By Mary Drier, Staff Writer
July 30, 2008 - 06:51 p.m. EST

CARO ‹ Animal control starts at home, and Cass River Pet Friendz has grants, starting Friday, that can help pay the cost of neutering the family pet.

“We were successful in getting another Spay and Neuter Grant for dogs belonging to low-income residents of Tuscola County,” said Sandy Bassett, who is with Tuscola County Pet Friendz. “This grant is to be used only to assist pet owners who could not otherwise afford to have their pet fixed.

“This isn’t totally free. They have to help pay. They pay what they can.”

Bassett says the primary focus of the program this time is on large female dogs.

“The large breeds that have 10 to 13 or more puppies at a time are the ones we hope will be brought in to be fixed,” said Bassett.

Cass River Pet Friendz received a $7,000 grant for fixing large dogs, and a $3,000 grant to fix small dogs.

“There’s about $2,000 left from the grant we got to fix cats and kittens,” said Bassett. “We’ve done about 500 of them so far.”

It takes a lot of time and effort to write a grant. So far, Bassett’s dedication has secured about $40,000 worth.

The pet rescue organization was able to obtain similar grants over the last few years that helped with having several pets fixed. Grants last year helped spay or neuter 112 large dogs and 68 small ones.

These grants are only for dogs or felines owned by a Tuscola County resident.

“The way the grant is set up, is that the dog owner pays just what they can afford and the remainder of the vet bill is paid by grant funds. There are veterinarians in Caro, Vassar and Millington willing to work with us on the grant-funded program,” said Bassett. “It is our hope to fix as many pets as possible with these funds, thus lessening the number of homeless and unwanted dogs/puppies in the county.”

Veterinarians who are participating in the program are Doug Link of Vassar, Thomas Ferstl of Millington and Stacey Laursen, Carol Cook and Michelle Anthony, all of Caro.

The funds are for sterilization only and cannot be used for other vet services like shots, tests, etc.

Since Cass River Pet Friendz started in 2001, the rescue organization has been able to fix 1,600 dogs and about 1,000 felines.

For information or to sign up for the grant, call (989) 673 6375 Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. only.

Mary Drier is a staff writer for the Tuscola County Advertiser. She can be reached at drier@tcadvertiser.com.