2008.02.25
Spay Day USA
Tomorrow is Spay Day USA, a program of the Humane Society of the United States. Events are scheduled all over the country to encourage people to stop littering by getting their pets spayed and neutered.
Spay Day USA takes place each year on the last Tuesday of February. Created by the Doris Day Animal League (DDAL) in 1995, Spay Day USA became a program of the HSUS when it combined operations with DDAL in 2006. Many animal welfare organizations plan month-long events and campaigns to promote sterilization for pets.
According to the HSUS Web site, Spay Day USA participants spayed or neutered an estimated 1,387,000 animals in the last 13 years. A female cat can give birth to 18 kittens each year and a female dog can give birth to 20 puppies each year, and let’s not even speculate the number of babies an unaltered male can create.
So needless to say, sterilization campaigns like Spay Day USA have prevented millions of births of unplanned and potentially homeless animals, helped millions of people afford to keep their pets safe and healthy, and saved millions of taxpayers' dollars.
Locally, Community Animal Hospital, Radford Animal Hospital, Tipton Ridge Vet. Medical Center and Westend Animal are offering half price spaying and neutering for kitties on Feb. 28 as part of their 4th Annual Feline Fixathon.
The HSUS is picking up a quarter of the tab for the procedures and the Pulaski County Humane Society is seeking donations to help with the rest of the costs.
VA PAWS and the SpayNRV project are aiming to perform 200 sterilizations by March 1. VA PAWS is accepting donations to achieve this goal. By donating $40 you can sponsor one cat, or $50 for a dog to be spayed. Contact Lila Borge Willis at 540-651-4530 for more information.
The Roanoke Valley SPCA always accepts donations to offset the costs of spaying and neutering the adoptable pets they take in from the regional Animal Control that serves Roanoke City and County, Botetourt County and Vinton.
