The 16th annual Spay Day takes place on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010, with events and activities in honor of Spay Day taking place throughout the month of February. The information on this page will help you decide how you'd like to participate—as an event organizer, volunteer, spay/neuter sponsor, photo contest entrant, or corporate sponsor.
Special information is provided for veterinary and media professionals. Be sure to review the Spay Day Event Planning Guide and, if you haven't already, create a Spay Day Event Organizer profile. Doing so will ensure you are kept up-to-date with the latest Spay Day happenings!
Ways to Participate
Resources to Review
Get Spay Day Stuff
Host an event on the last Tuesday of February (Spay Day) or any time during the month of February. The main objective of Spay Day is to inspire as many people as possible to have their pets—or other animals in need—spayed or neutered in conjunction with the campaign. Additional objectives include raising money to provide spays or neuters for animals whose caretakers need assistance, and informing people of the urgency, safety and necessity of spaying or neutering their pets. You can organize a spay/neuter, fundraising or educational event for Spay Day.
1. Spay/neuter events involve the spaying or neutering of animals, or the distribution of spay/neuter vouchers for animals to be spayed or neutered at a later date. Most event organizers arrange for special, discounted or free* spays or neuters to be made available, particularly to low-income pet owners, homeless shelter animals awaiting adoption, or feral cat colony caretakers. Others use different means to motivate people to schedule that spay/neuter appointment, such as offering a prize drawing, hosting a spay/neuter party (free cookies and punch for everyone who brings in their pet!), or providing special information about the many lifesaving benefits of spaying and neutering. Spay/neuter events may also include fundraising and educational elements.
2. Fundraising events involve raising money to subsidize the cost of spays and neuters performed during or after Spay Day. Raffles, bake sales, "spay-ghetti" dinners, benefit concerts and shelter open houses are just a few examples of fundraising events that some organizers have found to be successful.
3. Educational events include activities like setting up a table and distributing literature, holding a Spay Day essay contest or writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper.
To get started planning your event, download the Spay Day Event Planning Guide and check out the Spay Day Action Kit page.
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Volunteers are often needed for a variety of important tasks at Spay Day events. For example, during spay/neuter clinics volunteers may assist with greeting and checking in clients, and monitoring recovering animals. Other volunteer positions include staffing information tables, hosting fundraising parties, and helping to publicize the event. Please check with the organizer of the event in your area for more information about volunteer opportunities.
If event volunteers are not needed in your area, you can still participate in Spay Day by:
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Think your unaltered pet has nothing to do with pet overpopulation? Think again!
Despite the best intentions, accidents happen—an unneutered housecat will slip out the front door, or an unspayed female dog will be visited in her backyard by a stray male who dug under the fence—and unexpected litters of helpless kittens and puppies are born. By having your pet spayed or neutered, you are ensuring she or he does not contribute to the tragedy of pet overpopulation. In addition, you are reducing or eliminating your pet's risk of contracting certain cancers which can kill your pet and are expensive to treat. Spay/neuter is a win-win for you, your pet, and your community!
Please do not wait until Spay Day to have your pet spayed or neutered. Call a veterinarian in your area and make that spay/neuter appointment now. Your local animal shelter may have recommendations of local veterinarians, or you can find one through The Shelter Pet Project's website.
If the cost of spay/neuter surgery in your area is truly difficult for you to afford, the following programs and ideas may help:
- Check out the state-specific resources on our pet financial aid page.
- Ask your veterinarian if he or she will let you work out a payment plan. Many veterinarians are willing to work out a weekly or monthly payment plan so that you do not have to pay the entire cost of veterinary care up front.
- Use your credit card. Ask for a higher credit limit or a cash advance.
- Contact Care Credit. They offer credit plans for veterinary services.
- Ask friends or family members for a loan.
- Request a referral from SPAY/USA (not associated with Spay Day).
- View a list of spay/neuter resources at Love That Cat.
- Purchase discounted spay/neuter vouchers from Friends of Animals.
- Contact your local animal shelter. They may run an ongoing spay/neuter clinic; know of a local, subsidized clinic; or they may offer vouchers for a discount at a local veterinary office. You can find animal shelters in your area through The Shelter Pet Project's website.
