By Cynthia Silva
A mass spay and neuter event was held on Saturday, March 4, at Cottonwood Elementary in the Colony Ridge community. The event was organized by This is Houston, a non-profit animal rescue, which hosted quarterly mass spay and neuter event in Liberty County.
Veterinarians and staff from Laurel’s House were present to perform spay and neuter surgeries. Laurel’s House, owned by Dr. Amy Crum, is a non-profit organization formed by veterinarians who have dedicated their careers to animal welfare. Laurel’s House provides free veterinary care to families and wildlife in need.
Community volunteers began to show up as early as 6 a.m. Residents were reminded to arrive at 5:45 a.m. by text messages sent by This Is Houston. Instead, residents of the Cleveland and Colony Ridge communities began lining up by 5 a.m.
“They started lining up early, which is amazing! Because that shows that they want to get their pets fixed,” said Kosandra Ramirez, This Is Houston board member and Cleveland Clinic Coordinator.
This is Houston and Laurel’s House spayed and neutered a total of 150 dogs on Saturday, adding to the 2,000 dogs they have already sterilized in the Colony Ridge community since 2021. So far in 2023, This Is Houston has helped 490 dogs in the Colony Ridge community with sterilization through the quarterly spay/neuter events.
“Each dog that gets sterilized at the mass spay and neuter events we host has to get at least one or two sets of vaccines, dewormer, and microchipped by This Is Houston,” said Ramirez.
This Is Houston hosts events twice a month offering free vaccinations, microchips, dewormers, and spays/neuters to the many pets in the Cleveland and Colony Ridge areas. This Is Houston started this outreach program in May 2021. More than 4,000 dogs have been vaccinated through This Is Houston.
