INDIANAPOLIS — The FACE Spay Neuter clinic is committed to educating and empowering people to care for and keep their pets as well as providing accessible and affordable spay neuter. There is a large, underserved segment of the community that has no connection to any animal welfare group or veterinarian, and FACE is reaching out to these neighborhoods.
Darcie Kurtz, FACE director of outreach and medical services, is leading the effort to close this “gap” by extending targeted spay/neuter, medical, education and transportation resources beyond the walls of the clinic and into the neighborhoods of greatest need. Targeted programs focus on the animals at the greatest risk of being put down in the shelters or abandoned on the street.
FACE has paired up with FIDO (Friends of Indianapolis Dogs Outside) in door-to-door neighborhood outreach work in the Brightwood area of Indianapolis (46218), an area with large numbers of chained and stray dogs and neighborhood cats. The FACE transport van is used to promote spay/neuter and to demonstrate a strong presence in the neighborhood. FIDO offers follow-up assistance with a variety of supplies, including dog houses, fencing, house-training crates, while FACE provides follow-up assistance with spay/neuter, including, when necessary, transport to and from the clinic. SNSI (Spay-Neuter Services of Indiana) is funding the spay/neuter surgeries in this outreach effort so that surgery can be offered for free at the FACE clinic.
FACE has also teamed up with Casa del Toro Pit Bull Rescue’s door-to-door neighborhood outreach work on the east side of Indianapolis (46201), another area with large numbers of stray animals and animals impounded into IACC. Casa del Toro offers free pet food, collars and leashes, while FACE follows up with spay/neuter and vaccinations for pets identified through the outreach efforts. A Casa del Toro grant from HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) funds the spay/neuter surgeries and vaccinations provided at the FACE Clinic.