"You name it, we get it. And we fix it," coordinator and Stratford resident Adrienne Christotas Timko says, describing the mostly volunteer operation as "our assembly line."
On Sunday, the main meeting room in the Lindenwold Senior Center is transformed into a sophisticated, if temporary, veterinary hospital, complete with stations for intake, vaccination/treatment, anesthesia/pain management, prep, surgery, post-op, and recovery.
There's even an "ICU," featuring extra attention and heating pads for kitties who have a tougher time coming out from under anesthesia.
All for $25.
"We provide people with an option for what can cost $300 if they get their animals fixed privately," says Barbara Giusti, a Camden County animal shelter employee. "You can preach to people all you want, but if you don't provide an option, it's not going to make any difference."
About 35 volunteers, including veterinary professionals, pet-store employees, and "foster parents" for shelter animals, carry out assigned tasks (such as carrying comatose cats). These people are a community defined by a deep love for and commitment to animals, particularly cats.
"This is the only way we're going to stop the killing of cats," says Judy Hibbs, a Mantua resident who works at the Gloucester County Animal Shelter.
More than 9,000 shelter cats were euthanized in Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester Counties in 2009, according to the most recent state statistics.
Amid the plaintive meows punctuating the human conversations, the dominant sound in the room is the buzz of clippers and the whoosh of a handheld vacuum cleaner.
