World Spay Day falls on the last Tuesday of February during Spay/Neuter Awareness Month. The purpose of the worldwide event is to encourage pet owners to spay/neuter their pets to improve pet health, as well as reduce the stray population that often end up in the shelter system or struggle to survive on their own under harsh and inhumane conditions.
Naming a festival aimed at removing the testes and ovaries of animals after a legendary performer seems…like a stretch. But in 1978 Doris Day founded the Doris Day Animal League, which in turn, founded Spay Day USA (which eventually spread worldwide) in 1995 to help eliminate the problem of homeless pets.
Removing the reproductive organs of our pets might sound harsh, but it’s actually the best way to show you care about their health and well being. The truth is, failing to spay and neuter dogs and cats is responsible for millions of unwanted animals living on the streets without homes or food or being killed in shelters all over the world. So while it might make you twinge to think of a day celebrating animal sterilization, the truth is, the pain of putting all those animals down is far harsher.
At least three million adoptable cats and dogs are euthanized in the U.S. each year because they don’t have homes — numbers largely attributable to unplanned litters that could have been prevented by spaying or neutering. Even if you could, in theory, find loving homes for the puppies and kittens your animals might produce, there’ll still be fewer homes for puppies and kittens already in animal shelters. And that means they’re more likely to be killed.
Spaying and neutering can also reduce the incidence of some of the most common types of cat and dog cancers. And, getting your pet neutered or spayed means there’ll be no more aggression or urine marking. There’ll be less roaming, fighting, and moodiness. In exchange, your companions will also likely become more interested in you, instead of finding a mate. And they’ll still protect you and your family. It’s a party!
If you need help finding a low cost spay/neuter clinic near you, the North Shore Animal League America’s SpayUSA® is a nationwide referral network for affordable spay and neuter services. The mission of SpayUSA is to end the suffering of innocent dogs and cats by reducing the number of unwanted births. And they believe that spay/neuter services should be within reach, geographically and financially, for everyone who has a cat or dog. Anyone who needs assistance finding affordable spay/neuter services can benefit by using the SpayUSA referral service.
SpayUSA provides referrals to over 1,900 low cost sterilization programs and clinics nationwide as of 2019. Their goal is to make spay/neuter services affordable to those who might not otherwise spay/neuter their pets. By working together, they hope to popularize and facilitate spay/neuter services throughout the country and end pet overpopulation.
Help end pet overpopulation!
Call SpayUSA toll-free at 1-800-248-SPAY (1-800-248-7729).
Phone counselors are available:
Monday through Friday: 9-5 EST
—
Photo Credit: Capturebyrob / Shutterstock.com