SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, Pa. — Take a walk through the Hillside SPCA near Pottsville, and you'll find lots of cats and dogs waiting to be adopted.
Cat manager Holly Kowalishen says adoptions are down, and the shelter is constantly full.
"Both sides have a waiting list. The cat side is two months long. I have over 200 cats. And the dog side, every kennel is filled. There is no room to go anywhere with them," explained Kowalishen.
Shelter staff say part of the problem is an overpopulation of animals. Many of them come to the SPCA not fixed or already pregnant.
To help curb the issue, the SPCA recently opened its own spay and neuter clinic on site. Veterinarian Johanna Andrews spends a couple of days a week performing these routine procedures.
"We have to keep the animal population down. All of the clinics are full; they are busy," said Andrews.
The shelter is working to spay and neuter all of its resident cats and dogs before opening the clinic.
Kowalishen says it takes some weight off the staff to have the clinic nearby.
"It's amazing that I only have to walk across the parking lot and not have to drive an hour to get our animals fixed. They are getting done a lot quicker," said Kowalishen.
The goal is to save the shelter time and money.
"It's a lot of money to get this going, but in the long run, it's going to save us money because you figure gas money, and you're losing staff to transport the animals," Kowalishen said.
"It will be very helpful, lower cost surgery than going to a regular facility, so it will be very beneficial to the public," said Andrews.
Staff at Hillside tell Newswatch 16 they hope to have the spay and neuter clinic open to the public later this fall.
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