When Dianna Page received a call from a veterinarian’s office in Texas that it was time to bring her dog Leroy in, she panicked a little bit. Then she heard about the National Spay Alliance Foundation clinic in Dalton.

“I wondered because it is a low-cost clinic, but they have been great,” said Page, who moved to Dalton recently. “You can tell the staff really love the animals here.”

Page and Leroy have visited the clinic three times since. She said they both approve.

“It’s calm and they have a lot of laughter here. Leroy is calm, too, you can tell by how the puppy acts,” Page said.

The National Spay Alliance Foundation is a nonprofit, “low-cost, high-quality veterinary” clinic founded in 2013 by Pam Pierce, its website states.

“During my first trip to Georgia I was lucky to meet Rita and Micky Burrows who were running a local pet organization and asked if they needed some spay and neuter help in the area,” Pierce said.

After the meeting, Pierce, a native of Denver, Colo., returned with a team and mobile unit. The team originally planned to work three days, but had a waiting list of 100 animals and decided to stay an extra two days, Pierce said.

“We came back every other month for a year, then the demand grew for more surgeries and services,” she said.

Rita Burrows, owner of Grand Paws Stay-n-Play in Whitfield County, said the clinic is “very beneficial to the community.”

“People come from Rome, Calhoun and all over for services,” she said. “You get the same care you would at a regular office for cheaper. It’s an invaluable service that they offer to Dalton.”

In 2015, Pierce and the vice president of the clinic, Kim Ott, rented space at 2518 Cleveland Highway, Suite 15, for full-time services. The clinic offers spay and neuter services, vaccines and dental services. Last month the clinic performed its 15,000th surgery. The clinic also has a wellness side for sick pet exams and routine vaccinations. It offers walk-in hours for vaccines and a $10 vaccine clinic on the second Saturday of each month.

“We try to make it convenient for residents to get here,” said Pierce.

Pierce said she estimates 20 to 25 animals come in a day. They come in the mornings and are home by the end of the day.

“It’s our philosophy that animals are better monitored by their owners overnight,” she said.

Ott said the clinic is able to offer low-cost services mainly through grants she’s able to secure.

“We got one from Pet Smart for $31,000 this past year,” she said. That grant provided 400 low-cost spay and neuter surgeries as well as rabies vaccinations.

Ott said she’s anticipating additional grants this fall. One is a $10,000 grant for Whitfield County residents with female dogs and $8,500 for Murray County residents with female cats. Information on those grants will be available on the clinic’s website (www.nationalspayalliancefoundation.org) in September, Ott said.

Ott said she’s working with organizations on trying to help when their members are on patrol and see animals with skin or ear conditions.

“The animals will have an option to be seen and cared for,” she said.

Ott said it’s important to get pets spayed and neutered.

“Pam and I both came up in the animal shelter industry in Colorado which is a really super progressive state for animal welfare,” she said. “It was a little bit of a culture shock when we moved here and spay and neuter wasn’t as prevalent.”

Ott said animals roam a lot in this area.

“Unfortunately what happens, especially in northwest Georgia, the euthanization rate for animals that go into the shelter is pretty high,” she said. “Cats are almost at a 98 percent euthanize rate so if a cat goes into a shelter it doesn’t come out.”

Ott said the number of animals born each year has to be reduced to stop euthanization.

“Spay and neuter is paramount to that to be able to get the number down and stop it,” she said.

Pierce said she’s thankful for members of the community stepping up and being open to progressive animal welfare options.

“It has been an evolution since we first came to town,” she said. “We’re happy to meet the clients that really want to do the best they can for their pets.”

She said reaching the milestone of 15,000 surgeries is a start.

“That’s a lot of animals, somewhere down the line that will prove a better quality of life for animals and community residents,” she said. “We’re grateful for everyone for participating and doing the right thing for their animals.”