THE TOBY PROJECTSpay/Neuter Today "¦ Save Thousands TomorrowBy Julia Szabo
The reputation of certain veterinarians precedes them. In the case of Dr. Andrew Kaplan, his rep precedes him by about a mile. Call him the Albert Schweitzer of homeless pets. Animal rescuers learn pretty darn quick how important it is to know a vet who's generous about discounting professional services. For years, Dr. Kaplan's practice, City Veterinary Care, has been many rescuers' dream hospital: consistently slashing prices, while treating homeless and affluent dogs with equal care. All animals get a dose of TLC from the head doc himself: Cuddling a pretty rescued pit bull as he preps her for spaying, Dr. Kaplan says: "I'm just doing my thing!" A board-certified specialist in veterinary internal medicine who's widely admired for his diagnostic insights, Dr. Kaplan could sell his practice and retire a rich man. Instead, he's dedicating the rest of his career to helping solve the problem of pet overpopulation. Last year, Dr. Kaplan founded a non-profit called The Toby Project. "Spay/Neuter Today, Save Thousands Tomorrow" is The Toby Project's slogan, and its mission is to offer free spay/neuter surgeries to pets of low-income families. These life-saving sterilization procedures are performed"” with Dr. Kaplan's trademark TLC"”on mobile surgical vans that drive out to economically challenged communities. "We target low-income pet owners whose pets are the actual source of the breeding that fills animal shelters," the vet explains. Dr. Kaplan's inspiration is his 8-year-old mutt Toby, the Project's namesake. He met his beloved shaggy dog just hours before he was scheduled to be put to sleep at Manhattan's busy municipal animal shelter, where healthy, adoptable pets just like Toby and Kaplan's other mutt, Griff, are killed at the appalling rate of 70 per day just for lack of adopters and cage space (although that's just a fraction of the 5 million shelter animals that are killed each year nationally). Dr. Kaplan is the first to admit that targeted spay/neuter is not a new idea, but it couldn't be more timely than right now. The urgency of the Toby Project's mission is heightened by the current economic climate, which has resulted in higher pet relinquishment rates (and sadly, higher kill rates) as people become unable to pay for pets' basic needs. "We cannot adopt our way out of this pet overpopulation crisis, and we cannot kill our way out of it," Kaplan insists. "Now more than ever, we have to focus on prevention: spaying and neutering the very animals who would otherwise directly perpetuate a vicious cycle of unwantedbirth and unnecessary death." Making New York a no-kill city is no small undertaking, but Dr. Kaplan's clients and fans agree he's up to the task.
To learn more about the Toby Project or to make a donation:
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