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Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs
April 19
4-weekend Warm Springs Spay-a-Thon starting in June
The upcoming June and
early July weekends in Warm
Springs will see a rare and
truly generous series of
events. For the occassions,
up to 20 veterinarians from
around the region will be on
hand, with veterinarian tech-
nicians and other volunteers.
The series veterinarian
clinics are free to resident
pet-owners, designed only to
improve the lives of dogs
and cats, and the pet lovers
of the Warm Springs reser-
vation. The event is called
the Warm Springs Nation
Spay-A-Thon.
Already for the June-early
July clinics, more than 80 resi-
dents of the reservation have
registered their pets.
Other good news is that
there are still open spots for
dogs and cats to receive top-
level veterinarian spay-neuter
services, and other health
care attention.
A total of 400 spots will
be available during the course
of the Spay-a-Thon; so there
is plenty of room for ap-
pointments, said Gina
Clemmer, an organizer of the
weekend clinics.
Ms. Clemmer is working
with Fences for Fido to bring
the Spay-a-Thon to the mem-
bership of the Confederated
Tribes. As mentioned, there is
no cost to the pet owner,
though registration is re-
Gina Clemmer, founder and director, ClinicHQ,
at a recent spay-neuter clinic.
quired. More than anything,
Gina says, this is labor of
love for animals and the pet
owners of the Warm Springs
community.
Gina lives in Portland, and
is the founder and director
of the spay-neuter service
website clinichq.com
The website offers a most
easy-to-use and unique
means for communities to
access pet spay and neuter
services, and other pet care.
Services are available either
at a stationary location or
through her mobile clinic
service.
“It’s about making your
life easier,” as the clinichq
website motto says. “Chang-
ing the world with spay-neu-
ter is what you do, manag-
ing that is what we do.”
Gina’s main work is
clinichq, “While another real
passion of mine is First
Nations Veterinary,” she
says.
Originally from Okla-
homa, Gina is a member of
the Choctaw Nation, and
also Muskogee Creek. In
past years she and her vet-
care partners have provided
dog and cat spay- and neu-
ter services for the Hopi
and Navajo nations, for in-
stance. The Warm Springs
Spay-A-Thon will be the big-
gest project yet for First Na-
tions Veterinary, she says.
First Nations Veterinary
is a non-profit project, pro-
viding free veterinary care
for Native American reser-
vations. In conjunction with
Fences for Fido, First Na-
tions Veterinary is co-coor-
dinating the June-early July
Warm Springs Spay-A-Thon.
Gina describes her work
as an intersection of three
things she loves: Native
communities, technology,
and animals, not necessarily
in that order.
Regarding the animal as-
pect, Gina recalls a childhood
experience that guided her to
a pet-care and service career.
She remembers growing
up with her aunt Bee in
Glenpool, Oklahoma. “I was
maybe 12 years old and I
would always walk around
our neighborhood,” she says.
“By this one house I
would pass by an Australian
shepherd puppy that was al-
ways tied to a tree.”
Each time Gina passed by
the house, she would stop
and play for a while with the
puppy. Then after some
time, “I noticed the dog was
waiting for me, and we
would celebrate joyously
when we saw each other. And
I would go home and cry
about it to my aunt Bee.”
One day, after talking it
over with her cousin, young
Gina somehow found the
courage to take action: The
next time she passed by the
house, “I unhooked the dog
and took it home. I was
twelve, I thought I would go
to prison. I took the dog
home and told my aunt about
it. I said I couldn’t take see-
ing the dog tied up anymore.”
Her Aunt Bee agreed to
keep the puppy, and the dog
lived a free and happy life
for another 16 years.
“That was when I knew
in my heart what I wanted
to do,” Gina says.
Some years later she be-
came proficient with soft-
ware and computer technol-
ogy, creating clinichq
This work brought her
spay-neuter organizing to
the Hopi and Navajo na-
tions. Now living in Port-
land, Gina more recently felt
the need to bring the ser-
vices closer to home in Or-
egon.
Through a friend she
heard about Fences for Fido,
who are known here for pro-
viding pet food, health care
and other services to Warm
Springs dog and cat owners.
The June and early-July
Warm Springs Spay-A-Thon
could be the roll-out of a
new venture among Oregon
Native communities. As
mentioned earlier, there are
many spots still open for pet
owners—of dogs and cats—
to use this service at no cost.
You can sign-up online at:
firstnationsvet.com/
warmspringsnation
Or call 503-451-0765.
And on the Spay-A-Thon
flyer there is also a scannable
code you can use to register.
Dave McMechan
For new
kindergartners
The Warm Springs
Academy Kindergar-
ten Welcome and Sign-
Up event is set for
Wednesday, May 17
from 4 to 6 p.m. at the
Academy.
Families with chil-
dren who will be 5 years
old on or before Sep-
tember 1 should plan
on attending in order to
register your student for
kindergarten in the fall.
Now is the time to
be working with your
child to prepare them
for the ‘big school.’
If you have any
questions, please con-
tact the Warm Springs
Academy at 541-553-
1128.
Community
notes...
The Wa r m S p r i n g s
Earth Day Community
Clean-Ups 2023 are hap-
pening soon:
T he War m Springs
Agency area clean up is
this Friday, April 21 from
9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Volun-
teers will meet at 9 a.m.
at the Community Center
parking lot. Supplies,
snacks, water and lunch
will be provided.
The Simnasho Clean-
Up is on Sunday, April 23
from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Vol-
unteers should meet at the
Simnasho Longhouse.
Organizers will have
supplies, lunch and door
prizes for volunteers.
Elsewhere:
Homeowners of the res-
ervation who need assis-
tance with costs of elec-
tricity can learn about the
LIHEAP program by con-
tacting Jackie Minson at
541-553-4955.
Or send her an email:
j.minson@wstribes.org