It’s the universal mantra of nearly all animal-welfare advocates: Spay and neuter your pets.
To promote that cause, the nation’s largest animal welfare organization, the Humane Society of the U.S., proclaimed Tuesday national Spay Day.
For those who would like to show off their animals, the organization is sponsoring a Spay Day Online Pet Photo Contest. Friday is the last day to enter.
In Los Angeles, various groups are raising consciousness and holding events (although perhaps none as cleverly named as the Central Missouri Humane Society’s “Spay-ghetti” Dinner and Silent Auction.)
“So many animals are dumped at our shelters every day,” said Lisa Lange of PETA. “There aren’t enough good homes for all of them, so we must reduce the number born, and that is so easily done through spaying and neutering—people just need to hear the message.”
PETA enlisted Los Angeles Laker Ron Artest to hand out free spay/neuter coupons last Friday at the corner of Beverly Boulevard and Sweetzer Avenue under the PETA billboard he graces accompanied by a pit bull. “IT’S A SLAM DUNK: HAVE YOUR DOG SPAYED OR NEUTERED” it reads.
Artest had a dog several years ago that suffered from a bone disorder and needed daily care he could not provide on his schedule. So he gave the dog to someone who still cares for it, according to Lange.
Artest has no dogs currently—and has been open about admitting he once had “no clue what it meant responsibility-wise,” said Lange. “He has a better understanding of what it means now.”
SPCA-LA’s Specialty Spay/Neuter Center is booked solid Tuesday with appointments for sterilizations. In honor of Spay Day, the center is offering gift bags for humans, canines and felines.
The center, which is open for operations Tuesdays through Thursdays, provides financial help to low-income pet owners seeking the procedures for their animals and accepts $30 off coupons provided by the city.
Meanwhile, for L.A.’s Department of Animal Services, “we’re considering it Spay Month,” said general manager Kathy Davis. Department officials will hold a news conference Wednesday at their Harbor Center shelter and conduct a tour of their sterilization clinic.
On Saturday, they will hold a “Pits and Pals” Spay Day at the North Central shelter. The event is marketed toward pit bulls—which make up a huge number of dogs in the shelters—but all breeds are welcome. The on-site clinic and the Amanda Foundation’s "Spaymobile"—a mobile veterinary van—will offer sterilization services there.
People with lower incomes may qualify for free services. Pet owners may call (888) 349-7388 for an appointment.
The city of Los Angeles has a law requiring most dogs and cats to be spayed or neutered. The Humane Society of the U.S. estimates that 3 million to 4 million cats and dogs are euthanized in shelters each year in this country.
Most animal advocates believe the best way to cut down on that death rate is to prevent the births of unwanted animals. Spaying and neutering are the only “100 percent effective methods of birth control for our pets,” says Wayne Pacelle, chief executive of the Humane Society.
— Carla Hall