Spay and neuter clinic reopens

After being closed three or four months, the spay and neuter clinic at Springhill built by the Humane Society of Faulkner County has reopened.

Shirley Jarman of the Humane Society said Dr. Eric Jayne, the veterinarian who began leasing the clinic about this time last year, was asked to leave. Jayne suggested the clinic's former name, Springhill Spay and Neuter Clinic, and he claimed ownership of the name, and so the Humane Society had to rename it, Jarman said. The Humane Society chose Companions Spay and Neuter Clinic, in keeping with the name of its thrift store, she said.

Two new veterinarians are working part time at the clinic, which is leased to the vet of the day, Jarman said.

Dr. Bill Brewster of Heber Springs, a retired veterinarian, works two days a week, and Dr. Ferrell Larousse of Vilonia, formerly of Louisiana, works one day a week, Jarman said. The Humane Society is still hoping to recruit another veterinarian so that the clinic can be open five days a week.

"It's a great clinic and that's what it will be used for is spay/neuter," she said.

She said the aim of the clinic is to offer spay and neuter surgeries at a low cost so that people can afford to provide other needed care for their animals.

"We don't want to step on the toes of other vets, so we're not offering annual exams," Jarman Said. "We're strictly spay and neuter, vaccines, heart worm testing and fecal exams.

"Hopefully, it will impact the county. You can just look at the paper and see how many free puppies there are. Many are dumped. We get calls for stray and abandoned animals all the time."

At the clinic on Thursday, Brewster had several female dogs to spay.

Brewster ran a large practice in Kansas City, Mo., and retired at Heber Springs where he went to work for the Humane Society. He did 7,500 surgeries on animals in five and a half years in Heber Springs, he said.

"This is a beautiful facility," he said. "They've got state-of-the-art equipment."

He was preparing to operate on a dog who had given birth to a litter of pups six weeks ago as well as a nine-month-old female offspring of the dog.

Veterinary assistant Marie Betancourt said a family from Jacksonville brought 10 dogs all family pets to be spayed or neutered. She said the clinic had 14 surgeries scheduled on Thursday.

"We reduce the animal population all the time. We try to control these little puppies and kittens running loose and starving," Brewster said. "It's not a money-making proposition, just break-even."

Pat Handel, a Humane Society board member and volunteer at the clinic, said, "Things are going well. We're not open all week, but we're working toward that."

She estimated the clinic has already done 120 surgeries in three weeks.

Appointments may be made by calling 501-679-7900.

(Staff writer Rachel Parker Dickerson can be reached by e-mail at rachel.dickerson@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1277. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)