FARMINGTON – Employees of the county animal shelter are holding a bottle drive Sunday to start a program to help neuter and spay animals.

The Franklin County Animal Shelter van is scheduled to be parked at Wal-Mart from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday in Farmington.

The proceeds are going to be used as seed money to start a program to help low-income people get cats and dogs spayed or neutered, shelter Manager Patty Lovell said.

The staff noticed a need in the community and thought it would be nice to have a program to help cover the cost of neutering and spaying, Lovell said.

When the shelter had a veterinarian on-site, it could order a spay or neuter but that’s not the case now, she said.

With this season’s kitten population, Lovell said, the need has been evident.

At last count, the shelter had 134 kittens and cats, she said.

People are bringing in litters of multiple kittens at a time, she said. One person brought in a litter of seven, she said.

The cost of spaying and neutering varies and depends on how old an animal is, what type of animal, how much it weighs and whether it’s male or female.

Costs run about $39 to neuter a male cat and $70 to spay a female cat. For a dog, costs start about $75 to neuter a male dog and $95 to spay a female dog.

Lovell said the shelter would also accept donations .

dperry@sunjournal.com

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