1,000-plus cats and dogs spayed/neutered

In just seven months’ time, Tails of Nye County has managed to spay or neuter over 1,000 stray cats and personal pets in the Pahrump area with the help of funding from the Nye County American Rescue Plan Act Grant Program.

A nonprofit, volunteer-led group, Tails of Nye County was awarded a total of $87,000 in grant funding this February. This money is paid to the organization as reimbursement for expenses incurred through its low-cost spay and neuter program, as well as its flagship program known as “trap, neuter, return” for feral cats and community cat colonies.

“I want to thank you again, so much, for the grant that you gave to Tails of Nye County, which has enabled us to continue with our spay and neuter mission,” nonprofit representative Nancy Guin told Nye County commissioners during the board’s Sept. 19 meeting.

She explained that between January 1 and July 29, Tails had been able to spay or neuter 886 cats and 116 dogs, for a total of 1,002 animals through its partnerships with Heaven Can Wait, The Spay and Neuter Center of Southern Nevada and All Creatures Animal Hospital.

“We’re really pushing it, and your money has allowed us to do that. It takes a tremendous amount of money,” Guin stated. “We’re very busy right now. Last week we went to clinics in Vegas three days with cats, and to one dog clinic. That’s probably 45-55 animals in one week.”

As of its presentation, Tails had spent $51,090.91, leaving a balance of $35,909.09. “And we’ll probably finish that by the end of the year or January 2024,” Guin noted.

Before closing out her presentation, Guin took a moment to speak to the need for more low-cost spay and neuter resources locally.

“We still need, Pahrump as a whole, needs more clinics or vets or something, because we are just swamped. We can’t keep up with the numbers of requests we’re getting to spay and neuter animals,” Guin stated. She said with the brand new Nye County Animal Shelter in operation, she would love to see a low-cost clinic program offered there but as commissioner Frank Carbone noted, that requires veterinarians willing to step up.

“We, as far as the county is concerned, want to have a low-cost spay and neuter clinic or something to that effect and sooner or later, we’ll get there,” Carbone said. “But it’s tough to find somebody, that’s the problem.”

Guin also detailed the organization’s need for additional volunteers.

“When we do our clinics here in town, we have a doctor and a vet tech but the rest of it is all volunteer. The check-in, the laundry, getting the animals ready for the surgery. It’s a huge process and we don’t have enough volunteers to do what we do,” she stated. Even just a couple of hours a week of volunteerism would provide an enormous benefit to the nonprofit.

Tails of Nye County office hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 520 East Street, Suite B. For more information visit www.TailsofNyeCounty.org or call 702-306-3245.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com