Across California, many shelters are facing the same problem: too many animals are entering shelters, and too few resources to care for them. A major driver of this statewide trend is the lack of access to veterinary care, especially spay/neuter services. In many rural towns, families have no easy way to get their pets the care they need.
Coalinga, a small and geographically isolated community in West Fresno County, is one of those places. There is no local veterinary clinic, no spay/neuter provider, and limited transportation options. Gimme Love, the local shelter that holds the municipal contract for the City of Coalinga, has needed to transport animals more than two hours for spay/neuter surgery and at least 45 minutes for even the most basic veterinary care.
This challenge affects pets, families, and the entire shelter system. But with generous support from an anonymous donor, it’s also becoming the catalyst for tangible change for animals.
A new approach rooted in data
With donor support, we kicked off our work in Coalinga in July 2025. The San Francisco SPCA and our partners collaborated with the City of Coalinga to test a bold hypothesis: what happens when high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter is brought directly to a community that has never had it?
Coalinga’s conditions made it uniquely suited to answer that question. With no local veterinary clinic and animals traveling more than two hours for spay/neuter surgery, the unmet need was acute and measurable.
This work is grounded in a model developed by Dr. Sara Pizano, whose research suggests that reaching roughly 5-10 spay/neuter surgeries per 1,000 residents can fundamentally change shelter outcomes. This level of access to veterinary care has the potential to create a lifesaving impact for animals.
Coalinga’s geographic isolation and long-standing lack of access to affordable spay/neuter made it the perfect place to put this theory into action. An initial survey conducted by Gimme Love found strong demand for services in Coalinga, with more than 900 residents expressing interest in subsidized care. The next step was bringing spay/neuter services directly to Coalinga.
Bringing surgery to Coalinga
Since July 2025, the SF SPCA and SNIP Bus have hosted monthly or bi-monthly high-volume clinics right in town. So far, we’ve made remarkable progress and have averaged a little over 100 spay/neuter surgeries per clinic.
What sets this project apart isn’t just the volume of care—it’s the collaboration behind it. This initiative brings together the SF SPCA, the City of Coalinga, Gimme Love Animal Shelter, SNIP Bus, Animal Balance, and hundreds of local residents.
“The SF SPCA’s support of the SNIP Bus and spay/neuter services has made a real, measurable difference in Coalinga. These surgeries are reducing animal overpopulation at its source, easing pressure on our local animal services, and creating better outcomes for pets and families across our community,” says Coalinga Mayor Nathan Vosburg.
The goal for the first six months was 750 spay/neuter surgeries, with a focus on public pets, large-breed dogs, and community cats—the populations that see the highest shelter intake. While the work will continue after hitting this initial goal, reaching this milestone allows us to evaluate the 5-10 per capita model in a real-world, rural setting.
Visionary support is making it possible
Donor support is the backbone of this work. Their investment does more than fund surgeries. It enables innovation, measurement, and the chance to test a model that could influence statewide policy and shelter strategy. With this support, we are reimagining what’s possible for rural communities that have a difficult time accessing veterinary care for their pets.
The SF SPCA and partners will continue offering subsidized spay/neuter clinics for the Coalinga community through 2026. With additional support, the program has room to grow and deepen its impact. Every surgery helps pets and their families immediately. Over time, these efforts can prevent overpopulation, reduce shelter euthanasia, and give shelters room to breathe.
Help the SF SPCA continue this work by donating to the Central Valley Spay/Neuter and Preventative Care Fund.