Group asks council to help get pets SNIP’d

Roger Varley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

An organization called SNIP (Spay Neuter Initiatives Program) appeared before council seeking its support to lower the cost of spaying and neutering pets for low-income families.

SNIP was incorporated as a charity in 2010 to provide subsidized spay-neuter surgeries to some of the most vulnerable pet owners in the Durham region. The organization works with accredited vets to provide the surgeries.

SNIP provided a chart showing how much low-income people can save with their service. Cat spaying can cost about $255, but subsidization by SNIP could see that cost reduced to $155. Similarly, cat neutering, costing about $155, could be reduced to $105.

The delegation told council the organization has "a general municipal metric to request five cents per capita" and said that would amount to $1,150 for Uxbridge. They asked that council consider making such a grant in its 2025 budget.

Council referred the request to staff.