Well, interestingly, one spay/neuter charity is offering free rum to pet owners who get their pet spayed or neutered! As part of its Final Fix case study, an initiative to offer affordable options and change perceptions about spay/neuter, the FiXiT Foundation is testing a new offer – a free bottle of rum to every pet owner who brings their cat or dog in for a free spay/neuter surgery.
“As part of our Final Fix Project in St. Croix, we are testing innovative approaches for generating demand and interest for spay and neuter,” said Kellie Heckman, executive director, FiXiT Foundation. “We have tested several different marketing and incentive-based promotions to help inspire people to fix their pets. In coordination with Premier Wine and Spirits, we are excited to offer a free bottle of Cruzan Rum to pet owners who get their pet spayed or neutered in St. Croix.”
St. Croix was selected by the FiXiT Foundation as the location for its Final Fix case study because the number of pet owners who had not fixed their pets prior to the program start was three times higher than the U.S. average. Consequently, the island has a companion animal overpopulation crisis on its hands with staggering euthanasia rates. All pet owners who spay or neuter their pet are eligible for the limited-time promotion. After the completion of the free spay or neuter surgery at any veterinarian on the island, pet owners will receive a coupon for a free bottle of rum to redeem at a local retailer.
“Since launching our program early last year, we have made great headway in finding the solution to help motivate pet owners to spay or neuter their pets,” said Heckman. “Together, we can help eliminate animal euthanasia due to pet overpopulation.”
Hmm…do you think this could work in Philly? What would the incentive have to be for it to work?
As a former veterinary technician who for a while worked at a high volume spay neuter clinic (the clinics that ONLY spay/neuter), I can safely say the answer to the question is: knowledge, education, and constant repetition of the importance. When our clinic opened, modeled after the Humane Alliance in Asheville NC (seriously, check them out, they are awesome), b/c our clinic was attached to the local Humane Society, we had the funds to bombard the city with ads, some of them caused quite a stir (http://www.wave3.com/global/story.asp?s=5985451), but they got people talking. Low prices seem to propel people; even at my full-time normal clinic, if people balked at the cost of the surgery, they would often head to the high volume clinic b/c of the cheap costs. If city’s really cared about the pet overpopulation, they would offer offsets to local veterinarians to help them lower the prices of surgeries. Most counties charge extra for pet registration for unaltered pets, but, really, are the people who aren’t altering their pets bothering with Rabies tag registrations?