Story by Rebecca West
Spay and neuter isn’t just about curbing chronic overpopulation problems. It’s about saving lives. When you read that, you’re likely thinking about animals left to fend for themselves on the streets, who die from malnutrition, disease, abuse, or injuries from things like car accidents, fights, and other equally depressing factors. You might also be thinking of dreaded E-lists, where perfectly healthy animals are put down due to a lack of resources to adequately care for them.
Each year, nearly a million dogs of all ages, breeds, and sizes are euthanized or suffer as strays here in the U.S. According to the ASPCA, 334,000 were euthanized in shelters, and 524,000 were transferred to other organizations in 2024, the latest year for statistics. That’s not including unaccounted-for strays that never make it to shelters or rescues. These appallingly high numbers are attributed to unplanned litters that could have been prevented by spay and neuter.
But there are other compelling reasons for doing it. Ensuring your dog is spayed can spare them a grisly death or, at the very least, weeks of recuperation from near-death due to pregnancy and delivery complications. Small female dogs that have inadvertently mated with larger dogs often experience complicated deliveries and may die. To compound matters, the puppies frequently expire during birth as well. On average, it takes only 20 minutes to perform a spay procedure and 10 minutes for neuter.
The Far-Fetched Vet
Far Fetched Charities. One of the veterinarians behind the organization is founder and CEO Dr. Stacey Thomas, DVM, who performs spay and neuter procedures in Texas, Arizona, and Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. Thomas and her partners’ goals for the nonprofit are to “bring spay, neuter, and wellness services to places where veterinary care is scarce or non-existent through collaboration with local rescues, shelters, non-profits, and NGO’s.”
Besides her own charity, working with PACC, and being listed on the board of directors for Blackberry Creek Farm Animal Sanctuary in California, Thomas is connected with Yaqui Animal Rescue in Sullivan City, Texas, near the border of Mexico. The rescue held a gala back in late November and gave a special shout-out to Dr. Thomas, who they noted as “the driving force” behind opening their low-cost clinic at Donna North High School.
Known as the Veterinary Animal Science Program, in 2025, Yaqui and the clinic were reportedly responsible for altering more than 620 pets, preventing thousands of unwanted litters, and making a real impact in their community. Dedicated to serving underserved communities, they continue to work toward improving the lives of animals in the Southwest.
At the November Tails for Hope Gala referenced earlier, they received an inspiring message from celebrity veterinarian Jeff Young of Dr. Jeff: Rocky Mountain Vet on the Animal Planet channel, who reminded guests that “spaying and neutering is the ONLY solution to our stray overpopulation problem” today. His message was said to energize the room and reaffirm why this work matters so deeply. https://youtu.be/6eNmKIjKeF4?si=2zJiFXuYcvROXNCE
We asked Dr. Thomas what she saw as the most significant barrier to spay and neuter—lack of funds, access or availability, and/or lack of understanding/education about its importance—and she replied that lack of funds ranked highest, followed by lack of understanding/education. Thomas also provided us with other helpful information as to how sterilization can be beneficial.
Repeated pregnancies, especially back-to-back, are exhausting and can lead to malnutrition, health complications, and a shorter lifespan for female dogs and cats. (Note: cats can reproduce three to four times a year and dogs twice a year.)
Another reason to get them fixed is that there are grave medical conditions that spay and neuter can help negate, so it’s not just about reducing unwanted litters. For instance, spaying can assist in sidestepping pyometra, a serious infection of the uterus, and keep other illnesses at bay, such as reducing the risk of mammary cancer.
TVT cancer among intact animals is higher as well. TVT is a contagious cancer that spreads through direct contact, usually during mating, but also by licking or sniffing tumor cells. While it’s highly treatable with chemotherapy, surgery, or radiation, with a good prognosis if caught early enough, why would you want to risk putting your dog through that and the cost associated with it? And there are so many other maladies and conditions that can be avoided through spay and neuter.
“But we can’t just rely on spay and neuter as a solution. The public needs to be educated on the fact that it’s a community effort. Spread the word. Recognize that you, as an individual in our community, can take ownership of the problem,” Dr. Thomas pointed out.
In her own words, the Scarritt Foundation has been very generous to PACC and Dr. Thomas, who said that the grant she received from them enabled her to further her own charitable foundation’s aspirations after applying and qualifying for funding.
So, just who are they? Based here in Tucson but built, as they put it, for a global mission, the Foundation is dedicated to supporting 501(c)(3) organizations that rescue, rehabilitate, and rehome animals, while also funding critical veterinary care for pets whose families are facing financial hardship. In December, we had an opportunity to speak with its founder, Adrienne Williams, for this story.
As to the Foundation’s creation, she explained that she was initially inspired by her third great-grandfather, Nathan Scarritt’s legacy of service, and that the Foundation’s goal is to support “those on the front lines of animal rescue and rehabilitation.”
