Spay-Neuter Assistance Program, Inc. (SNAP) today announced it received a $225,000 grant from PetSmart Charities, the leading funder of animal welfare in North America, to help fuel its spay and neuter efforts in the Greater Houston Area and San Antonio, Texas.  This grant will enable SNAP to offer spay/neuter services for approximately 2,500 dog and cat companions of income-qualified clients with a $25 copay.

Since its founding in 1994, SNAP has performed well over a half-million spay/neuter surgeries.  As a result, millions of unplanned births have been prevented, and families have been empowered to provide care for their beloved pets.

SNAP’s combined service areas are home to almost nine million residents.  Of these, an estimated 1,502,000 live below poverty level; they own 375,500 dogs and 500,511 cats—80% of whom are thought to be intact (unaltered).  In addition to financial barriers, these community members also face lack of access to veterinary care in their neighborhoods and, often, language barriers.

SNAP Executive Director, Dr. Mary Kate Lawler, describes the impact this grant will have, saying, “SNAP is grateful for our partnership with PetSmart Charities.  This generous grant will enable us to provide services to an additional 2,500 dog and cat companions of income-qualified clients, improving the wellbeing of these animals and strengthening families by enriching the human-animal bond.”

Since 1999, PetSmart Charities has partnered with SNAP to provide affordable spay/neuter services to the Greater Houston Area and San Antonio—effectively awarding grant funding of over $2 million to subsidize over 50,000 surgeries and vaccinations, as well as fund equipment to increase capacity for SNAP’s stationary and mobile clinics.”

“Throughout our longstanding partnership, SNAP’s efforts to reduce pet homelessness through affordable spay/neuter services continue to be a valuable community resource,” said Deborah Turcott, acting president, PetSmart Charities.  “We are proud to continue our support of this vital work, through which many pets will receive essential health and wellness care, and countless unplanned litters will be prevented.”

Members of the community can find more information about spay and neuter services by visiting www.snapus.org, calling 713.862.3863 or emailing info@snapus.org. We can also be followed on Facebook (@SNAPus) and Instagram (@SNAP.us).

About Spay-Neuter Assistance Program, Inc. (SNAP)

SNAP’s mission is to prevent the suffering & death of companion animals and to enrich the human-animal bond by providing excellent, accessible and affordable spay/neuter and veterinary care.  Through free/low-cost veterinary care—with a focus on high-efficiency spay/neuter—we work toward a vision of a world with no homeless pets.  Working on the front lines of animal welfare, we are one of the largest nonprofit spay/neuter providers in Texas, performing around 30,000 spay/neuter surgeries/year.

About PetSmart Charities^®

PetSmart Charities, Inc. is committed to finding lifelong, loving homes for all pets by supporting programs and thought leadership that bring people and pets together.  Through its in-store adoption program in all PetSmart® stores across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, PetSmart Charities helps to find forever homes and families for more than 500,000 shelter pets each year.  PetSmart Charities also provides grant funding to nonprofits aligned with its mission.  Each year, millions of generous PetSmart shoppers help pets in need by donating to PetSmart Charities using the PIN pads at checkout registers inside PetSmart stores.  In turn, PetSmart Charities efficiently uses more than 90 cents of every dollar donated to fulfill its role as the leading funder of animal welfare in North America, granting more than $390 million since its inception in 1994.  Independent from PetSmart Inc., PetSmart Charities is a 501(c)(3) organization that has received the Four-Star Rating from Charity Navigator, a third-party organization that reports on the effectiveness, accountability and transparency of nonprofits, for the past 16 years in a row—placing it among the top one percent of charities rated by this organization.  To learn more visit www.petsmartcharities.org.