COLUMBUS-Polk County and Foothills Humane Society (FHS) are teaming up to join a state program that will allow low-income residents to get vouchers to spay or neuter their pets for free.

The Polk County Board of Commissioners met Feb. 5 and heard from Diane Balding, FHS board member about the program.

FHS currently offers a spay/neuter voucher program, but with the N.C. Department of Agriculture program, FHS will be reimbursed for vouchers to low-income residents who qualify.

Balding said the funds will have to be funneled through the county quarterly.

To qualify for the vouchers, residents have to show proof of Polk County residency and proof of low-income status. The county will have to sign and notarize the request for reimbursement every quarter.

Balding said FHS wants to enter the program because the shelter is overwhelmed with cats and dogs. In 2017, FHS took in 889 cats and dogs, which were either strays or owner turn-ins, and was a 14 percent increase from 2016.

In the months of November and December 2017, Balding said FHS had to double the number of animals per cage because it had more animals than it had space.

FHS, which Polk County contracts with for its animal shelter, had almost double pets per thousand people as surrounding counties in 2016.

FHS had 38 pets per thousand people in 2016, compared to 21 pets per thousand in Henderson County and 19 pets per thousand in Buncombe County, according to Balding. In 2017, FHS had 44 pets per thousand people.

In 2017, FHS took in 933 animals, including 889 from Polk County, 29 from Landrum, 14 from Campobello and one from Gowensville.

In 2016, FHS took in 837 animals, including 762 from Polk County, 49 from Landrum and 26 from Campobello, according to Balding.

“If we are going to continue to be an open admission, no-kill shelter, we must reduce the number of stray and unwanted animals coming into our shelter,” Balding said. “One way is to spay and neuter and set up aggressive programs.”

She said Henderson County did a spay/neuter program and reduced its shelter intake by 44 percent.

Balding also said in looking at other counties that have done the state program, it will take 4-7 years to see the impacts of the decrease in intakes.

Balding said there more than 30 other counties who participated in the program last year.

County manager Marche Pittman said joining the state program could mean a significant amount of money coming back to FHS that they could use on other programs.

FHS currently has a voucher program that will work in the same way, but FHS covers the costs. Pet owners come into FHS and either qualify for a free voucher or pay for a voucher and take that voucher to a veterinarian to get their pet spayed or neutered.

Currently, anyone can go to FHS to get a voucher for $25 to get their dog spayed or neutered and $10 for a cat and FHS pays for the remainder. Vouchers for pit bull breed dogs are currently free no matter what the owners’ income. The state program will mean FHS will be reimbursed for its costs for low-income residents.