EDWARDSVILLE — Metro East Humane Society (MEHS) has announced a $45,000 gift from the late Jerry and Harlene Gammill of Maryville, Ill. The gift will be utilized to launch a Spay/Neuter Voucher Program to provide fee waived spay/neuter services and rabies vaccines to targeted areas throughout Madison County in partnership with Madison County Animal Care and Control.
Anne Schmidt, MEHS Executive Director, said, “The generous gift from the late Jerry & Harlene Gammill will serve two purposes: we're addressing overpopulation concerns; and, we are providing surgeries to clients who cannot otherwise afford them. We're extremely appreciative of this gift and the hundreds of animals it will help.”
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Katherine Conder, Directory of Madison County Animal Care and Control, stated, “Madison County Animal Care and Control is excited to be part of a spay and neuter program with MEHS. This program will target Granite City, Alton and Madison. All three of these areas are high intake areas for us. Most of the strays that come from these areas are unaltered. This program will help reduce the population of unwanted litters in Madison County and help reduce the number of animals that come into our doors.”
The current plans for the program are to have the spay/neuter clinics offered twice per month at the Edwardsville shelter starting in April of this year, totaling 20 pets per clinic. Additional services like microchips, vaccines, flea treatment, etc. will be offered at the clinics at a reduced cost. Individuals wishing to participate in the program must reside in one of the three targeted areas and provide two forms of identification/proof of residency. Anyone interested in learning more about the program or signing up can email info@mehs.org or call 618.656.4405 during business hours.
Jerry Gammill passed away in March of 2014 and his wife, Harlene, passed away in March of 2021. With their generous donation, MEHS will be able to hold 24 clinics in the first year of the program, spaying/neutering and providing rabies vaccines to 480 animals in Madison County. To learn more about MEHS and its mission to improve animal welfare in the St. Louis Metro East region, please visit: https://www.mehs.org/.
About MEHS:
MEHS provides adoption, foster, low-cost veterinary services, humane education, and trap-neuter-return services to a five-county area in southwestern Illinois. Throughout its 36-year history, MEHS has placed thousands of dogs and cats with forever families, including more than 250 dogs and cats so far this year. To learn more about MEHS and its mission, please visit: www.mehs.org.
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