(Photo | Courtesy of Street Dog Hero)
Preserving the Mission of a Space Designed for Spay & Neuter
At the beginning of the month, Street Dog Hero entered into its first lease, occupying the spay and neuter facility formerly occupied by Humane Society of Central Oregon and Bend Spay and Neuter Project, and establishing its first brick and mortar.
With a surgical suite, kennels and office space, the new facility offers Street Dog Hero (SDH) a place to share in-person office space for staff, host events and train and onboard fosters and volunteers, as well as a place for the Heroes to land and launch from, and eventually a space from which to achieve SDH’s strategic goal of providing spay, neuter and wellness services not only to dogs in under-resourced communities in Mexico, but also those in Central Oregon.
Located at 910 SE Wilson, Suite A1, in Bend, the space has a long history of housing spay, neuter and wellness services. Initially outfitted for the provision of veterinary medical services by the Bend Spay and Neuter Project, which provided spay and neuter services to Central Oregon community members for years, the space was then occupied by the Humane Society of Central Oregon (HSCO) when it merged with Bend Spay and Neuter Project.
“We are extremely pleased to have worked in tandem with Street Dog Hero to make the transition of the space happen,” said Lynne Ouchida, Community Outreach Manager for HSCO. “This move is a huge benefit to SDH and our community.”
Marianne Cox, SDH’s founder and board president, said, “A facility has been a key part of our strategic vision for some time and we are so excited because it will allow us to greatly expand our services and opportunities for collaboration.”
Since 2017, SDH has provided spay and neuter services to over 1,000 — and provided wellness services to over 800 — Central Oregon dogs and cats. In Central Oregon, SDH has partnered with local nonprofits to do just that, including HSCO, Fences for Fido, Central Oregon Community College Veterinary Technician Program, Lark RRR (Lark Ranch, Rescue and Rehabilitation) and Oregon Humane Society.
SDH concentrates its efforts where animals are least likely to receive essential care due to financial, geographic and cultural barriers. In total SDH has provided nearly 2,000 free or low-cost spay and neuter surgeries and offered wellness services to over 2,600 owned and street dogs and cats in underserved communities locally and internationally. SDH will return to several areas in Mexico in 2022 to continue international spay, neuter and wellness services.
In addition to the organization’s Spay, Neuter and Wellness Program, SDH has a Rescue, Foster and Adopt Program. SDH works in collaboration with rescue partners across the globe who are local to those areas to rescue street dogs and bring them home to Oregon. Here, they are fostered in homes and then adopted by loving “Furever Families.”
In the U.S., SDH has rescued and adopted dogs from Central Oregon, California, Texas, Ohio and Puerto Rico. Abroad, the nonprofit has saved dogs from Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, British Virgin Islands, China, Guam, India, Mexico, South Korea, St. Thomas and Thailand. Since 2017, SDH has rescued almost 2,000 dogs from neglect, hunger and abuse from around the world — providing them with wellness, sterilization, transportation, fostering and adoption.
SDH envisions a world where all dogs are healthy, safe, cared for and wanted. Through this work, SDH makes a lasting impact on owned and street dogs and cats and the families that surround them.
About Street Dog Hero
Street Dog Hero serves dogs in need around the world and their communities through rescue, adoption, wellness, spay/neuter and education. SDH is focused not only on saving dogs that currently need to be rescued, but also on the root causes of pet overpopulation by offering low-cost and free sterilization in hopes of reducing the number of unwanted companion animals that are born. And, advocacy, education and outreach makes lasting positive change in the lives of dogs (and cats) and their humans.
