Pittsburgh halts free spay/neuter program after scam by suburban pet owners, officials say

Suburban pet owners, some with designer dogs, faked their addresses to access free, taxpayer-subsidized spay and neuter services meant for use by Pittsburgh residents, the city said Tuesday, as it announced an abrupt pause to the program.

The suburbanites were using city addresses of friends and family members to get vouchers for the free service, Emily Bourne, a public safety spokeswoman, told TribLive.

“If you can afford a $3,000 designer dog, then you can afford a $200 spay,” Bourne said, adding that the program should go only to the city residents who are funding it with their taxes.

The city said it uncovered the deception during a recent evaluation of the service but provided no further details and did not release the evaluation.

Some of those who engaged in the address trickery were promoting the practice on social media, Bourne said.

Bourne could not provide any examples of social media posts, could not describe the extent of the problem and could not provide basic details about the program, such as how much the city spends on it annually, when it started or how many vouchers it issued last year.

Animal advocates believe the move will lead to the region’s homeless cat population exploding in number.

Pittsburgh officials do not conduct the actual spay or neutering of dogs and cats, Bourne said. Instead, they process applications mailed to them and issue a voucher, which can be redeemed for free services at Animal Friends or Humane Animal Rescue.

Bourne did not know how much the city pays the two shelters each year but said officials started to look at how to restructure the program and potentially move the application process online after the 2023 contract expired.

Animal Friends’ medical director Amanda Zetwo said that her organization understands “the pause will cause short-term inconvenience for people and their pets.” They support Pittsburgh restructuring the program, which helps to reduce “the serious problem of over-population of animals.”

Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh said it has provided services through the city’s spay and neuter program for more than a decade. The organization, in a prepared statement, said it’s working to ensure assistance for “residents and animals that are in the most need.”

The no-cost spay and neutering program was created to assist Pittsburghers in financial need, though the program had no monetary or salary-based requirements, Bourne said.

The program is run through the city’s Bureau of Animal Care and Control.

Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt said Animal Care and Control is working with Humane Animal Rescue and Animal Friends to address the problems.

Bourne said the city would seek bids on a 2024 plan “as soon as possible” but added that there was no timeline.

Tina Sepcic, a cat owner and advocate, called Pittsburgh’s move “a disaster.”

“This couldn’t come at a worse time,” said Sepcic, 60, of Richland, who has four rescued, pet cats and donates to trap, neuter and release causes for feral cats in the area.

Sepcic said the homeless cat population is booming because the covid-19 pandemic stunted spay and neuter efforts. Cats’ breeding season also starts in February, veterinary resources said.

“This is just going to be a disaster because cat rescues are already flooded with animals,” Sepcic told TribLive. “And this is going to make it so much worse.”

Other cities in Pennsylvania are struggling to keep up with their feral cat populations.

There are around 400,000 free-roaming cats in Philadelphia, according to ACCT Philly, the city’s official animal shelter and control provider.

In Pittsburgh, officials did not answer questions about what the pause in spay and neutering services would mean for Pittsburgh’s feral cat population.

The animal advocacy group Humane Action Pittsburgh “was told people were abusing the program,” its executive director, Natalie Ahwesh, told TribLive on Tuesday.

“Assuming they come up with a solution in a timely way, we’ll most likely support that,” Ahwesh said. “But we don’t want this hurting city residents. We’re keeping an eye on it.”

Bourne said any pet owner who already has applied to use the spay and neutering service will be contacted by animal care officials.