Or call us at 209-879-9367 — we'll answer Mon–Fri, 8 AM to 4:30 PM.📍 1973 N. Tracy Blvd., Tracy, CA 95376
Schedule OnlineFree spay and neuter does exist in San Joaquin County, but it usually depends on where you live, your household income, and whether a grant-funded program has money right now. Most help comes as a voucher with a small co-pay or an evaluation that decides whether surgery is free for you.
I'm Dr. Mike Wesselink, and our clinic in Tracy performs around 200 procedures a week. Preventing pet overpopulation is the reason we do this work, so I'd like every family to find the most affordable path for their pet, starting with programs that may cover the surgery entirely.
Free spay and neuter is available in San Joaquin County for owners who qualify, though rarely on demand. As of November 2026, the Animal Protection League in Stockton offers free surgery to those who pass its evaluation, Tracy offers low-income vouchers for $20, and Lodi offers vouchers to residents with Medi-Cal or a PG&E or City of Lodi low-income program.
| Program | Who it's for | Cost to you | How to start | Status, November 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Pet Advocate, Tracy | Dog and cat owners booking a low-cost appointment | Cash prices starting at $105 for a cat neuter | Book online or call (209) 879-9367 | Open |
| Animal Protection League (APL) clinic, Stockton | Dog and cat owners booking low-cost surgery, or free surgery after an evaluation | Cash prices starting at $75 for a pet cat neuter (free if you qualify through APL's evaluation) | Evaluation form, (209) 420-4776, or a walk-in evaluation | Open |
| Tracy Animal Services voucher | City of Tracy residents with household income below $50,000 | $20 toward the voucher | (209) 831-6364 | Available on request |
| Lodi Animal Services voucher | Lodi residents with Medi-Cal or a PG&E or City of Lodi low-income program | Lodi Animal Services shares the details when you apply | (209) 333-6741 | Available on request |
| Stockton TNR | Feral and community cats from Stockton or unincorporated San Joaquin County | $30 per cat | In-person registration on posted dates | Runs as resources allow |
| Stockton Animal Shelter clinic events | Dogs and cats, under each event's rules | Set for each event | Watch Stockton Animal Services for sign-up details | Held with Animal Balance several times in 2026, most recently in early October; next listed for February 26 to 28, 2027 |
| SNAP free clinics | The general public, with a focus on low-income communities | No published cash price (free at clinic events) | Email mike@snap-rescue.org for clinic information | Event-based, no public schedule |
| ACT Spay/Neuter Clinic, Stockton | Pet owners and feral cat caregivers | Low-cost, with a $25 deposit for a cat or $50 for a dog | (209) 462-7729 or in person | Open |
| San Joaquin County voucher round | County residents | $20 per surgery | Ask APL about future rounds | Ran in early 2025, no new round posted |
These three words get used loosely. Here's what they mean.
And if you care for outdoor cats, you'll also see TNR, short for trap-neuter-return. Community cats are trapped, fixed, ear-tipped, and returned to where they live.
Most programs serve their own city first, so start with where you live.
The Animal Protection League runs a free and low-cost spay and neuter clinic at 1409 West Oak St. in Stockton. To see whether you qualify for free services, you can:
All APL services are by appointment, and the program runs on donations.
In February 2025, the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors and the San Francisco SPCA funded 300 spay and neuter vouchers at $20 per surgery, shared out through APL and the Board. Those vouchers had to be used within 45 days, and APL is the best place to ask whether another round is coming.
ACT Spay/Neuter Clinic at 327 E. Alpine Ave. is a long-running low-cost option in Stockton. Appointments are made in person or by leaving a phone message at (209) 462-7729, with a $25 deposit for a pet cat or $50 for a dog.
Tracy Animal Services offers low-income spay and neuter vouchers to Tracy residents. You'll need:
If your pet isn't microchipped or licensed yet, those are added: $10 for a microchip, $23 for a rabies vaccine, and $37 for a City of Tracy dog license. Over the income line? Tracy Animal Services may have other grant funds at any given time, so it's worth a call to (209) 831-6364.
We're The Pet Advocate, the low-cost spay and neuter clinic right here in Tracy. You can book online without an income evaluation, hold the appointment with a $20 deposit, and see our published cash prices before you confirm. Call (209) 879-9367 if you'd rather talk through the next step first, or use the booking link later in this guide.
Lodi Animal Services offers spay, neuter, and rabies vaccine vouchers to Lodi residents. To qualify, bring:
Call (209) 333-6741 or email lpdanimalservices@lodi.gov, and staff will walk you through eligibility and the full program details.
Your city's animal services office is a good first call in Manteca, Lathrop, and Escalon, since grant-funded help can open between website updates. None of these three cities listed a spay and neuter voucher program as of November 2026.
Dogs can go through most of the same programs as cats. APL's free services evaluation covers dogs, and Tracy and Lodi residents who meet the rules can apply for a city voucher for a dog. Stockton Animal Services also holds clinic events with Animal Balance that take dogs, with the price set for each event. If free help isn't open to you right now, ACT in Stockton books dog surgeries with a $50 deposit.
