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Outreach                  
Program                  


Dedicated to education & spay/neuter assistance for the
Dearborn County Indiana community.
Outreach Program
P.A.W.S. is committed to eliminate homelessness and end the cycle of pet overpopulation by vigorously supporting spay/neuter programs, promoting successful adoptions, and increasing education of spaying and neutering in Dearborn County.


 Benefits Of Spay/Neuter for Cats & Dogs                                    -SpayUSA
Benefits of Spaying (females):
» No heat cycles, therefore males will not be attracted
» Less desire to roam
» Risk of mammary gland tumors, ovarian and/or uterine cancer is reduced or eliminated, especially if done before the first heat cycle
» Reduces number of unwanted cats, kittens, dogs and puppies
» Helps dogs and cats live longer, healthier lives

Benefits of Neutering (males):
» Reduces or eliminates risk of spraying and marking
» Less desire to roam, therefore less likely to be injured in fights or auto accidents
» Risk of testicular cancer is eliminated, and decreases incidence of prostate disease
» Reduces number of unwanted cats, kittens, dogs and puppies
» Decreases aggressive behavior, including dog bites
» Helps dogs and cats live longer, healthier lives
Top 3 Reasons to Spay and Neuter
» It helps to reduce companion animal overpopulation. Most countries have a surplus of companion animals and are forced to euthanize or disregard their great suffering. The surplus is in the millions in the United States. Cats are 45 times as prolific, and dogs 15 times as prolific, as humans.They do not need our help to expand their numbers; they need our help to reduce their numbers until there are good homes for them all. 
» Sterilization of your cat or dog will increase his/her chance of a longer and healthier life. Altering your canine friend will increase his life an average of 1 to 3 years, felines, 3 to 5 years. Altered animals have a very low to no risk of mammary gland tumors/cancer, prostate cancer, perianal tumors, pyometria, and uterine, ovarian and testicular cancers.
» Sterilizing your cat/dog makes him/her a better pet, reducing his/her urge to roam and decreasing the risk of contracting diseases or getting hurt as they roam. Surveys indicate that as many as 85% of dogs hit by cars are unaltered. Intact male cats living outside have been shown to live on average less than two years. Feline Immunodeficiency Syndrome is spread by bites and intact cats fight a great deal more than altered cats.
Additional Benefits
Your community will also benefit. Unwanted animals are becoming a very real concern in many places. Stray animals can easily become a public nuisance, soiling parks and streets, ruining shrubbery, frightening children and elderly people, creating noise and other disturbances, causing automobile accidents, and sometimes even killing livestock or other pets.  - The American Veterinary Medical Association

The capture, impoundment and eventual destruction of unwanted animals costs taxpayers and private humanitarian agencies over a billion dollars each year. As a potential source of rabies and other less serious diseases, they can be a public health hazard. -The American Veterinary Medical Association                   

Pre-Adoption Spay and Neuter
Through grants and donations, P.A.W.S. pays all spay and neuter costs for unaltered dogs and cats at the Dearborn County Animal Shelter.  

If your pet is from the Dearborn County Animal Shelter, you must adhere to County guidelines.   Dearborn County Ordinance 90.53 requires that all dogs and cats adopted from the shelter be spayed / neutered. Both puppies and kittens must be altered by 6 months of age. Adults must be altered within 30 days of adoption.

Even with ordinances in place, nationwide statistics show that only 40% of adoptive families follow through with sterilization for unaltered adopted pets.  With the age that puppies and kittens can be sterilized dropping,  P.A.W.S. goal is 100% pre-adoption sterilization.   To help with costs, P.A.W.S. gives vouchers with adoptions of unaltered animals.

Voucher Program
P.A.W.S.  helps lower income families spay/neuter their companion animals.  This directly impacts the number of litters of puppies and kittens that enter the shelter each year.

» Print Voucher Application Form for residents of Dearbory County by clicking this link.
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» To receive a Voucher Application by mail, residents of Dearborn County can:

  1. Phone request to:   812-539-9706    
  2. Email request to:  RobbinPelfrey
  3. Fax request to:   812-926-0686

» Fill out the application designating an income level among ranges of income.  PAWS uses the information to determine how the spay/neuter rebates will be funded.  If the applicant does not fall under the low-income guidelines, PAWS will use proceeds from fundraising activities for spay/neuter assistance to the extent they are available.
» Please return your completed application to:  PAWS, 16172 Possum Ridge Road,  Aurora, IN 47001
» Applicants will be sent a voucher in the mail approving or denying the request.   
» Residents can:

  1. Take the voucher to the veterinarian at the time of spay/neuter and have $30 deducted from the bill and PAWS will reimburse the vet, or
  2. Pay the entire amount and PAWS will   reimburse the residents.


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P.A.W.S. Of Dearborn County, Inc.  2009     All Rights Reserved.
(Partners For Animal Welfare Society Of Dearborn County, Inc.)
P.O. Box 133,  Guilford, IN    47022