,” Rodi said.
Prior to the establishment of the new location, the Rockbridge SPCA had to send animals to Angels of Assisi, almost an hour away in Roanoke, to be spayed and neutered, according to Rodi. While there are other veterinarian clinics in the area that do spay and neuter surgeries, this is the only clinic that has all spay and neuter surgeries for less than $145.
Now with the closer location, lower-cost surgeries are more accessible for members of the county.
“The cost is an obstacle to getting some of them proper treatment,” said Ed Johnson, president of the Rockbridge SPCA’s board of directors. “So the ability to be able to do this at a reduced cost over a traditional veterinarian practice is something we saw a need for.”
Spaying and neutering helps lead to fewer stray animals.
“There are a lot of benefits to spaying and neutering such as stopping reproduction and helping with a variety of types of tumors and medical disorders,” said Dr. Dan Eichelberger, a veterinarian at the clinic “I think that our program grants those with meager means access to medical services and surgical services that can benefit their animals. So I think we fill a pretty critical niche.”
The clinic also plans to open a transport to the clinic sometime next month. On Thursdays, the shuttle will come and pick pets up for $20 per address.
“Hopefully that’ll help people because there have been some people that we’ve found that don’t have a reliable way to get around,” Rodi said. “Transportation sometimes doesn’t let you put your animal on public transport.”
One local pet owner said it’s crucial to make these kinds of services easily available.
“The overpopulation of stray animals is obviously a huge problem,” said Ciara Rascona, a Lexington resident who owns a female bulldog. “With spaying, I feel like it is a humane option for the community … instead of having to put down dogs that are overpopulating shelters.”
In addition to spaying and neutering, the clinic also offers pet exams, vaccinations, toenail trimmings, microchipping and other services.
The clinic is open on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., as well as every other Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Pet owners can contact the clinic by phone at 540-900-7375 or visit the location at 49 Animal Pl., near Lee Highway.