Cats have two paths, depending on whether the cat lives with you or outdoors in your neighborhood.
A cat who lives with you can go through the same programs as a dog. APL's evaluation covers cats, and the Tracy and Lodi vouchers are open to pet owners who meet the residency and income or benefits rules.
The City of Stockton's TNR program fixes feral and community cats for $30 per cat. Registration is in person on posted dates with a valid ID, each household can bring up to two cats, each cat arrives in its own trap, and pets aren't part of this program.
Tracy's Shelter-Neuter-Return program helps with feral cats too, and a call to Tracy Animal Services at (209) 831-6364 is a good way to start.
We welcome TNR appointments from anyone at our Tracy clinic. Community cats arrive in a humane trap during our 8:00 to 8:30 a.m. cat drop-off, and individual caregivers pay our standard cat prices. First-time trappers can walk through the whole feral cat spay and neuter process before booking.
Free surgery costs someone money, so most free clinics run on grants, donations, or one-time city contracts. When a round of funding is used up, the dates stop until the next one arrives.
Stockton is a good example. In January 2026, the City Council approved a three-month, $126,000 contract with Animal Balance for about 200 spay and neuter procedures across three clinic events at the Stockton Animal Shelter. Animal Balance scheduled more Stockton clinics for late August and early October, and its calendar lists the next one for February 26 to 28, 2027.
In October, a council committee recommended continued city investment in spay and neuter clinics, with funding still to be set.
Statewide, the CDFA Pet Lover's Spay and Neuter Grant Program awarded $450,000 for 2026 to cities and nonprofits for spay and neuter services. SNAP, an all-volunteer group based in Concord, also offers free clinics with a focus on low-income communities.
To catch the next clinic:
A little preparation keeps your spot. Most programs ask for some mix of:
Free programs help a lot of families, and they also come with rules that take time to meet. Most ask for proof that you live inside a specific city, income or benefits paperwork, and an evaluation that decides whether surgery is free for you. Walk-in evaluation hours and phone lines are limited, and some programs fill their spots weeks out.
Grant-funded rounds open and close. A voucher that was available last spring may not have a new round posted yet, and a clinic event that ran in October may not have its next dates confirmed. If you live outside the city limits that fund a program, or your household sits above an income line, free help often isn't open to you even when clinics nearby are busy.
When that happens, a low-cost clinic with published prices lets you pick a date without waiting on the next grant round or another evaluation. The next section covers what that looks like at our Tracy clinic.
If you don't qualify for a free program or the next round is weeks away, low-cost surgery can get your pet fixed sooner. At The Pet Advocate, cat neuter is $105, cat spay is $130, dog neuter starts at $170, and dog spay starts at $200. Those are cash prices, and paying by card adds 3%.
We're a low-cost clinic in Tracy focused on spay and neuter, dental cleanings, and vaccines for healthy dogs and cats. Keeping our service list short and doing a high volume of surgeries is how we keep prices down. The savings come from how the clinic is organized, and your pet's care stays the same. You can book online and hold your appointment with a $20 deposit, which comes off your total on surgery day. If plans change, you can reschedule up to 72 hours ahead without paying a new deposit.
Dog low-cost spay and neuter prices go up with weight, and we see healthy dogs and cats from 4 months to 7 years old, with dogs up to 100 pounds. From most of Stockton, the drive to our Tracy clinic is approximately 20 to 30 minutes via I-5, depending on traffic and your starting neighborhood.
Book a spay or neuter online or call 209-879-9367.
Pet cats can be spayed or neutered for free through the Animal Protection League in Stockton if you qualify through its evaluation. Tracy and Lodi residents who meet the income or benefits rules can apply for a city voucher, and feral or community cats can go through Stockton's TNR program for $30 per cat.
Dog owners in Tracy and Lodi can apply for a city voucher through their animal services office. Tracy asks for City of Tracy residency, household income below $50,000, and $20 toward the voucher, and Lodi asks for a Lodi address plus Medi-Cal or a PG&E or City of Lodi low-income program.
Local vouchers usually come with a small co-pay. Tracy's is $20, and the 2025 county round was also $20 per surgery. Extra costs can apply if your pet still needs a microchip, rabies vaccine, or city license, so ask what's included when you apply.
Free help in 2026 comes mostly through APL's free services evaluation and through SNAP's free clinics when they're scheduled, and SNAP shares clinic information by email at mike@snap-rescue.org. The 2025 county round offered $20 vouchers, and APL is the place to ask about the next one.
Stockton's TNR program costs $30 per cat, paid at registration. It's for feral and community cats from Stockton or unincorporated San Joaquin County, and each cat comes in its own trap.
There are good options even on a tight budget, starting with APL's free services evaluation if you're in the Stockton area, or your city's voucher program in Tracy or Lodi. If free help isn't available right away, The Pet Advocate in Tracy publishes cash prices and lets you book a date online.
Every pet that gets spayed or neutered means fewer litters looking for homes, whichever program helps you get there. If free help is available to you, we hope you'll use it, and if you'd like a low-cost appointment in Tracy, we'd love to meet you and your pet.
Book a spay or neuter online or call us at 209-879-9367, and we'll help you pick a date that works.
