Emancipet offers free and low-cost services for Austin pet owners, including spay and neutering, microchipping, vaccines and other wellness services. (Courtesy Emancipet)
Up to $343K of additional funding from the city of Austin is helping local nonprofit Emancipet expand free and low-cost veterinary care for thousands of Austin-area pets, according to Emancipet CEO Cheryl Katon and Austin Animal Services.
What's happening
Beginning July 2 and running through September, Emancipet's "Free Days" Mobile Clinic will expand from two to three days per week, adding Saturdays to its existing Thursday and Friday schedule, the nonprofit announced in a social post.
Animal Services funds the free days in addition to Emancipet's normal clinics, according to the department, which will will reassess funding at the end of the city's fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. The funding comes from reallocated department funds initially set aside for two or more free spay and neuter clinics through Good Fix, a representative with the department said.
The city contract covers Austin residents specifically, with proof of residency required but no income verification, according to Katon.
Local nonprofit Emancipet provides free and low-cost spay and neutering along with other wellness services through its mobile clinic, which now offers one more “Free Day” a week. (Courtesy Emancipet)
The details
Free Day services—including spay and neuter surgeries, microchips and rabies vaccines—are available to city of Austin and Travis County residents, per Emancipet's website. Other services range from $5-$25 with office visit fees waived for Travis County residents attending a free day clinic.
All mobile clinic services are first come, first served, with no appointments offered, and surgery spaces are not guaranteed, Katon said. Those in line when the mobile clinic reaches capacity receive a voucher for a free spay or neuter at a brick-and-mortar location, she said.
For information on arrival time, restrictions and surgery preparation or to see the mobile clinic schedule, visit www.emancipet.org/austin-mobile-clinic.
By the numbers
Emancipet has operated a mobile clinic for 26 years, and its relationship with the city of Austin spans more than two decades, Katon said. Counting the mobile clinic, the organization runs 11 clinics total, six of them in Central Texas, and serves about 275,000 animals a year systemwide, according to Katon.
A typical day on the mobile clinic serves about 130 animals combined across spay, neuter and wellness services, including roughly 30 spay and neuter procedures and up to 100 wellness visits, according to Katon.
The extra day could allow Emancipet to perform roughly 2,000 additional spay and neuter procedures over the three-month span, she said, though it depends on individual animal needs.
Across all 11 clinics, Emancipet performs about 60,000 spay and neuter procedures each year, she said.
The impact
Affordable veterinary care helps reduce shelter intake in two ways: it allows owners facing cost barriers to keep their pets, and it lowers the lifetime cost of pet ownership from an estimated $8,000 to $25,000 at market rate down to $2,000 to $3,000 through Emancipet, Katon said.
She also pointed to Austin's pet ownership rate, which she estimated at 78% to 82%, among the highest of any major U.S. city, as evidence that affordable care broadens who can take on pet ownership.
Emancipet offers a mobile clinic with a posted online schedule alongside its 10 onsite clinics, four of which are in Travis County. (Courtesy Emancipet)
The provider generally prices services 65% to 85% below market rate, Katon said, citing a $1,000 procedure that might cost $150 through Emancipet as an example.
"We always provide low-cost care," she said. "We're one of the lowest-cost providers around.”
What's next
Whether the third clinic day continues beyond September depends on the city's budget, Katon said, deferring further detail to city officials. Animal Services said the department will reassess after the next FY budget is approved.
