Hamlett Spay & Neuter Clinic

​The Hamlett Spay and Neuter Clinic, Inc. began in 1977 through the vision and
dedication of founders Josephine and Alan Hamlett.

Born in Venezuela in 1902, Josephine Hamlett was adopted, along with her two sisters, by two English missionaries. Her adoptive parents took the girls to Cuba, where they opened and independently ran a self-sufficient orphanage caring for 80 children. In 1920, Hamlett moved to Emporia, Kansas, to attend a teaching college and later earned a master’s degree in education from the University of Texas.

She later met and married Alan Hamlett, who worked for the Central Intelligence
Agency. The couple moved to Washington, D.C., where Josephine taught school for 30 years.

The Hamlett’s retired in 1968 and moved to Colorado Springs, seeking a quieter life and planning to build their dream home. Mrs. Hamlett’s deep compassion for animals and commitment to addressing pet overpopulation led the couple to establish the nonprofit Hamlett Spay and Neuter Clinic in 1977. She served as director until 1998 and lived to age 106, long enough to see the clinic perform more than 115,000 surgeries because of her philanthropic vision.

Her original mission remains central to our work: providing affordable sterilization for dogs and cats to help reduce pet overpopulation and prevent needless animal suffering and death.