Across all 11 clinics, Emancipet performs about 60,000 spay/neuter procedures each year, she said.
The impact
Affordable veterinary care helps reduce shelter intake in two ways: it allows owners facing cost barriers to keep their pets, and it lowers the lifetime cost of pet ownership from an estimated $8,000 to $25,000 at market rate down to $2,000 to $3,000 through Emancipet, Katon said.
She also pointed to Austin’s pet ownership rate, which she estimated at 78% to 82%, among the highest of any major U.S. city, as evidence that affordable care broadens who can take on pet ownership.
Emancipet offers a mobile clinic with a posted online schedule alongside its 10 onsite clinics, four of which are in Travis County. (Courtesy Emancipet)The provider generally prices services 65% to 85% below market rate, Katon said, citing a $1,000 procedure that might cost $150 through Emancipet as an example.