Linda L. Kelley Animal Shelter Of Calvert County Renews Free Spay And Neuter Program For 2026

PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. — The Linda L. Kelley Animal Shelter has received grant funding to renew Calvert County’s free spay and neuter program for another year. 2026 marks the third consecutive year of the program.

In September, the shelter’s fiscal year 2026 owned pet application for the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Spay and Neuter Grants Program was selected for full funding. The funding will cover the cost of providing free spay and neuter services to pets of Calvert County residents who meet income and location eligibility, according to a memo shared by Public Safety Director Dave McDowell at the Dec. 2 Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting. The grant award amount is $11,550.

The program reserves up to five free spay and neuter appointments per week and is available to Calvert County residents living in the nine ZIP codes that account for nearly 95% of the county’s population and more than 96% of the shelter’s annual intake. You can learn more on the shelter’s website.

The funds will allow the shelter to provide spay and neuter services to 160 pets, and free rabies shots to 120 pets. The shelter performed free spay and neuter surgeries on 192 pets in 2023, 160 pets in 2024, and 146 pets so far in 2025.

“Providing free spay, neuter and rabies vaccination services is a key component of the shelter’s intake prevention strategy,” McDowell wrote. “Expected outcomes include expanded access to veterinary care for communities in need, helping more animals remain in their homes and ultimately reducing the unwanted pet population.”

The grant program aims to reduce the number of cats and dogs surrendered to and euthanized in shelters across Maryland. Grants are awarded to local governments and nonprofit animal welfare organizations, which then offer free spay and neuter services for pet dogs and cats of low-income Marylanders, as well as for colonies of feral and community cats.