By Elisabeth Strillacci

SALISBURY  — The volunteers that work with the Rowan Neuter Scooter clinic in Salisbury are used to having people travel to use their services from time to time, but when one couple contacted the organization from Roanoke Rapids on the Virginia line, even they were startled.

Christopher Carter and Tracey Fleming brought one of their cats, Dumpling, to get neutered Wednesday morning, making the three-hour drive to arrive at 6 a.m. at the Park Avenue Community Center to drop him off.

“I tend to name my cats after food,” said Carter, who added that Dumpling has in fact gotten their female cat, Noodles, pregnant. But that wasn’t what prompted the urgent trip.

“We have a neighbor who puts food out for cats, which means there are many, many cats that are not spayed who are available for Dumpling,” said Carter, laughing. Not so much laughter however when he also explained that Dumpling is engaging in the very male behavior of spraying.

“He sprays my TV, my curtains, everything, and that smell is hard to get rid of,” Carter added. “The few clinics closer to us have three-month wait lists, but we needed to get this done now.”

Carter said he can handle Noodles’ pregnancy, can find homes for the kittens to come, but the spraying has to stop. They tried to find somewhere closer but the few that used to be available have closed down, they said, and other options, such as a standard vet’s office, are too expensive. One office they contacted, said Fleming, wanted $150 just for an exam. The cost did not include the surgery.

And that points to why programs like the Neuter Scooter clinic are essential, said Angie Elkins, lead volunteer for the program and one of those that makes it all happen. The Neuter Scooter now has a permanent home at the center, said Elkins, and their partnership with Dr. Elizabeth Welch, the veterinarian who operates Community Pets Mobile Services, is thriving.

Elkin said they always fill up quickly when they announce another clinic, and she is aware that in the past, owners have traveled some distance.

“We’ve had owners come from Durham and from Mt. Airy,” she said, “but never this far. I do think it really illustrates that extreme need for these kind of services.”

Carter and Fleming are animal rescuers at heart, describing how they came home during a heavy rain storm to find Dumpling, a tiny cat at the time, muddy, shivering and crying on their window sill.

“We brought him in and cleaned him up,” said Fleming, who added that there is a collection of dogs and cats and even an axolotl named Toothless in their menagerie.

“The original plan was to get him cleaned up, get him his shots and get him fixed and then find him a home,” said Carter. But home, it turns out, is with them.

The clinic has been relieved to find a permanent home, having had to bounce around at various locations, including Spencer Fire Department, the Civic Center and the Rowan Fairgrounds last year. But now, it has a steady location and can plan clinics consistently.

In addition to the spay and neuter services, pet parents can sign up for other options, such as vaccines, heartworm testing for dogs, nail trims and microchipping. But the big thing is to get registered.

Volunteers arrive about 6:30 a.m. to begin to get ready, setting up tables, getting blankets for patients ready, arranging the clip boards with all the registered animals. Although sign-up begins at 7:30 a.m., people always arrive early, hoping to get their animal first on the list for surgery so they don’t have to wait as long.

Dr. W, as she is affectionately known, rolls up with the mobile service vehicle about 8 a.m. and is there for the full day, conducting surgeries. The clinic usually wraps up by 3 p.m.

“We did make sure Dumpling was first in line today because they have such a long drive home,” said Elkin, though it is typically first come, first served. Given that Carter and Fleming arrived about 6 a.m., even before most of the volunteers, they more than earned the first spot.

The couple dropped off Dumpling, a black and white beauty who, after a bit of complaining in the car, had settled down in his crate and was being quietly watchful from the back, and hoped to catch up with some friends in Burlington while they waited.

Elkin assured them it would not be a terribly long wait.

“I hope this makes things better at home,” said Carter, “because he’s part of the family now.”