By Kate Karp
Since 2013 Fix Long Beach has been serving area residents with free or low-cost spay/neuter for their pets, vaccinations at a minimal charge and free microchips. Since the all-volunteer organization opened its figurative doors, it’s held mobile clinics in different Long Beach parks and has spayed and neutered over 12,000 cats and dogs and vaccinated and microchipped countless others.
Last summer, Fix Long Beach lead Diana Kliche and Sherri Stankewitz, founder of dog rescue Sparky and the Gang, partnered up and set doggedly to work to open a clinic that had literal doors. With the assistance of a generous grant from Friends of Long Beach Animals to refurbish the building, the two nonprofits took over The Family Vet, a clinic in Central Long Beach, whose owner and lead veterinarian was going into semiretirement. The Family Vet had previously performed a large number of spay/neuter procedures for Long Beach Animal Care Services, so it was all set up for an organization that concentrated its efforts on fixing pets at low cost.
