FREEPORT – The Community Spay-Neuter Clinic of Freeport wants to “Primp your Pit” this month.

Thanks to a grant from PetSmart Charities, the clinic, at 475 U.S. Route 1 in Freeport, will be offering $20 spay/neuter operations (along with a free nail trim) for pit bulls and pit bull mixes for the first 50 dogs that are registered.

Dr. Elizabeth Stone, the founder and director of the clinic, said that as of July 26, 12 spots had already been reserved.

“We’re going to fill it up very quickly,” she said.

Stone said it was important to spay/neuter pit bulls and pit bull mixes as part of an effort to help keep the number of homeless dogs as low as possible. She said pit bulls can be especially difficult to place.

“They are the ones that have the hardest time finding homes when they hit the shelters,” she said.

As a breed, pit bulls have a reputation as a problematic animal. Stone said that reputation is mostly unearned, and she hasn’t seen a problem with pit bulls.

“I think a lot of it is breeding and training,” Stone said. “So, across the board, pit bulls aren’t necessarily bad dogs. We all love pit bulls here.”

“We have more of a problem with chihuahuas,” Stone said. “They’re very nippy.”

The low-cost pit bull spay/neuter promotion is a continuation of the work that Stone has done at the clinic since it was set up by the Center for Wildlife Health Research with grant money from PetSmart Charities.

In addition to being a veterinarian, Stone is a conservation biologist and she said established the clinic in November 2010 for a couple of reasons, one of which seems at first to have little to do with spaying and neutering dogs and cats.

“I have a dual interest in reducing cat overpopulation and homelessness and also reducing the amount of birds that (get killed) by free-roaming cats,” she said.

But spaying and neutering cats leads to fewer free-roaming cats from unwanted litters, Stone said, and fewer free-roaming cats means there are fewer cats to kill wild birds.

“Fewer cats being bred is the answer,” Stone said.

In fact, in addition to the special promotion for pit bulls in August, Stone said the clinic is also running a two-for-one special on spaying/neutering for cats, two cats for $60.

The only services available at the clinic are spaying and neutering, and though the staff works fast, the process is completely safe.

“We haven’t had any surgical or anesthesia-related deaths,” Stone said, adding that the clinic has treated more than 6,500 animals since it has opened. “All of the animals that come here go home at the end of the day.”

Even without the special rates, the prices for the surgeries are reasonable. Stone said prices are based on the weight of the animal, with dogs under 40 pounds costing $90, dogs from 40-70 pounds are $140 and dogs over 70 pounds are $160. The regular price for cats of any size is $60.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 865-0772.

At an operating room at the Community Spay-Neuter Clinic of Freeport last week, Dr. Elizabeth Stone, the director, says she anticipates the clinic’s offer of $20 spay/neuter surgery for pit bulls will be a popular one. “We’re going to fill it up very quickly,” she said. (Staff photo by Mike Higgins)