Fixing the Future

UCAN Spay/Neuter Clinic Invites Public to April 14-15 Open House

After months of planning, painting and just plain hard work on all fronts, Greater Cincinnati’s first and only non-profit spay/neuter clinic is ready to make its public debut!

Cincinnati Vice Mayor Jim Tarbell is scheduled to cut the ribbon that will officially open the UCAN Spay/Neuter Clinic in dedication ceremonies that will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 14th.   Sandra Ali, news anchor for WLW-T in Cincinnati, will emcee the event.

The public is invited to attend the grand opening and to tour the UCAN Spay/Neuter Clinic during an Open House that will be held from 1-4 p.m. on both Saturday April 14th and Sunday April 15th. Refreshments will be served and goodie baskets donated by Cookies By Design will be raffled off, one each day.   

The opening of this clinic is an incredible accomplishment, and we are so excited to have reached this milestone!

Five years of work went into this project, starting with the dream of a few individuals. They believed we could reduce pet over-population and the correspondingly high rates of euthanasia that plague our region. They knew we could do better. They knew we had to try.

So in 2001, they started UCAN and initiated a voucher program to help subsidize the cost of spaying and neutering for those who could not otherwise afford it. In the three years it was offered, approximately 1,000 dogs and cats were fixed as a result of UCAN’s vouchers. It was a success, but a small success. The dream was bigger…

In 2003, UCAN decided to launch Pedigree Interiors, a non-profit consignment store selling high-end furniture and home furnishings. Its proceeds would go toward opening a spay/neuter clinic that would perform surgeries on a much larger scale than the voucher program. Targeting lower income rural and urban communities across the tri-state, it could make a significant dent in the problem of pet over-population.

In its three years of operation, Pedigree Interiors has contributed more than $100,000 to the UCAN cause, growing its Montgomery-based business to become one of the most successful non-profit consignment stores in operation anywhere.

In 2005, the UCAN board decided it was time to build its dream. Humane Alliance entered the picture, and ultimately accepted UCAN into the National Spay/Neuter Response Team network. A vital mentoring relationship was established. At the same time, new UCAN board members with professional expertise in key areas of business were recruited. The strategic skills and community contacts they brought with them proved invaluable to the effort.

In 2006, UCAN launched its capital campaign – a daunting effort to raise $490,000 for clinic construction and start-up. A building in Queensgate with a perfect location was located, and a long-term lease was signed. Architectural Group International, a Covington-based firm with a generous community heart, began drawing up plans pro bono, and Cincinnati Commercial Contractors committed to being project contract manager.

Meanwhile, potential funders were approached – individuals, companies and foundations. Some said no, but many more said yes. So slowly, progress toward our capital goal was made.

Partner groups were contacted and signed up to be part of the regional effort. These UCAN partners consist of shelters, rescue groups and dedicated individuals who committed to bring their animals to the clinic and/or refer the public to the UCAN clinic, and to act as transport coordinators for the general public throughout the region.

A Vet Advisory Committee was established, composed of local vets who have a passion for the cause and were willing to act as advisors and ambassadors to the veterinary community on behalf of UCAN.

In January 2007, actual construction on the clinic began in what had been a vast 7,000-square-foot warehouse space. Under the watchful eye of Juanita Mills, a UCAN board member who served as construction project manager, walls went up where there were none… Floors were trenched for drains… Heating, air conditioning, electrical and scavenging systems were installed… Kennel rooms for dogs and cats appeared, along with spacious core-op, preparation and procedure rooms… Offices were constructed… A conference and meeting room took shape.

Volunteers were recruited to help with priming and painting. Over two winter weekends,  more than 50 willing workers showed up – volunteers from Pedigree Interiors, students from Highland High School, employees from Federated Department Stores and Architectural Group International, members of Crossroads Community Church, UCAN board members, friends and family.

