Spay and neuter clinic planned for Superior

Summer Crosby

For as long as she can remember, Lisa Knight has had great compassion for animals. For the past several years that she’s lived in Superior, Knight has taken it upon herself to take in unwanted and abused cats and dogs.

“It’s not the dog’s fault. It’s the owner’s fault. Somebody has to speak for them,” she said. “I’ve always loved animals and had a compassion for them since I was young.”

Knight had used her home, time and money to take in animals: feeding them, giving them veterinary care, as well as spaying and neutering animals. She’s worked a lot with the Humane Society in Missoula, handing animals over to them when they are old enough when she can. Recently though, along with Amy Lowry and help from Judy Stang, Knight has received nonprofit status under the Mineral County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) for the creation of Mineral County Animal Rescue. While they are hoping to eventually secure their own nonprofit status, Knight said that the plan is to gather donations and create an animal rescue league inside of Mineral County.

“We want to create a shelter here in Mineral County because Amy and I have been doing this out of our own pockets for so long,” she said. “However, our first priority right now is to gather donations to support the spay and neuter clinic that is going to be held in Superior here in a week.”

The clinic is planned for February 6 and 7 and is being put on by the Humane Society of Western Montana. It will begin at 9 a.m. both days and is scheduled to run until 5 p.m., but Knight says that it will possibly run longer in order to get the majority of animals done. The clinic will take place in the 4-H building on the fairgrounds in Superior and is low-cost. Cats are only $10 and dogs are only $25. Vets from outside the area will be performing the operations, as well as vaccinating the animals with distemper and rabies shots, which are included in the price according to Mariah Scheskie, program organizer at the humane society.

“What we’re asking is meant to assist with the cost,” she said. “We’re willing to work with people to get everybody done. The reason we chose to come to Mineral County is there are no vets within the county and it’s been so long since a clinic has been held. Our number one goal is to decrease the unwanted pet population. And with the vaccinations we are trying to create a healthy pet population. The vets that are coming in are skilled at doing a large number of animals in a clinic setting.”

Knight says that she hopes people in the County will take advantage of this opportunity.

“The population of animals in Mineral County is way overboard,” Knight said. “This is a great opportunity for residents to take advantage of. The main thing is the vets can only come out to Mineral County so often.”

Knight says that they need donations to help with the costs of having the vets stay overnight, as well as to cover the cost for those who cannot afford to have their pets spayed or neutered. After the clinic, Knight said that they are planning to continue to collect donations in hopes of creating an animal rescue in Mineral County.

Donations can be made to the Mineral County Animal Rescue by sending checks to MCEDC, Attn: Sharon, P.O. Box 730, Superior, Mt. Knight said to note Mineral County Animal Rescue.