In 2011 a coalition of animal rescue groups and like-minded individuals got together to discuss the most impactful way to help curb the overpopulation of cats and dogs in our community. Operation Spay Bay was born from this discussion with the goal of opening a high-quality, high-volume (HQHV) low-cost spay and neuter clinic.
Over the next three years, we applied and were accepted into the Humane Alliance (now part of the ASPCA) HQHV spay and neuter mentorship program. With their guidance and training, Operation Spay Bay opened our doors and the journey began on March 24th, 2014. The original clinic started out in rented space at the Bay County Humane Society building.
“We have strived to meet the need”
As the practice grew and the realization that our communities needed more than just spay, neuter and basic vaccines at an affordable cost, the purchase of our own building on 15th Street took place in 2017. It more than doubled our space capacity and we began our Healthy Pet Clinics. Sick, injured and preventative appointments were now offered at affordable pricing. The 15th Street location served us well from 2017, until 2023 when we realized that if we were going to continue the growth of our practice we needed more space. Between 2018 to 2023 Operation Spay Bay weathered Hurricane Michael, a category 5 hurricane and two years later a pandemic that literally shutdown the country. Through it all the need for affordable veterinary care increased ten fold. We have strived to meet the need.
Mid 2023 we purchased our current 14th Street location, which had previously housed a church. We spent 2024 converting a church into a veterinary clinic with 3.5 times the amount of much needed space. 2025 began with a move into the new space and Operation Spay Bay will continue to grow and meet the need of the pets in our community. As of mid-year 2025, in our 11th year of business, Operation Spay Bay has fixed over 110,000 cats and dogs, and we now provide other veterinary services for over 1,000 pets a month. We employ 4 veterinarians (soon to be 5) and have an ever increasing support staff of 25 employees.