Staff was hired, including our vet, Dr. David Maloney, who comes to us from Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. Policies and protocols were established. Partner meetings were held. A clinic software system was developed. A transport van was purchased.

Marketing and specials events efforts were initiated – a clinic logo and signage, media packets, brochures, flyers, posters, event hand-outs, and all manner of necessary promotional materials were researched and developed. And all of the work was done by a volunteer marketing team composed of professionals in the field who donated their time and considerable talents.

Education and outreach plans were formulated for an active spring and summer of participating in targeted community events across the area, all key to raising awareness about the UCAN Spay/Neuter Clinic and the importance of the cause.

All of these plans and dreams -- the sweat and tears, the long days and sleep-deprived nights -- will culminate in the grand opening of the UCAN Spay/Neuter Clinic the weekend of April 14-15.

It’s literally a dream come true.

We hope you will be there to celebrate with us!

Better Together

UCAN was established to reduce the number of companion animals euthanized in our region.  We understood early in the planning phase that our success would be dependent on partnering with existing groups who have been working for the same and similar causes in our region. 

Since we began the process of informing these specific groups and the community at large about UCAN’s clinic plans, we’ve had dozens of animal shelters and rescue groups rally together in support of our united mission.   Together our resources provide a unique opportunity to inspire and implement great change in the quality of life for the animals in our communities.

Just a few weeks ago, Sarah Skoglund, Executive Director, began our Partner Training Sessions.  The sessions made clear that we have a great interest and commitment from groups of all sizes throughout the Tri-state area. Our sessions were held at the Hamilton County SPCA, The League for Animal Welfare in Clermont County, and the Kenton County Animal Shelter in northern Kentucky.  The questions and abundance of ideas discussed proved that we are better working together than individually to significantly reduce the rate of euthanasia.

What will UCAN do for our partners?  UCAN will provide our partners with transportation free of charge to and from agreed locations.  Our low-cost spay/neuter services will be available to shelter animals and publicly-owned pets in the communities where our partners operate.  UCAN will provide all marketing and education materials, admission forms, patient health questionnaires, patient pre- and post-op instruction forms, and transport scheduling forms.  Additionally, we will accept vouchers from shelters and rescue groups and offer a partner incentive program that allows each group to receive every 10th dog or cat surgery free, in effect reducing the already low cost per spay/neuter candidate. 

And what will our partner groups do for UCAN?  A lot!  They will assist us in making our services accessible to communities throughout the region by coordinating  locations for the public, serving as a referral source, and bringing their own shelter animals to us.  Partner groups will pre-qualify the spay/neuter candidates by completing admission forms for each animal and a patient health questionnaire for all publicly-owned pets.   They will use their knowledge of neighborhoods and problem areas to target spay/neuter efforts.  And, possibly the most important role that our partner groups will serve is in helping to educate people about the pet-overpopulation problem and the importance of spay/neuter.

Many thanks to the following groups for their support and contributions during our partner training sessions: 

Adams County Dog Pound
Animal Adoption Foundation (ARF)
Animal Allies
Brown Animal Rescue
Boone County Animal Care & Control
Brown County Animal Shelter
Brown County Humane Society
Cat-Tails Rescue
Clermont County Humane Society
Community Animal Response Team (CART)
Friends of the Shelter
Homeless Animal Rescue Team (HART)
Hope Pet Rescue
Humane Society of Adams County
League for Animal Welfare
Living Creatures Animal Sanctuary
Noah’s Ark Animal Shelter
Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)
Purrfect Friends
Save Our Strays
Save the Animals Foundation (STAF)
SCOOP
Sheltered Paws
Silver Bells Rescue
Small Potatoes Animal Rescue
SPCA Cincinnati
Wags 'n Whiskers Rescue

Third Time’s A Charm – We Promise!

The opening of the UCAN Spay/Neuter Clinic has been delayed again – but just by a few weeks. It’s our second delay, but all signs point to this being our final push back.  With a crew of almost 45 volunteers making significant progress painting the interior of the clinic, an open house celebration in the works and partner training sessions underway, we expect to see Dr. Dave welcoming his first spay/neuter patients by mid-April. 

