MOSES LAKE - Grant County Animal Outreach is holding a 'Spaygetti' dinner this weekend to help fund their programs and services.

The $10 a plate meal consists of spaghetti, garlic bread, salad and a beverage. It is Saturday from 1-4 p.m. at the Moses Lake Senior Center, at 608 E Third Ave.

There will be raffles for several prizes, including gift baskets for a man, a woman, a dog and a cat, as well as dozens of other items donated by community businesses and individuals, according to Outreach board member Patty Jardine.

Because February is pet spay and neuter month, shelter personnel will give a brief presentation on the importance of fixing pets and will highlight services provided by the facility.

"It's an update for people on what the shelter is about and what we do," Jardine said. "We're trying to get our name out there and educate the public."

More public education might help the shelter manage the steady stream of incoming animals, Jardine said.

Of the 2,910 dogs, cats and other animals coming in to the shelter last year, 731 were adopted, 289 were returned to their owners, 933 were transferred out to rescue organizations around the state and 850 were euthanized, according to information provided by Jardine.

Dealing with all those animals, the vast majority of which are unwanted strays, is expensive, Jardine said. A lot of costs are associated not just with boarding animals, but with transporting them to rescues around the state and to adoption fairs from the Tri-Cities to Bellevue, to try and find them "forever homes."

Before any dog or cat is adopted, they have an appointment to be spayed or neutered, assuring their offspring don't wind up following their parents' path back to the shelter.

Jardine said she can't overemphasize the need for spaying and neutering pets.

"A cat can have anywhere from two to three litters a year with five to eight kittens," she said. "Multiply that ten fold and by six or eight months you've got another generation of cats starting. With dogs it's the same thing. Mutts have litters and it takes a lot to take care of these puppies, which don't get weaned until six to eight weeks."

Many people don't think through the expense and time needed to care for newborn animals, and sometimes abandon them when it becomes too much.

"When you see puppies coming in that are dropped at our door, or buckets of kittens left at our door that are starving to death, it just breaks your heart," she said. "We're there to help people in these situations but please, spay and neuter, it's so important."

The shelter may use some of the money raised Saturday to help finance a monthly, low cost spay and neuter clinic, Jardine said.

For more information, call Jardine at 509-760-5814 or Grant County Animal Outreach at 509-762-9616.