Henderson approves lease for animal spay, neuter clinic

By Jeremy Twitchell

Friday, April 17, 2009 | 5:53 p.m.

The Heaven Can Wait Animal Sanctuary has forged a 50-year lease agreement with Henderson for a 2.4-acre site where it plans to build a spay and neuter clinic.

The Henderson City Council on April 14 unanimously approved the deal, which requires the sanctuary to pay the city a $1,000 security deposit and $36.15 annually for the land, located at Galleria and Moser drives, next to the Henderson Animal Shelter.

The group still has to raise $3 million to $4 million to build the facility.

Dr. Gary Weddle, the Henderson’s Animal Control administrator, called the decision “one of the best things to ever happen for pets in this city.”

“I can’t even tell you how excited I am that this is happening,” he said. “I think it’s great that the city is working with them. I can’t find one negative to this deal, and believe me, I’ve looked.”

Heaven Can Wait Vice President Harold Vosko said city officials reached out to the group to create the partnership.

“I think it is the biggest honor that a rescue group can have when a city entity asks you to work with them and gives you the land,” he said. “We’re very, very grateful.”

Weddle said the nonprofit sanctuary has been the biggest factor in keeping the animal populations in local shelters at relatively stable levels in recent years, despite the explosive growth in the valley’s human population. But to truly turn the corner in the struggle to prevent unwanted pets, he said, more action will be needed.

“You can’t adopt your way out of the problem,” he said. “The only way to deal with pet overpopulation is through sterilization — to control the number of animals coming in.”

Heaven Can Wait performed 8,000 spay and neuter operations last year, despite the lack of a dedicated facility for the procedures, Weddle said.

By comparison, Henderson Animal Control did about 1,500 last year, while the Las Vegas Humane Society did about 1,800, he said. That translates into 40,000 to 50,000 animals that would have otherwise ended up in shelters, he said.

With the dedicated facility, that number could easily rise to 20,000 operations per year, Weddle said. “It will be the greatest impact we’ve ever seen in Henderson as far as animal control is concerned,” he said.

Vosko said other cities that have established dedicated spay and neuter clinics have seen animal euthanasia rates decrease by as much as 70 percent. In the Las Vegas Valley last year, shelters had to euthanize more than 30,000 unwanted pets, he said.

“Unfortunately, this is a long war,” he said. “To win the war, (spaying and neutering) is the only thing that works.”

Vosko said the sanctuary is about to open a temporary spay and neuter clinic on Eastern Avenue at U.S. 95, where it has a two-year lease. That clinic will be a “dress rehearsal” for the clinic that Heaven Can Wait will open in Henderson, he said.

“We want to be able to have our act together and make sure it’s first-class,” he said.

Heaven Can Wait will now begin the difficult task of raising funds for the facility in a down economy. The terms of the lease agreement with Henderson give the sanctuary five years to pull construction permits and six years to begin construction, or the lease will be voided.

Vosko said architects and engineers are already in place to help with the planning. He estimates construction costs to be between $3 million and $4 million. Five years should be enough time to get that together, he said.

“I’m very confident that we’ll be able to do it,” he said.