Animal nonprofit reaches 160K spay and neuter procedures

A Las Vegas animal welfare nonprofit has reached what it is calling a milestone in performing its 160,000th spay and neuter surgery in its 21st year of operation.

Heaven Can Wait Animal Society recently performed the surgery on a community cat dubbed “Delilah.”

“We’re proud of this milestone, but we’re more proud of what it means for the animals and people here in Las Vegas,” said Francesca Fulciniti, executive director at Heaven Can Wait, in a statement. “Providing the highest quality care at affordable prices to 160,000 animals means that we’re keeping hundreds of thousands more – an estimated 480,000 – out of our local shelters. When shelters and rescues are working with manageable admissions rates, they can focus on what’s important: finding loving homes for all adoptable animals that come through their doors.”

About half of Heaven Can Wait’s spay and neuter patients are free-roaming community cats, according to the organization.

“Whether you love your neighborhood cats or not, the best thing you can do for these animals — and your community — is support getting them spayed, neutered, and vaccinated,” Fulciniti stated. “This milestone would not have been possible without the support of our community, especially those who are passionate about saving lives. We couldn’t be more grateful.”

Spay, neuter and vaccination services also can prevent life-threatening illnesses, infections and cancers in pet cats and dogs. Demand for these lifesaving services at the spay and neuter clinic have spiked after the bottleneck caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, so staff have been working at breakneck speed to serve as many animals as possible, Fulciniti said.

The 160,000th surgery was performed by the organization’s medical director, David Henderson. The organization was formed in 2000.

For more information, go to heavencanwaitlv.org.