Impact Stories

Read the article here! Trudy Terres started working with the Humboldt Spay/Neuter Network as a volunteer, while a student at Cal Poly. A stray cat had adopted her and that little lady inconveniently gave birth to kittens under Trudy’s bed. “I reached out to HSNN, and they were so accommodating and helpful. To repay the favor, I started to volunteer.” Then a job opportunity of kennel aid came along, then one as a vet’s assistant, then there was some outreach and community work

This handsome sweetheart, Rufus, was abandoned deep in the hills of Humboldt. Luckily he was found by a caring owner who took him under his wing and gave him the life he deserved. While at HSNC for his neuter, a swollen lump was brought to our attention. Upon closer inspection, the wound was definitely something that needed to be assessed further. The area was shaved, cleansed, the Dr. made sure no foreign objects were imbedded within his skin, and it was sutured closed. With

That's a wrap on our 2025 year! In 2025 we: Fixed 610 dogs, 2,726 cats, and 1,376 feral cats Completed 506 wellness exams Performed over 30 dental procedures! Thanks to all of our amazing patients, pet parents, and volunteer cat trappers! We couldn't do it without you! Our last patients of 2025 were:

The Feral Colony Fund in action, this stray kitty was brought in for a neuter but after sedation a severe gash was found on his foot. If left untreated, the wound might not have properly healed or could have turned into a life threatening infection. This cat was brought in at the perfect time, and we were thrilled to be able to treat his injury!

Your donations in action! This is why your donations matter and are so greatly appreciated! A pair of elderly neighbors contacted the clinic for some help with a few ferals in their neighborhood. They've watched the population triple in the last 18 months and wanted to help but both could not physically trap or transport the cats, nor afford getting them all fixed. Hearing about our TNR program and knowing it was the best option, they gave us a call. After connecting them to

Emma and Wharf are two older dogs that recently got a second chance at life and were adopted into a new family. Their new owners wanted to make sure these two perfect angels were set up to live the happiest and healthiest lives they could, and we were happy to help! Their new owners purchased the Waggin' Wellness Package for each dog which includes everything we offer to set dogs up for success! Both Emma and Wharf were perfect patients, so loving, very patient through all of

Early 2025, HSNC was approached by multiple government agencies about a large colony of cats on a property of a single family home. The cats were out of control, none of them were fixed, and they were becoming a real problem. The agencies that contacted us made pledges to assist in the project of approx. 60-80 cats, we gave the info to some of our volunteer trappers, and by the end of January we had started our newest project! 12 months later, and we have spayed/neutered over

Sweet Bella was happily adopted on Christmas Eve! She came into a very loving home who eventually noticed she had a broken tooth. Dental procedures are something that are pricey wherever you go, and because it wasn't causing her any issues she didn't get that tooth taken out right away. After some time, her cheek started to swell and her dad knew it was time to fix it! Bella came in for a free oral health assessment and received an estimate for her dental procedure. We were a

Read this one all the way to the bottom to read their full story and watch these two grow! Meet Peggy, she and her brother, Jack Sparrow, were trapped at a house in Eureka. Peggy was trapped with only three legs, her hind leg was severed at the equivalent of the shin bone. At the time she was trapped, her injury had healed over, leading our volunteer to initially think perhaps it was a birth defect. Peggy and her brother came in for dewormer, vaccines, flea treatment, and a b

A stray kitty was brought in today by one of our fabulous volunteers for a neuter and to assess his injured eye. This kitty turned out to be neutered already, but we did sedate him to explore the injury to his eye. Turns out he had a foxtail lodged deep in his eye socket! The foxtail was removed, and our volunteer will keep him at her house for medication and monitoring. He will come back for a re-check in a couple of weeks to check on his healing process and assess next step

This sweet girl was brought in by one of our volunteers for us to take a look at her eye! This stray kitty, we named Softie, was spayed here a while ago, but the difficult life of a community cat does not end once they can no longer reproduce. Turns out the eye itself (at least for now) is fine. It appears she experienced a traumatic event to her face, and the swelling and discharge are from an infection caused by a bite wound. The infection is in the facial bones. Softie rec

graphic photos below Miss Joker was a feral that was brought to us by a local cat trapper. She was just here to get spayed but our medical staff noticed a horrible injury to her face. With no owner to care for her, she sadly would have been spayed and then returned back to where she came from, BUT, our staff didn’t want to let that happen! With funding from our donation based Feral Colony Fund, Miss Joker underwent a procedure to get her face stitched up while she was gettin

Everyone meet this beautiful, strong cat named Andi. This sweet girl underwent a double enucleation, which means the removal of both her eyes! As a kitten, she suffered juvenile glaucoma that has affected her all the way into adulthood. The pressure from her eyes growing to such a large size caused her to go blind, and she unfortunately was in pain 24/7.  Can you imagine having a migraine every day? After coming to us, Dr. Ott referred her to an eye specialist who agreed ther

Can you believe this cutie, coned, orange guy came to us with A HOLE IN HIS ARMPIT?? This stray boy was brough in by a volunteer trapper this week, originally just for a neuter. Once he was sedated, our team noticed he had a large puncture would in his armpit! They hopped into action quick and went to work cleaning the wound, stitching it up, and administering antibiotics. The individual that feeds him was unable to house him for his recovery but our staff refused to send him

Have you noticed that here in Humboldt we are big fans of pitties? Did you also know they are the most common breed found in shelters? Knowing this and seeing the success our previous free pit days have had, we are thrilled to announce that thanks to generous donations we were able to host another sponsored pit day! It was a huge success and it really takes the weight off pet parents that want to keep their pittie out of a shelter, but struggle to afford the cost of fixing th

Remember sweet, sick, lonely Oinky? The kitten that was found wandering an abandoned lot in Eureka? We are so happy to say that not long after we took him in and treated him, he was almost immediately adopted! Oinky is THRIVING now with 1 older sibling, and a mom who he bonded with the second they got home. We are so happy he is living his absolute best life and we cannot wait to watch him grow! (First pic is the day he was brought in, the rest is him in his new home!)

We shaved this feral cats belly to get her ready for her spay, and that's when the umbilical hernia revealed itself! An umbilical hernia is a defect where abdominal muscle layer doesn't close at the umbilical chord site. When the hernia is large enough and untreated, this can cause vital organs (like intestines) to become strangulated within the hernia. We were able to repair the hernia while she was getting spayed, setting her up for success! This life saving surgery was pos

Take a look at the life saving spa day for sweet Bruce! Bruce lives in the Guintoli area of Arcata and has been getting fed by someone that worked on Valley West. They think he was abandoned because he warmed up to pets a lot quicker than you'd expect of a stray cat. The caretaker noticed he didn't look to good and wanted to help him, they were just unsure of where to turn. After reaching out to Animal Control, they were referred to one of our volunteer cat trappers for help.

Poor, sweet Smokey had an exam appointment with us for an abscess on his tail. Once he got examined by the Dr. he was sedated and we got...

This sweet pup, Midas, came to us with a painful injury to his dewclaw. The nail had split and fractured, causing him significant...