What’s the hold up?

Initially, protracted lease negotiations delayed the start of construction from summer to fall last year. Then, a dose of common sense also told us that opening right before the holidays probably wasn’t the best idea we ever had! So we postponed our clinic open date from November 2006 to March 2007. Since most puppies and kittens are born in the spring and summer months, this new timing would let us hit the ground running, ensuring that we would have income along with expenses in the crucial first quarter of operations.

The time delay from March to April is the result of a domino effect of events beyond our control… Let’s start with the fact that getting our building permit took longer than expected.  This, of course, held up the construction process, and that meant we landed in the cementing phase just as the winter’s worst snowstorms made their way to the tri-state.  Sub-freezing temperatures caused huge problems, namely the fact that all cement mixers were shut down for more than a week all over town. The cement situation, in turn, held up an array of other construction elements.   

Another complication arose from hiring a vet from out of state. Dr. Dave needed to get his State of Ohio license before he could practice here. Then, we discovered that we couldn’t even apply for the clinic’s DEA license until the state veterinary license came through. Since this would have forced an unexpected delay regardless, we mention it here because it’s a lesson learned that might be beneficial to others elsewhere who may be starting on the same path as UCAN.

We are all anxious to get the clinic open.   In considering our desire to create a strong start for clinic operations, however, this second delay could be considered a good thing.  It gives us more time to get the equipment and materials into the clinic and get our team hired and trained.   

Our Board of Directors – most especially Juanita Mills, who has devoted countless hours and energy to managing the clinic construction -- is working  hard to ensure that we can begin fulfilling UCAN’s mission of “spaying pets, educating people, saving lives” starting with our new opening date of April 23, 2007!

Time Flies…

This is true whether you’re having fun or not. 

Last year, when the UCAN board first started talking about the opening of our clinic, snow was beginning to fall and people were focused on the holidays. From that perspective, the passage of a year seemed interminable. But we needed a deadline to work towards, and we chose November 1, 2006.

It proved to be an ambitious target for any number of reasons, proving not only that time flies, but that when it comes to planning a project like this, everything from lease negotiations to fundraising takes twice as long as you think it will.

Yet the most significant issue involved in reconsidering our November timing had more to do with common sense than anything else: Is it smart to open a spay/neuter clinic in November, when everyone’s thinking about the holidays, not fixing their pets?

The fact is, most puppies and kittens are born in the spring and summer. So in the clinic business, that’s when we’d expect to be busiest, too. (Hey – we said it was common sense!)

Talking about running a business, first and foremost you need to be able to cover your fixed expenses or you won’t be around very long. Again, that’s not rocket science, but it’s a whole lot harder to do when the income stream is at its lowest, as it would be in the slower months of winter, than it would be later in “kitten season.”

So setting your timeline with this basic lesson in mind is important. Spring is better than fall or winter when it comes to opening a clinic because it allows you to hit the ground running – with income better able to meet fixed expenses, and client volume meeting expectations right from the outset.

It wasn’t something we thought to consider when we chose our target opening date, but it’s something important that we learned along the way.

Hope it helps someone else! 

(By the way, our new opening date? March 2007.)

What’s Up, Doc?

A local veterinary community that doesn’t know what you are doing, or that hears about your plans only through the grapevine, is a dangerous thing. It’s important to keep them informed so that they understand your mission and don’t feel threatened by your presence.

This was the advice given us by Humane Alliance, and we took it.

In early July, we held a vet meeting to which more than 300 vets were invited from throughout the region. We partnered with another Humane Alliance clinic in hosting the event, at which
Dr. Karla Brestle presented the Humane Alliance model and responded to questions. We even held the meeting at a centrally located restaurant and offered free food, wine and beer for the dinner-hour event.

Six area vets showed up.

