Pay It Forward Movement

Spay it forward

Popular movie, book are inspiration behind spaying, neutering drive

By Bethany Clough / THE BEE

FARMERSVILLE — One hundred dogs will be spayed or neutered in the next 100 days in Farmersville.

The project, called Spay It Forward Farmersville, is based on the concept behind the book and movie, "Pay It Forward."

In the film, a teacher, played by Kevin Spacey, asks students to come up with a way to change the world and implement it. One student, played by Haley Joel Osment, comes up with an idea to do good deeds for three people.

When those people ask how they can pay him back, he says they should "pay it forward" instead and do something nice for three more people. The good deeds would then multiply exponentially.

B.J. Motko, a volunteer at the Valley Oak Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, thought for years that the concept could be applied to the pet overpopulation problem in Tulare County.

B.J. Motko of Visalia says she got the idea for Spay It Forward more than a year ago and is excited that it has taken off. The program helps low-income people spay or neuter their dogs, which helps to prevent pet overpopulation.
Renee Knoeber / The Fresno Bee

Together with the newly formed Love of Animals Inc., the SPCA and Tulare County Animal Control volunteers identified 10 low-income families, with help from the Women, Infants and Children program, whose pets needed spaying or neutering.

Those 10 families will have their pets fixed for free and be asked to identify three other people for the service. The numbers will multiply until 100 dogs have been spayed or neutered. (One hundred is the number of surgeries for which money has been donated.)

Residents of Farmersville were chosen because of the city's recent cutbacks in animal control. The city, which is facing major financial problems, once had an animal control officer to pick up strays and take them to a shelter, which prevented some dogs from breeding. Budget cuts got rid of the position, and now the city uses a $4,000 budget to pay SPCA animal control officers to respond only in emergencies, such as calls about vicious dogs, said Farmersville Finance Director Rene Miller.

Now the city gets calls for strays that it can't answer and there are more strays on the streets, she said.

Spay It Forward focuses on low-income pet owners because not having money for the surgery is often one of the reasons people don't do it, said Love of Animals President Susan Fatica.

Participants must be on public assistance or otherwise prove they are low-income.

Aside from the initial 10 participants and the pet owners they recruit, volunteers are encouraging other low-income families to fill out applications for free spaying and neutering.

The applications are available at businesses all over Farmersville, including Mason Tire, the WIC clinic, La Mejor Restaurant and City Hall.

Participants will receive 100 "neuterbucks." Each neuterbuck is a replica of a $100 bill with "Spay It Forward Farmersville" written on it and is worth one free spay or neuter.

The SPCA, the county animal control and Love of Animals have donated money or their clinics for spaying and neutering, along with Dr. Gerald Haggard of Exeter Veterinary Hospital.

The last few people getting free surgeries for their pets before the 100-surgery limit will be asked to do community service instead of recruiting others. It may be as simple as volunteering at a shelter, or something bigger, such as helping to start a dog park, Motko said.

The groups will hold a kickoff from 1-4 p.m. Saturday near the Farmersville City Hall parking lot at 909 W. Visalia Road.

Though the project is the first of its kind, there is talk of using it as a model for other communities.

Motko also spoke with the author of "Pay It Forward," Catherine Ryan Hyde, who is endorsing the idea.

"She absolutely loves it," Motko said.

Best Friends Animal Society, a national shelter based in Utah, has endorsed it and may use Spay It Forward as a model.