County fights pet overpopulation

Superior and St. Regis students and youth groups will be joining the Montana Spay/Neuter Task Force at the invitation of the Mineral County Health Department to celebrate Mineral County Pet Care Week with no-cost large-volume public spay and neuter events Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, May 16-18. For low-income Mineral County residents and their pets, local volunteers and pet owners will come together with community business, civic, and elected leaders and Western Montana veterinarians to “do something about all those dogs and cats.”

Friday and Saturday’s Pet Care Event will take place at the Superior 4-H building from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday’s will be held at a St. Regis location to be determined from 8am to 6pm.

The answer is for the whole community to come together—involving everyone—to solve what is a community problem: pet overpopulation and neglect. This is the message of the Montana Spay/Neuter Task Force, which first visited St. Regis and Superior for community events in 2000 and 2001, spaying or neutering 255 dogs and 414 cats. This year’s visit is timed to fall during National Bite Prevention Week to emphasize the tie between pet overpopulation and dog bites to children. These Pet Care Events will demonstrate that by working together to solve a problem, attitudes and behavior can be changed for the benefit of neighbors, pet owners, and the dogs and cats.

As stated by Kali Lien following a Wolf Point Pet Care Event, “My initial goal was to help the animals, which we did, but what happened was something totally unexpected and was left in our hearts. A goodness that affected each person which will affect the town, which will affect the world...It made my heart smile to see everyone together, to see people without any self-confidence jumping in and being responsible for a certain job. You could just tell how good it made them feel.”

Mineral County youth and adults are invited to call to volunteer or to make an appointment. Superior: Cathy at 646-6547. St. Regis: Lisa at 646-6723. Task Force: 640-3182.