Rather than being disappointed, we were pleased. It was triple the attendance at similar meetings held in other cities!

Most importantly, the meeting was informative, the vets who attended offered some good suggestions and valuable perspective, and we have some good material for follow-up communications with those vets who didn’t make it.

Plus, it was a good venue to introduce our executive director, Sarah Skoglund, to the vet community. Sarah always makes a great impression – totally informed and professional, she radiates credibility. And that’s not a bad message for the veterinary grapevine either!

Making Sure the Price is Right

When we first started talking about clinic pricing for spays and neuters, our priority was to “keep it simple, stupid! (K.I.S.S.)” And we naively thought, how hard can it be?

We began by looking at other low-cost clinics in the region – there are a few, but none are non-profit, and not all have the best reputations. We talked to vets and shelter directors. We questioned rescue groups about arrangements they already had with vets. And we sought guidance from Humane Alliance and Pets Alive, a Humane Alliance clinic in Bloomington, IN.

Everybody had different answers.

Then we formulated different assumptions – this many cat spays, this many dog spays, and the same for neuters – based on what we found were the experiences elsewhere.

Then we ran some budget numbers.

Then we changed our formulas and ran the numbers again. And again. And again…

We added projections for rabies and other vaccines that would be done in certain circumstances, like when we would have requests from partners for this extra service or when we were pretty sure the animal would never be seen by another vet in its lifetime. We added charges for feral boarding.

We looked at surcharges – so much for obese dogs, pregnant animals, large dogs – and decided not to go that route because it would not mean much to the bottom line, and it clearly ran counter to our “K.I.S.S.” priority. 

We were getting more and more frustrated because we still weren’t getting the numbers we needed to make this clinic viable.

So we went back to the drawing board with the architect, and we trimmed the plans and factored in a phased construction build-out that would reduce immediate expenditures, and delay some non-essential construction until year three, when the clinic cash flow projections moved into the black.

When we ran the numbers after that, they worked!  $30 for cats – spay or neuter; $55 for dogs – spay or neuter. No surcharges. No hidden costs (such as charging extra for post-op pain meds as some “low-cost” operators in the area were found to do!). AND, we’d be offering volume discounts for our partners – for them, every 10th dog they bring us is free, every 10th cat is free.

Now THAT’s simple.

The reaction to our pricing has been overwhelmingly positive. People recognize the value – not only simple pricing, but convenience and accessibility. But most importantly, they seem to realize that this pricing will allow us to stay in business so that by working together, we can further the mission of controlling pet overpopulation through effective spay/neuter, not euthanasia.

When Budgets Won’t Budge

We have spent days – not just hours, but whole DAYS – trying to tie down all of the threads that must be interwoven into the fabric of our clinic financials.

To a large extent, it was a question of juggling chickens or eggs… Which comes first, the lease? Build-out plans? Clinic pricing? Grant applications? The capital budget? Five-year cash flow projections? A competitive market analysis? Partner and vet meetings?   

Take your pick. It really doesn’t matter because bottom line, no matter where you start you’ll soon find that you can’t do one without the others. Pricing depends on budget and budget depends on pricing. Lease depends on budget, which depends on clinic plans, which depends on pricing, which depends on cash flow, which depends on competition and partners. And forget about applying for grants until you’ve got all of that figured out…

But then, what if the grant spigots don’t flow as anticipated? What does that do to the lease signing…the budget…the clinic plans…the construction timeline…the pricing…the partners…the cash flow projections?

We spent a lot of time trying to catch and hold onto all of those individual threads, much less weave them into a total financial fabric that made sense no matter which way you looked at it.

We finally got there, but it wasn’t easy. And frankly, we learned that it’s probably not possible unless you’ve pulled together a team of people with the time, expertise, analytical skills and resources necessary to devote extensive periods of time to this stage of the process.

As with so many things in a project such as this, having heart helps – but it isn’t nearly enough.