Spay Day USA is coming — Tuesday, February 27, 2007. Traditionally, Spay Day USA takes place on the last Tuesday of February. This is America’s first and only national day of action to promote spaying and neutering pets! Spay Day USA was created in 1995 by the Doris Day Animal League for veterinarians, pet care professionals, animal welfare activists, business owners, and citizens to join forces for a great cause.
Between 1995 and 2006, Spay Day USA spayed or neutered more than 1.3 million dogs and cats! Think about this: an unspayed cat can give birth to eighteen kittens every year. An unspayed dog can give birth to twenty puppies every year. Over twelve years, that’s a lot of animals that didn’t end up in shelters or euthanized. It costs a shelter an average of $176 to care for a homeless animal — Spay Day USA has saved shelters (and taxpayers) a lot of money.
There are three basic types of events for Spay Day USA. Keep in mind that the main goal is to inspire people to get their pets spayed or neutered!
- Spay/neuter events. You can offer discounted or free spay/neuters for low-income pet owners or people who adopt shelter pets — or a voucher for surgery at a future date. Have a spay/neuter party for the owners while their pets are in surgery. Enter all Spay Day USA pets into a drawing for free pet food or other supplies. There are lots of ways to make a spay/neuter event a success. Interested in volunteering? Your local spay/neuter clinic may be looking for help on Spay Day USA.
- Fundraising. Not everyone can afford the spay/neuter surgery, and animal shelters are frequently faced with animals that need the surgery before going to a forever home. It costs approximately $75 to spay or neuter a pet — why not organize a collection at work or encourage your friends and family to sponsor a shelter pet’s surgery? Need more fundraising ideas?
- Education. You can distribute literature about spay/neuter at work, to friends and family, or even to your local pet store. Write a letter to your local newspaper or favorite radio station in support of Spay Day USA. There are lots of ways to get the message out!
The best way you can support Spay Day USA is to spay or neuter YOUR pets!
Make a Spay Day donation here.