Local spay and neuter clinic being forced out of building

DULUTH, MN. (Northern News Now) -- A local clinic helping spay and neuter animals at a lower cost will soon be forced to shut down.

It’s the only discounted service in the Twin Ports area.

For 13 years, Twin Ports Spay/Neuter has been helping cats and dogs all across the Northland.

But now, they’re being forced out of their Lincoln Park building.

“We were notified at the end of October that they were not going to be extending our lease here,” said Chelsea Bartels, a certified veterinary technician at the clinic. “We were very saddened to hear it, we’re actually very very shocked as well.”

With only 60 days to vacate, the clinic said they’re going to have to shut down until a new location can be found.

“The animal population is really truly going to suffer,” Bartels said. “You’re going to see a lot of unwanted litters, you’re going to see an increase in the pet population.”

It’s been their mission to provide affordable access to spay and neuter procedures, something local animal rescue organizations said is necessary for the community.

“Having that low-cost option for our community has kind of been a pillar in this community for a long time and has really helped with our low population of strays,” said Nicole Facciotto, Humane Education Manager at Animal Allies.

Animal Allies has partnered with Twin Ports Spay Neuter in the past.

Despite having its own medical team, Facciotto said when they’ve been heavily inundated with animals, Twin Ports Spay and Neuter was helpful in ensuring every animal at the shelter was spayed or neutered.

Those procedures are some of the most important in animal welfare.

“Spaying and neutering is the number one way to help control the number of animals we have in our area, making sure there aren’t more animals than there are homes to take care of them, and it has a lot of health benefits as well,” Facciotto said.

For now, Twin Ports Spay/Neuter said they hope to find a building that can accommodate their needs, but ultimately would like to build their own space.

Their last day of procedures will be December 15th.

They’re not taking any more new appointments.

They will have a GoFundMe to help with the costs of securing a new location.

Northern News Now reached out to the building’s owner today to learn more about their future plans for the space but did not hear back.

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