Refocusing on the Fix

by Emma Clifford, Executive Director of Animal Balance

As you know, we have worked internationally for 2 decades, requesting and utilizing grant funds to conduct the M.A.S.H (Mobile Animal Sterilization Hospitals) events overseas. We did so mostly with very little funding and prior to the islands having the internet, or cell phones! I know most of you cannot even imagine how we even survived. We are resourceful, smart and make friends to help the animals.

The Galapagos Islands (Isabela and San Cristobal Islands) are currently at 72% sterility for dogs and 80% for cats These animals have all been vaccinated and are on an annual health schedule. The model works, we proved it together. Over the last 20 years hundreds upon hundreds of vets, techs and other volunteers from many different countries have helped to create this M.A.S.H model. Literally, our collective blood, sweat and tears went into its creation.

After the 2020 pandemic, we moved the bulk of our work to the US and now work off a low-cost business model to conduct our M.A.S.H events. We work closely with attorneys to remove any legal barriers to performing true M.A.S.H. Eg. AB2010. This proven concept of M.A.S.H is relatively new to the US and it has been interesting to witness others' reactions to the strategy, particularly in California. 

It is so exciting to see how many vets, techs and assistants have jumped at the chance to learn and become part of our high-volume, M.A.S.H events. We are finding that people like to share their clinic stories and then others ask to join, as they have been inspired by someone they trust. Our database of HQHVSN vets and techs is growing each month. In case you do not know, we currently recruit for five clinics a month in California where we are safely and efficiently spaying/neutering a minimum of 1,000 animals per month.

These are community events by nature so it is so wonderful to see, for example: the UPS man from Fresno, helping at Fresno Animal Center with transporting the dogs, along with the human nurses who volunteer to run the autoclave for us. Community members know this service is desperately needed, and have stepped up to help however they can.

We are seeing ‘M.A.S.H host teams’ evolving. These are staff and volunteers from local partner groups who can do everything except the medical tasks. They become the HQHVSN team's ambassadors, if you will. This gives opportunities to community members to learn a new skill, feel empowered and work as a team to help the animals in their own community.

We are also creating 'Spay Hubs’. M.A.S.H equipment is being stored in a location near an airport. The HQHVSN team flies in, picks up the equipment and drives out to the partner location and after 3 days of clinic, returns it and flies out. This increases our efficiency and is a superb way for local organizations to help.

We are starting a ‘Spay Club’ for groups and clubs who have community centers/club houses in California and can lend them to us for 3-days for our MASH events.

We are seeing communities, municipalities and local foundations come together to work with us in such a positive way. Prevention is the cure, if we work to eliminate overpopulation of cats and dogs, if we work upstream, if we use proven logic with data, then we can eliminate overpopulation city by city, state by state.

We know this is the grunt work of animal welfare, it is not ‘sexy’ for the cameras and so is not easy to fundraise for, even though it is the crux of the solution to overpopulation. The sheer wealth of donations being held in accounts by the few national animal welfare groups is a huge barrier to solving the overpopulation of cats and dogs in this country. Yelling at them is not going to make them support spay/neuter, but making what we do as appealing as possible is going to cause them to take action.

I would dare to say that they already are. What you do and say does make a difference. It filters out to the decision makers. They take notice when something is popular, so let's make high-volume spay/neuter popular. You create social change, not them. Every single person who talks about redirecting funds to spay/neuter is a hero.

If you take a look at some of the other spay/neuter orientated groups messaging, it is clear. The Bissell Foundation call it ‘Fix the Future’, that is brilliant, The Spay Alliance call it, ‘Fix for Life’, outstanding, and we pulled out the spay/neuter portion of the No Kill Movement and called it the ‘No Birth Movement’. We are all using these terms to refocus the US animal welfare objectives in a professional and positive way towards prevention.

When a municipal agency or council person contacts us for M.A.S.H services, they have listened to their constituents, who are begging them for spay/neuter services. They have some of the funds, local foundations will have matching funds and everyone locally comes together to fund a series of M.A.S.H events. While we perform those M.A.S.H events, we teach the local partner group how to conduct them themselves. The partner gets to meet all of our super amazing HQHVSN vets and techs and often make contracts with them later, after our series of clinics is over. That way, they can hold their own clinics, suitable for their needs, using our HQHVSN standard operating procedures. We have to Spay it Forward.

Animal Welfare is changing fast, we are refocusing on the No Birth Movement. Our collective work at a local level is how we make changes last. It is those relationships that we build with one another that creates trust, which only further stabilizes our collective approach. Providing institutions, and their community, with spay/neuter resources on a consistent, low-cost basis is the answer.

Just imagine if we could get the US to 72% dogs and 80% cats sterility rate. We can and will.