Submitted Photo | Mayberry 4 Paws

Jane Surratt and Caitlin Edwards volunteered on Saturday with Mayberry4Paws to offer free spay and neuter services for dogs in the Cedar Ridge Trailer Park near Mount Airy.

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Organizers say this weekend’s free spay/neuter event held at Cedar Ridge Trailer Park was such a success that they’ve used up all the grant money for the project.

Saturday, volunteers converged on the mobile home park and went door-to-door offering free spaying and neutering for large breed dogs, receiving a huge response from residents.

“We were pleasantly surprised,” said Jane Taylor of Mayberry 4 Paws. “Saturday, about 40 dogs were spayed or neutered.”

Mayberry 4 Paws joined forces with the Ryan Newman Foundation for the spay/neuter blitz, with the Foundation providing a $5,000 grant to fund the free event.

“The goal of Mayberry 4 Paws is to reduce the number of unwanted animals in the county, and this allowed us to spay or neuter more than three dozen animals,” she said. “We’re just thrilled that we were able to help that many dogs in the county.”

Taylor said that while the group has used all the current grant funding, this won’t be the end of the program.

“We were really surprised with the response this weekend,” she said. “And while we’re out of money at the moment, we’re certainly planning more of these in the future.

“We’re going to let the public know as soon as we know more.”

Founded by NASCAR driver Ryan Newman, the mission of the foundation is to educate and encourage people to spay/neuter their pets and to adopt dogs and cats from animal shelters and to educate children and adults about the importance of conservation.

Reach Keith Strange at kstrange@heartlandpublications.com or 719-1929.