Southampton Animal Shelter To Spay, Neuter And Adopt At SoFo

The Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation and the South Fork Natural History Museum (SoFo) are teaming up for a weekend to decrease the number of stray and unwanted animals.In memory of lifelong animal lover Annette Sabin, the mother of SoFo president Andy Sabin, the animal shelter will be parking its state-of-the-art mobile adoption/spay/neuter center in front of the museum this Saturday and Sunday. Animals up for adoption will be on display on Saturday, and free spaying and neutering will be available on Sunday.“Partnering these two organizations for the entire weekend seemed like a natural flow, as their missions of conservation and love of nature are so similar and complement each other so well,” Mr. Sabin said.Mr. Sabin added that one of the few people whose love for animals surpassed his own was his mother, who died in the fall of 2012.“We took in every last stray cat and dog on our street,” he said. “Every one. She was an animal lover extraordinaire.”Mr. Sabin said that he has been looking for a way to honor his mother’s memory, and “this is the kind of thing my mother would’ve loved.”As an honorary board member of the animal shelter, and as an avid adopter of everything from peacocks and goats to pigs and rabbits, Mr. Sabin approached the shelter’s executive director, Patricia Gray, and offered $1,200 in staffing costs for the event to happen. The shelter will contribute the services for free.Saturday will be a day of adoptions, with both dogs and cats on display for families to play with and get to know. The shelter-on-wheels will be parked in front of the museum from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.Sunday, from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., will be a free spay and neuter day, but will be by appointment only for low-income pet owners making less than $25,000 yearly. Appointments are available by calling (631) 566-8870.Saying that this is the first ever “major collaboration” for the animal shelter, Ms. Gray promised her organization would be bringing a wide selection of cats and dogs on Saturday.Ms. Gray added that the animal shelter has “targeted the [Bridgehampton/Sag Harbor] Turnpike community as an area in need of education on the importance of spaying and neutering.”