Humane Alliance of Western North Carolina, Inc. opened a small regional spay/neuter clinic in Asheville, North Carolina, in May 1994. Today, the organization serves 39 agencies in 23 counties and sterilizes more than 23,000 companion animals each year in Western North Carolina -- with about 150 surgeries completed daily. Since its inception 15 years ago, the clinic has spayed/neutered more than 195,000 dogs and cats.

In January 2005, Humane Alliance started its mentorship program, the National Spay/Neuter Response Team. With strong financial support from PetSmart Charities and The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (APSCA), Humane Alliance’s NSNRT program highlights best practices for designing, developing, delivering, and managing high-quality, high-volume surgical sterilization techniques for cats and dogs. The program guides organizations through the process of replicating its high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter clinic model. In June 2008, the organization opened a state-of-the-art national spay/neuter training academy in Asheville, and in April 2009, it launched a veterinary student externship and private-veterinarian training program.

Today, Humane Alliance has become the most sought-after spay/neuter clinic model for high-quality, high-volume, low-cost, spay/neuter in the nation. So far, more than 60 model clinics are in operation, with about 30 additional clinics currently in development. Every organization accepted into the mentorship program successfully opens a spay/neuter clinic, and 100% of the clinics created using this model are still open and helping companion animals and the people who care about them.

Photos courtesy HumaneAlliance.org