SAN ANTONIO — On what was supposed to be a day of giving on San Antonio's west side, thieves decided to take instead.
The morning of the Big Fix, a massive spay and neuter event by the non-profit SNIPSA, they discovered a critical piece of their equipment disappeared.
A trailer that SNIPSA uses exclusively for their Big Fix events went missing from the parking lot of a local community center.
Thankfully, all the equipment was unloaded from the trailer before it was taken. But, as we learned, getting a new one won't be cheap.
"We love San Antonio and we love the Big Fix. We love helping everybody take good care of their pets and get their pets what they need. That's what's most important is that everybody has what they need," said Christine Ikerd, Adoption Coordinator for SNIPSA, which stands for Spay-Neuter-Inject-Protect San Antonio, Inc.
Two to three times a year, SNIPSA, a volunteer-driven non-profit in San Antonio, hosts its Big Fix.
"We try to target the areas that need our help the most," Ikerd explained. "The areas with the biggest stray problem."
Saturday, inside the Cuellar Community Center on the west side, hundreds of dogs and cats were spayed and neutered, given vaccines and microchipped. All services were free of charge.
Ikerd said 500 animals were cared for in a 22-hour workday. Saturday was worth a celebration, until SNIPSA organizers learned the unfortunate news.
The trailer used to house the equipment for the Big Fix was stolen from the parking lot of the Cuellar Community Center.
Missing Trailer
"The lock was cut and it was gone," said Ikerd. "Sometime between Thursday night and Saturday morning at 6 o'clock is when it was gone."
It's a white, 20-foot long trailer with nothing on it.
"The trailer is specifically outfitted to house our surgery lights and things like that," said Ikerd. "It is very important to us."
SNIPSA filed a police report. They're hoping someone will recognize the trailer and notify authorities.
A new trailer, they said, is estimated at $15,000.
"We've done over 60 of these events over the past 16 years, and nothing like this has ever happened to us," said Ikerd. "So it's very disappointing."
In the meantime, SNIPSA is storing all their Big Fix equipment in a U-Haul, spending an extra $40 a day.
If you're interested in making a donation to help SNIPSA replace their trailer, visit SNIPSA.org.
If you see the trailer, call police.
Unfortunately the community center didn't have security cameras.
The next Big Fix is scheduled for May 2024.