EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) - Over 400 owned pets were spayed and neutered during the first-ever public Spay-A-Thon, El Paso Animal Services announced in a news release. The event, which was held from March 7-9, brought together two high-volume veterinary teams to provide critical services to the commu nity, El Paso Animal Services said. The event was made possible through "generous donations" to Friends of El Paso Animal Services, the nonprofit arm of El Paso Animal Services, according to the news release. El Paso Animal Services said these funds were used to bring experienced traveling veterinarians and their teams to El Paso for an intensive weekend of high-quality, high-volume spay and neuter surgeries. “I was incredibly honored to return to El Paso to assist with their Spring Fling Spay-A-Thon--this was my third time assisting their amazing team in performing surgery, and now for owned pets!” Dr. Melia Washington said. “El Paso Animal Services has continued to blow me away since my first visit in 2022, and have continued to grow and expand their services to now include spay/neuter for the public.” El Paso Animal Services said they resumed offering low-cost spay/neuter services to the public in September 2022, providing surgeries once a week. In 2024 alone, the department spayed and neutered over 1,200 owned pets. However, the Spay-A-Thon provided an unprecedented opportunity to complete more than 400 procedures in just three days, El Paso Animal Services said. “Access to affordable spay/neuter is very much needed in our community, and we are grateful to have had these traveling veterinarians and their teams come and provide this opportunity to the residents of El Paso,” Terry Kebschull, El Paso Animal Services director, said. “Not only will this help reduce the overpopulation of pets in our community, but will also help our community’s pets stay healthier and safer.” "Thanks to all of our partners in this-- it is inspiring to see so many people coming together," Eric Pearson, president and CEO of the El Paso Community Foundation, said. “This is the most humane way possible to treat our animals; to keep them out of shelters and off the streets.” Community members who would like to support future spay/neuter efforts can sponsor a surgery through Friends of El Paso Animal Services at www.givebutter.com/spayathon. For information on local spay/neuter resources, visit www.ElPasoAnimalServices.org/FixMyPet. ...read more read less