BUCKHANNON – The Lewis-Upshur Animal Control Facility were able to perform their first surgery after completing the construction on their own surgical suite.

Representatives from LUAC, the Upshur County Commission, the City of Buckhannon and the Buckhannon-Upshur Chamber of Commerce performed a ribbon cutting ceremony Aug. 9 to commemorate the opening of LUAC’s surgical suite.

“I want to thank everybody, this has been a dream of mine for about eight years, and every year, we would go to the commission and ask to build this unit, but they would say there were no funds,” LUAC director Jan Cochran said. “Finally, I asked if we fundraised could we do it? And they said we could. In the meantime, Cindy [Hughes, county administrator] was working on a Petco Grant for us, so around the same time we did the fundraiser, we got the grant, which made it all possible, and we found our wonderful vet that agreed to do this for us, it’s just amazing.”

Cochran said she wants to come up with one more big project before she retires. 

“To see it become a reality is just great, and I was asked what my next project would be, and I haven’t come up with that yet, but I hope to have one more project that really benefits this place before I decide to retire,” Cochran said. “Then I’ll pass the reins to somebody else, but other than my husband and my kids, this has to be my biggest accomplishment.”

Cochran thanked her employees, volunteers and everyone that donated their time and money to help building the surgical suite. 

“This is very emotional for me, but we couldn’t have done it without the citizens that came up and gave checks, the ones that bought tickets for our fundraiser, so everybody here played an equally important role in seeing my dream and wanting to make it a reality to help these animals,” Cochran said. “Today we have about eight surgeries lined up, and all these animals are going to leave here fixed, examined, vaccinated, totally vetted, so when their owner takes them home, there should be no reason they have to see a vet until next year, until their shots are due again, and it’s going to produce healthier animals walking out the doors here.”

LUAC’s veterinarian Dr. Breanna Brown said this will expedite the adoption process because people won’t have to find their own vet to fix or spay their new dog or cat. 

“I think it makes it so much easier for the people who are adopting, we’ve checked the animals, we know they’re healthy, they’ve had their surgery, they’ve had their vaccines and they’re ready to go,” Brown said. “Before, people would adopt and then get a voucher, then they would have to schedule a surgery somewhere else, so we always worry about the overpopulation issues, and having them leave here spayed and neutered makes us not have to worry about them coming and finding another vet, they leave here ready for their new home.”

Brown and her team will be at LUAC every Friday to perform surgeries.

“We are Lewis Mobile Veterinary Services, so I am a primarily a large animal ambulatory doctor, so I don’t have a clinic, we just work out of my truck, there’s me and my two assistants, and then we work here one day a week, doing all of the surgeries, and then any of the other vet work they may need,” Brown said. “Jan actually messaged me about the surgery suite the day I opened and said she was doing the fundraising and asked if I was interested in being the vet, and I did a lot of shelter medicine when I practiced in Nebraska, at my clinic, so this is something I was used to, and thought it would be good for the community.”

The adoption fees for animals at LUAC have changed to represent the cost of paying for the surgeries and other medical needs.

“We went up $140 to adopt a dog, but with surgeries, anesthesia, paying the vet, we’re still in range with the other shelters that charge more,” Cochran said. “The bills that I see come in when we get our vouchers range anywhere from $210 to $380 of course, some of them do a little couple extra things, they might have their animal microchipped there, but that’s the price range you’re seeing.”

Adopting a cat will now cost $70. 

“Right now, a neuter at a vet office is about $85, just a cat neuter,” Cochran said. “With us, you’re walking out of here with your neuter, all of your shots and everything, for $70.”

Cochran said establishing the surgical suite is a step toward addressing West Virginia’s animal overpopulation problem. 

“I have always said West Virginia has an overpopulation problem, people need to spay or neuter. We use other states to clean up our mess by sending animals to rescues; now our rescue partners are full, they’re getting returns, they’re not getting fosters, they’re not getting adoptions, so they’re not pulling very many animals from us,” Cochran said. “We must do something to fix our own problem, and this is a start, and then eventually we want to open it up so we can do low-cost clinics for the public.”

Upshur county Commission president Sam Nolte congratulated Cochran and her team for accomplishing her long set goal of opening the surgical suite. 

“Jan, I’ve been working with you for almost eight years, and this has always been your dream, and it’s finally come true,” Nolte said. “I just want to say congratulations and thank you to the whole crew that works up here and all the volunteers, we’re super excited.”

City recorder Randy Sanders said the city is ready to support LUAC in any way they can.

“Mayor Skinner sends his best wishes, he couldn’t be here this morning, but I’m here representing the City of Buckhannon, and we are very proud of this facility,” Sanders said. “We pledge to continue to do what we can to assist as well, so good luck with everything.”

LUAC is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Animals available for adoption can be found on their website here.