Humane Society: National Spay Day

13th Annual Spay Day USA

The Humane Society of the United States is holding its 13^th annual Spay Day USA on February 27^th, 2007.

The Humane Society of the United States is partnering with communities and local groups and organizations to get pets spayed and neutered on Spay Day USA. Last year alone there were roughly, 29,000 animals spayed and neutered on Spay Day USA.

Spaying and neutering our furry friends is something everyone and anyone can get involved in. This simple effective procedure will help drop the number of unwanted pets, not just for today, but for generations to come.

Sadly, each year, millions of cats and dogs are surrendered to the estimated, 4-6 thousand animal shelters, we have in the United States; or many of our beloved friends are simply abandoned in homes, the streets, or dropped off in rural countryside's. They are just left to fend for themselves and many eventual die, from starvation, diseases, or worse they become victims of a vehicle and hit on the road ways. This is emotional and distressing to the driver who hits this once beloved pet.

Some known facts:

Each year, there are thousands of puppies and kittens born in the US, every hour; and sadly, many of them never find stable loving homes. Fertile cats can have 3 litters a year with an estimate of 3-6 kittens born with each litter. If you break this down, within one year, one cat can have 9-18 offspring. Furthermore, fertile dogs can have 2 litters a year with an estimate of 5-10 puppies born within each litter. So within that one year, one dog can have 10-20 offspring. These are large numbers when you stop and think about how many cats and dogs we have just in the US.

Every year there is an estimated, 6-8 million cats and dogs, entering the doors of animal shelters. Of this estimate only half of these animals, 3-4 million, are adopted into loving lifelong homes; while the other 3-4 million are humanely euthanized in the shelters. Some of these animals that are euthanized can not be domesticated or they were victims of abuse, deeming them unstable to be placed within a home.