Mayors show love for animals, promote spaying/neutering

GREATER LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Two animal-loving city leaders came together this week to stress the importance of spaying and neutering pets.

Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski (D) welcomed some furry friends into his office Thursday. He and West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis (R) are calling for people to help end the problem of unwanted pets.

They held a press conference to ask pet owners to have their pets spayed or neutered. 

Tippecanoe County’s Almost Home Humane Society says the shelter takes in more than 2,000 animals every year. Those numbers have been increasing the last three years. 

According to city records, Lafayette and West Lafayette spend more than $185,000 a year to help keep shelters open. 

Dennis says while area shelters do a great service, there is an unfortunate result of over-crowding.

"The impact is not just a burden upon the cities, but it's also a burden upon our shelters,” Dennis said. “There is a finite amount of numbers that can be brought through there and when that load gets too significant, the unfortunate reality is that the animals are destroyed."

Mayor Roswarski echoed these concerns, focusing on the importance of spreading the message. 

"We need to make this a community issue,” Roswarski said. “We need to make it a priority for people to do the right thing and get their animals spayed and neutered."

Almost Home Humane Society says this initiative couldn’t have come at a better time.

“It's great to have the mayors’ support on something like this,” Almost Home Humane Society Executive Director Michelle Warren said. “These are discussions that have been a long time coming. We've been talking about it and I know they've always supported the idea."

For more on how to get your pet spayed or neutered, head to this website.