SPCA desexing caravan veterinarian Alistar McKellow and his vet-nurse wife Susan McKellow, of Gisborne, have been on a national cat and dog neutering tour that started in Kaitaia in March and is in Dunedin until December 21.
The free desexing and microchipping service is open to community services card and supergold card holders.
Mr McKellow said cats and dogs had been the target of desexing work during the tour, but a shoulder injury meant he was unable to neuter the about 30 dogs lined up in Dunedin.
''The main emphasis of the caravan is cats, not dogs, because people have a responsibility for dogs under the law. We were only doing between 12 and 15 dogs a week, where we are doing 17 cats a day, six days a week.''
If the cats were not pregnant, he could desex four an hour.
Mr McKellow said the couple had worked in the caravan since its inception eight years ago and had desexed about 21,000 animals.
It was the couple's first visit to Dunedin, so they worked the mornings and were ''tourists''in the afternoon. They planned to visit Larnach Castle, the Royal Albatross Centre, Olveston and old friends.
