I thought, “Maine needs a program like that!” It took a couple of years before I decided to do anything about it. At that time, Maine shelters were still euthanizing cats for space. (We did not then have then, and do not now have, a dog overpopulation problem in Maine. He talked about how their program was responsible for drastically reducing euthanasia rates in his state. I heard attorney Peter Marsh from New Hampshire speak about New Hampshire’s state-funded, state-run low-income spay/neuter program. USpA: When and why did you decide that a publicly funded program was needed in Maine?Īround 1998, I went to a spay/neuter conference hosted by Esther Mechler (President of Marian’s Dream) and sponsored by SpayUSA, the organization she had founded. So, you can see we have transformed from just establishing a program to being the defenders of the program, to being a referral organization and to being involved directly in spaying and neutering. We also maintain a very basic referral website at We partner with Marian’s Dream to implement spay/neuter projects on the ground.
We have had to return to the legislature several times to defend Help Fix ME’s funding from being cut. However, over time, Spay Maine has morphed since we started it in 2000. We accomplished this by mobilizing support from shelters, animal control officers, veterinarians, rescue groups, and individuals. The sole reason was to reduce our feline euthanasia rates. To do this project alone would be too overwhelming! We initially started Spay Maine to establish a state-run, state-funded spay/neuter program like New Hampshire’s. USpA: Can you share a bit about how and why you started Spay Maine?įirst, I’d like to say that early into this project, my colleague and longtime animal advocate Sharon Secovich joined me as the co-founder of Spay Maine. As we’ll talk about today, Spay Maine has morphed since its inception, as our state’s needs have changed. We do this by supporting Help Fix ME, which is Maine’s statewide public low-income spay/neuter program, and also by promoting spay/neuter clinics and programs around the state. Spay Maine is a collaboration among Maine’s animal shelters, rescues, veterinarians, animal control officers, and animal welfare advocates who work together to reduce Maine’s shelter intakes and euthanasia. USpA: Susan, please tell us about Spay Maine and Help Fix ME. After an outing on Casco Bay, we caught up with her to share her story about Spay Maine. In Maine’s beautiful summer season, Susan enjoys sailing. Because he doesn’t do well with other cats, he enjoys all the devotion in the Hall household.
They have one cat, Milo, adopted from a shelter. She lives in Falmouth, Maine with Peter, now a successful optometrist. Susan previously assisted her husband Peter in his prior veterinary practice. Her program has served as a model to other states. The objective was to reduce feline euthanasia, and the results are impressive, with progress continuing. A staunch advocate for animals and, specifically, managing cat populations to align with caring adopters, Susan and her colleague Sharon Secovich spearheaded the creation of Help Fix ME, a publicly funded, low-cost spay/neuter program, modeled after neighboring New Hampshire.
We are approaching ‘no kill’ status!” - Susan Hall
This means we transport cats from shelters in other parts of the state that are still overwhelmed. The southern part of the state now has shelters that often have very few cats. “Expanding spay/neuter to the public’s cats resulted in a quick and drastic decline to feline intakes.
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