A successful businesswoman with five companies and 147 employees worldwide, this is her first foray into the non-profit world, so she’s admittedly on a learning curve and trying to treat the Foundation as a business.
Q. What inspired you to get involved in animal welfare?
A. I grew up in Sedona when it was still a small town, and my brother and I found a cat one day that my parents let us keep. Then I got a dog in the 1st grade. I loved animals and eventually told my parents that I wanted to become a veterinarian. But once I found out that I would have to cut into them as part of my job, I decided I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t cut into an animal even to help it or save its life. I just couldn’t.
Then I decided I wanted to be a boss after seeing the film 9 to 5. But in my case, I wanted to head an animal rescue. In 2023, I realized I had the resources to finally do something about it. I looked at the Angel Charity and thought they had a recipe for success and real impact. I used them as my model for what I wanted to accomplish and how to go about it. Now, I want to take everything to the next level and go global. Animals have always been very much a part of my and my family’s lives.
Q. What’s the focus of the Scarritt Foundation?
A. We have three pillars. The first is animal companions of the unhoused. When unhoused pets in Pima County become ill or are injured, access to veterinary care is nearly impossible. Through our partnership with the Tucson Independent Veterinary Alliance (TIVA), we provide essential medical supplies and equipment needed for volunteer veterinarians—retired, independent, and corporate—to offer free, life-saving care.
We’ll also be working with the Health Department via our PUP Outreach program. PUP stands for Pets of the Unhoused in Pima County. They’ll send out a county health worker for people to meet with when we go on these outreach initiatives in areas that need help with a focus on spay and neuter.
(“The Pima County Health Department provides mobile preventative services to community members who experience barriers in accessing healthcare. Our new partnership with the Scarritt Group will enable the community members we work with to obtain vitally important veterinary care services they may not otherwise receive. We look forward to continuing to build this relationship to improve the lives of the citizens of Pima County,” Michelle Moore, Title X Program Manager for Pima County.)
The second pillar is families facing financial hardships. When a pet is ill or injured, and families are struggling to make ends meet, we offer grants through our partnership with TIVA to fund critical, life-saving veterinary care, ensuring that every pet receives the treatment they deserve.
The third is assisting local 501(c)(3) rescue organizations. These groups step in when no one else will and devote nearly every waking moment to pulling animals from what are often desperate situations, nursing them back to health, and placing them with families or persons who will love them. We do this by providing grants so that they can keep doing the work that matters most—paying vet bills, buying food, covering transport costs, and simply keeping the lights on and the doors open.
One Tail at a Time
The Foundation works closely with Asavet Charities, which performs low-cost and no-cost spay and neuter procedures across the Southwest. Williams noted that Dr. Karter Neal has spayed and neutered as many as 150,000 pets over the course of her career. Dr. Neal suggests the locations to focus on, and Scarritt team members accompany her to provide support, including handing out people food and food from a pet pantry they put together at Scarritt’s offices.
Additionally, they also bring blankets, towels, leashes, collars, harnesses, and booties for those in need. They use apps such as Nextdoor, Facebook, and Instagram to facilitate shout-outs to the community when help is needed, with Williams praising their response.
The groups’ missions align well, as Asavets emphasis is on spay/neuter, wellness, and providing access to care for those who otherwise find veterinary support inaccessible due to economic or geographic reasons. They offer subsidized care to owners in need and underserved areas of the Southwest, including several indigenous nations. You’re probably familiar with their mobile unit made possible through a donation by the Bonnie Kay Trust Fund.
Making an Impact
This year, the Scarritt Foundation has $400,000 earned grant money they obtained in less than a year through simple donations like their 5 to Thrive Program (“Can you imagine the impact if everyone would donate just $5 a month, the difference we could all make?” Williams asked.) and large donors, including from the Furball Fundraising Gala, to be held each year in the fall.
The best part is that all the money they receive in donations locally goes to support animals here in Pima County. In other words, if it was raised here, it stays here. It’s pretty refreshing and almost novel. Considering that with so many charitable organizations, you aren’t always certain where your money will be applied or distributed.
Another point is that donations are not used to pay salaries or administration costs, because the Scarritt Group companies absorb them for the Foundation. Even the expenses regarding the Furball Gala in October 2025 were covered by sponsors, not donors.
Of that money, $200,000 is going towards critical care and impact. They will host another fundraising and informational event this spring, which will be a lot less formal than the Furball Gala, with details to come. They will also be having free Lunch and Learn events to educate the public, with lunch sponsored by the Scarritt Group.
When asked what she’d like people to know that might not be covered on the website, the answer was, “A hundred percent of donations go towards the mission. We will be transparent with published financials so people know where they stand. We’re looking to bring more funding into the community, more volunteers, and more support to provide more impact.”
They will need hundreds of volunteers to help support their mission in the community, so if you’re interested in being a part of something bigger, reach out to them. To learn more about the grant program, visit their website at www.scarrittfoundation.org
