BEND, OR -- Two local animal welfare non-profits are joining forces. The Bend Spay+Neuter Project will become a program of the Humane Society of Central Oregon, under a new agreement announced Thursday.

Bend Spay+Neuter Board Member Marie Melsheimer tells KBND News, "It’s really the perfect partnership for us. We’ve had a very long term relationship with the Humane Society for many years. And, it helps to consolidate animal welfare services in our community and stabilize some of the programs that we offer." She says that stability is key to the organization's work, "We’ve had an interim Executive Director; no permanent Executive Director, we don’t have a Medical Director, right now. And so, just in order to keep providing our services to the community and low-cost spay and neuter and wellness for animals and their people, this just helps to stabilize our services for the future."

Melsheimer says there are no plans to change services, "Everything’s going to remain the same; we’ll still be operating out of our same location at the clinic, and we’ll just be a program underneath the Humane Society umbrella. With this merger, we are able to access all the resources from the Humane Society. It really creates this one bigger organization where people can come for all their needs, when it comes to their pets."

In a statement, HSCO officials agree low-cost animal care services, including spay and neuter surgeries, vaccines and wellness exams will continue at the current clinic on Wilson Avenue. And, "HSCO plans to continue other programs, such as specialty clinics in outlying communities," and they're exploring ways to merge the two organizations' pet food banks.