- Contact your regional HSUS office. Our regional offices are often familiar with organizations in their region and they may be able to tell you of spay/neuter clinics or shelters in your area.
- The HSUS recommends that, in addition to preparing for routine pet-care costs, you consider purchasing pet insurance and/or you regularly set aside savings to cover for unexpected veterinary bills. Create a special "pet savings account" and contribute money to it on a regular basis. Even a setting aside just a few dollars out of every paycheck can help offset the expense of future veterinary costs.
Remember that, even if you pay full price for the procedures, spaying or neutering is a one‑time cost with a lifetime of benefits. Spaying or neutering your pet not only helps curb pet overpopulation but also reduces your pet's risk of succumbing to many health problems. It remains one of the best bargains in animal health care. Learn more about the benefits of spaying or neutering your pet »
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You can also participate in Spay Day by sponsoring the spay or neuter of an animal awaiting adoption at your local shelter, a feral cat, or the beloved pet of someone in need of financial assistance.
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Have a product or service that you’d like to market to pet guardians or the animal welfare community? Spay Day corporate sponsorships can help companies achieve their marketing and public relations goals. Through our many outreach vehicles, we help companies promote their products/services to new audiences; build relationships with local animal welfare organizations; provide exposure to The HSUS' constituents; and align with a cause that resonates with the general public. Help end pet homelessness while reaching new customers. Email us at corprelations@humanesociety.org to learn more.
View the current Spay Day 2009 sponsors »
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Veterinarians are vital to the success of Spay Day. Without your involvement, spay/neuter surgeries would simply not be possible.
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Neutering of feral cats is performed during
the Animal Advocates of Moore Co.'s Spay
Day 2007 event in Pinehurst, N.C. © Animal Advocates of Moore Co. |
The following are just a few suggested ways you can participate in Spay Day.
- Find a Spay Day event near you, and ask if you can join their team.
- Form or join a coalition of local veterinarians and hold a city, county, or statewide Spay Day event.
- Offer your existing clients—or only new clients—a special discount on all spay/neuter surgeries performed during the month of February, the last week of February, or just on the last Tuesday of February (Spay Day).
- Contact your local animal shelter and volunteer to spay or neuter a certain number of adoptable animals at no charge. Ask the shelter to provide the animals' adopters with your business card for follow-up health care visits. (Visit theshelterpetproject.org to find shelters near you.)
- Write an op-ed or letter to the editor of your local newspaper educating readers about Spay Day and the importance of spay/neuter.
Vet techs are also important to Spay Day's success! As a vet tech, you can:
- Encourage your vet clinic to host an event.
- Volunteer at a local humane shelter's event.
- Discuss the importance of spay/neuter with clients whose pets are not yet altered.
- Distribute information about Spay Day and the importance of spay/neuter.
More information is available in the Spay Day Event Planning Guide.
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During Spay Day, people around the world will come together to fight the tragedy of companion animal euthanasia by spaying or neutering their pets.
To interview an HSUS expert on companion animal issues or to find out more about the hundreds of Spay Day events taking place nationwide throughout the month of February, contact Martin Montorfano at 301-258-3152 or mmontorfano@humanesociety.org in The HSUS's Public Relations department.
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Spay Day takes place each year on the last Tuesday of February. Created by the Doris Day Animal League (DDAL) in 1995, Spay Day became a program of The Humane Society of the United States when DDAL combined operations with The HSUS in 2006.
Spay Day is America's first and only national day of action to promote the spaying or neutering of pets. During Spay Day, veterinarians and their staff, animal welfare professionals, business owners and citizens join forces nationwide to provide spay/neuter services and to promote spay/neuter as an essential component of good pet health care, as well as an effective and humane means of decreasing the euthanasia of homeless animals in shelters.
During Spay Day's first 15 years, participants spayed or neutered more than 1,457,200 animals! When you consider that an unspayed cat can give birth to 18 kittens each year and an unspayed dog can give birth to 20 puppies each year, and that the average cost for shelters to handle each homeless animal is $176, it's clear that Spay Day participants have, potentially, prevented millions of surplus births and saved millions of taxpayers' dollars.
If you have additional questions about Spay Day, please email us at spayday@humanesociety.org
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Updated June 18, 2009.
