Orange County NC Website
owners to spay and neuter their pets. The outreach lasted about four hours, in which time we visited 10- <br />12 households. We administered de-wormer medication to almost 20 animals and set up multiple <br />appointments to pick up pets the following week to be spayed or neutered. The key takeaways from the <br />day with Amanda and Lori are as follows: <br />1) Members of the community were overwhelmingly receptive to the efforts of the Pets for Life <br />program. Everyone was willing to let us administer medication (de-wormer) to their pets <br />without much persuasion, and the vast majority were open to having their pets spayed and <br />neutered. <br />2) Every one of the community members we met were kind, respectful, and engaging. We did not <br />meet anyone who was rude, threatening, or unwilling to talk to us. This was in large part due to <br />the fact that Amanda and Lori had already done extensive outreach in the area, but the <br />stereotypical perception of lower-income neighborhoods was not justified in any way during our <br />community outreach. <br />3) The biggest obstacle to getting pets spayed and neutered was community members’ lack of <br />transportation. Lori and Amanda have regularly scheduled spay and neuter days (i.e. Wednesday <br />of every other week) in which they pick up pets from the community to be spayed and neutered <br />at a separate location. <br />4) Building strong relationships through consistent community outreach was the key to building <br />trust with its members. Lori and Amanda were known by name throughout the areas we visited, <br />and everyone was appreciative of their efforts. Lori and Amanda also knew everyone in the <br />community by name and remembered their pets’ names, which seemed very important. <br />5) Beginning relationships was most successful when Amanda and Lori offered items such as <br />leashes or small bags of food to pet owners. This opened people up and let them know they <br />were only trying to help and asking nothing in return.