The SNIP Bus Is Coming! The Milo Foundation Hosts March 19 Clinic
The Spay Neuter Imperative Project provides high volume, lower cost, spay-neuter services to rescued dogs and cats. photo: SNIP
The SNIP Bus is coming to Contra Costa County!
An acronym for the Spay Neuter Imperative Project, SNIP Bus is a nonprofit mobile clinic providing low-cost, high-volume spay and neuter services for rescued dogs and cats. As many pet lovers know, reasonably priced services like these have been hard to come by in the East Bay and elsewhere. Now the Milo Foundation is partnering with SNIP Bus to fix this problem, not only for Milo’s own rescue animals, but for the greater Richmond community and other Bay Area rescues.
An inside view of the high-tech workhorse. photo: The Milo Foundation
Milo rescued 1,406 dogs and 557 cats in 2025 alone. Getting them ready for adoption and spayed or neutered was costly in staff time, often frustrating, and demanded patience from would-be adopters. In past years, Milo staff and volunteers have been forced to drive up to two hours each way three times a month to get rescued animals spayed or neutered. Needless to say, those long days were hard on everyone, none more so than the animals themselves.
It’s been a long time coming, but the Milo Foundation has finally raised enough money for a new SNIP Bus and it arrives this month. To celebrate, there will be two clinics on Thursday, March 19, the first starting at 8 a.m. and the second at 11:30 a.m., at the Milo Point Richmond Adoption Center at 220 South Garrard Boulevard in Richmond. Thereafter, the SNIP Bus will provide weekly services for Milo’s animals, gradually adding services for the wider community, including other shelters and rescues throughout Contra Costa County. In addition to spay/neuter services, the bus will be equipped with an x-ray machine and equipment to provide dental work, also a huge need.
You can help the good folks at Milo and get your fill of puppy love. photo: The Milo Foundation
As anyone who’s spent time working in the animal welfare field knows, accessible spay and neuter services are the answer to the overpopulation problem. Too many litters are being born with no one to care for them and too many unwanted animals are dying in shelters. Now with the SNIP Bus, a greater number of animals can be altered more quickly, get adopted, and go home.
Get Involved!
The SNIP Bus will likely be a work-in-progress for the next several months as Milo catches up on a backlog of spays and neuters and works to place puppies for adoption. If you’d like to be part of this effort, they’re looking for volunteers, donors, transport drivers, and sponsors to support community clinics as the SNIP bus project gets underway in Contra Costa County.
Interested? Contact Milo by email, by phone at 510-900-2275, or stop by the Milo Point Richmond Adoption Center at 220 South Garrard Boulevard in Richmond. Adoption center hours are Sunday and Monday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; closed Tuesdays.