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We call them "Game Changers" — the exemplary, hardworking individuals who have gone the extra mile to promote animal welfare all around the world. Every week, we feature a special Game Changer, so if you know someone in your community who deserves this award, nominate them and help us get the word out about the magnificent work they do! Click .
Romaine Kobilsek, president of Spay Arkansas, moved to Northwest Arkansas about one decade ago, setting into motion a concept that has done immeasurable good for animals in the region. Romaine, who was nominated for a Healthy Pets Animal Game Changer Award by Ashley G-B, was looking for volunteer opportunities at the time, after leaving her job in the corporate world.
She spotted a small building, Spay Arkansas, and created a clinic that offers low-cost spay-neuter services to economically challenged people in the community. “Two weeks ago, we celebrated our 50,000th surgery at our facility,” she said, and that’s just the beginning of what Romaine and her extended team at Spay Arkansas have accomplished for animals in need.
Reducing the Pet Overpopulation Problem
Pet overpopulation is a serious problem in the U.S., especially in certain southern states. With overflowing shelters and a lack of homes, many animals are euthanized as a result. While I have advised some of my 100% committed, responsible pet parents to leave their pets intact for health reasons, we're not yet at a place where every dog can safely remain intact.
There are, however, procedures that render animals unable to reproduce, but which spare their ovaries and testes and the vital hormones they produce. I absolutely believe those procedures should be taught in veterinary schools and offered by veterinarians as alternatives to full spays and neuters. With that said, the work that Romaine has done at Spay Arkansas has saved many lives by reducing pet overpopulation in the area.
In fact, in 2011 38% of animals entering shelters in northwest Arkansas were euthanized. By 2014, due to the work of Spay Arkansas and other animal welfare organizations, this dropped to 15% and has since further declined to 11%.1 They also work with feral cat trap/neuter/return programs in order to help reduce feral cat colony populations.
Their organization, which includes licensed veterinarians, performs about 40 to 50 operations two to three days a week. They’ve also partnered with Kansas State University and now help train veterinary students in spay-neuter surgeries. Romaine said:
“A problem that we've come to acknowledge in the deep South is that there is a lack of trained spay-neuter veterinarians … Core competency comes from practice, practice, practice. An organization like ours is a true path to reduction of excess animals, especially in the deep South.
So we have decided … to create a partnership with Kansas State University. They send their students to us now for training. They are either a one-week intensive program, or if they're a fourth-year student, there's a three-week mentorship program. This past year we had 38 students in our facility, many of which have decided that profession in spay-neuter instead of general practice is what they want to do.
We don't have a school of veterinary medicine in the state of Arkansas, so I decided we had to train them ourselves. We have a fantastic team of doctors who were excellent educators. And we've just grown this partnership over the last couple of years to a magnitude that I could not have originally thought of when I started this.”
Providing Funds for Pet Food and Veterinary Care
In addition to providing low-cost spay and neuter surgeries, Spay Arkansas has a pet food sharing program that dispenses 1,500 pounds of donated pet food every month.
“Once I started working with the animals and the animal community,” Romaine explained, “I realized there were so many layers of this onion that needed to be pulled back. And as I delved deeper, I realized the tragedy of having an animal that you cannot care for because you're financially strapped.
So then we began a partnership with Walmart that had a distribution center near us, and we were able to procure thousands and thousands of pounds of cat food, and we've distributed that for the last nine years.”
They also use donations to help provide veterinary care for animals in need. “I love all animals, but I love people so much. I want people not to stress over the fact that they have a pet in their house that's sick, or that needs help,” Romaine said.
“We want to be that pathway for them to that happiness, because we know that child needs that pet, that older lady or that older gentlemen who has nothing else needs that pet. And that's really where I get my joy is knowing that we've been able to do that for people.”
Acting as a Conduit for Rescues
Another layer of Spay Arkansas extends to animal rescue. While they’re not a rescue organization, they inevitably have many animals in need of homes come through their doors. They partner with rescue organizations across the U.S. and even internationally to find homes for animals in need, often relocating them from overflowing shelters in the South to rescues in other states with a surplus of people looking to adopt a pet. According to Romaine:
“Although Spay Arkansas is not a rescue, we are conduit to rescues now. Since that time in 2014, when we started that process, we've purchased our own van because we have so many rescues going out. They go to Minnesota. They go to Chicago. They go to Indiana. They go to Colorado.
I mean, just so many places. We've had some international adoptions that have happened. And this year, as of last Saturday, we've shipped out 711 animals from our facility to rescue partners across the country. So that's been a big part of our mission.”
They’re also actively working to educate people about the atrocities of puppy mills, which are common in northwest Arkansas and Missouri, while actively working to expand the concept behind Spay Arkansas into additional clinics throughout the state and U.S.
“Every community I believe has this potential. We just have to help them open that box to show them what can be before them. And that's where Spay Arkansas wants to be help other communities this way,” Romaine said.
If you’d like to get involved, Spay Arkansas is always looking for volunteers and donations. You can find them on social media and via their website, Spayarkansas.org.2 To reach Romaine directly, you can send an email to [email protected].