Union Township approves addition to Animal Health Clinic

The Isabella County Animal Shelter will soon begin construction on its new Animal Health Clinic.

Charter Township of Union Board of Trustees approved plans Wednesday night for the clinic that will be added onto the current building, 1105 S. Isabella Road.

The building and equipment is estimated to cost $300,000, $270,000 of which will come from donations, grants and fundraisers, through the Humane Animal Treatment Society.

Union Township Treasurer Pam Stovak said in order to get the remaining $30,000, the shelter is requesting funds from the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe.

“The tribe indicated that to get funding we had to go through the two-percent application,” she said.

Jill Irving, executive director at Humane Animal Treatment Society, said the clinic will be used for low-cost spay or neutering of animals, as well as no cost spay or neutering of pit bulls.

She said the addition of an animal clinic will reduce the number of stray animals throughout the community and provide low-income pet owners with an affordable option to spay or neuter their animals.

Last year the organization spayed, or neutered 100-percent of the animals at its facility, resulting in record number of fewer animals coming to the shelter this year, Irving said.

“It saves the lives of cats and controls the pet population,” she said

Stovak said the clinic will help many farmers throughout the area who can’t afford to spay or neuter feral cats.

On average, a cat can produce 10 offspring in a year, adding up to close to 7,000 felines to the area in five years, she said.

“This clinic is our next step for what we want to do to get the animals taken care of,” Stovak said.