Celebrate World Spay Day
By Liz Farley
Board of Directors
Tuesday, Feb. 25, will be the 20th year in which communities from every corner of our planet will celebrate World Spay Day. This event is officially held the last Tuesday of February every year but events and activities are held throughout the entire month to promote this incredible and important message.
“Spay Day” was created by the Doris Day Animal League in 1995 and became a program of The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) in 2006. According to the HSUS website, Spay Day is the first and only international day of action to promote the spaying or neutering of pets. Veterinarians and their staff, animal welfare professionals, business owners and citizens join forces to provide spay/neuter services and promote spay/neuter information as an effective and humane means of decreasing the euthanasia of homeless animals in shelters.
In United States shelters alone there are more than four million pets euthanized a year. About 90 percent of the animals in that figure are cats and dogs. Many of the animals put down are family pets. Unlike the Central Aroostook Humane Society, there are many shelters in the United States and around the world that euthanize for space alone out of necessity, even when the animal has no health or behavior problems whatsoever.
Spay Day was created to educate the world that the only permanent and 100 percent effective method of birth control for cats, dogs, rabbits and other pets is to spay and neuter our pets. While most pet owners who do not spay or neuter their pets have good intentions and think that their animals will not contribute to the growing pet population, it is likely that at some point their life the pet will contribute to this problem.
In our area alone, CAHS in 2013 took in 649 cats and 218 dogs. In 2012 we took in 729 cats and 227 dogs. With regard to cats, about 50 to 60 percent of the total incoming numbers were strays each year. There is little doubt that the strays are likely a direct result of numerous litters from unaltered pets.
The Central Aroostook Humane Society encourages all pet owners to have their pets spayed or neutered. If the cost for such procedures is a burden, the state of Maine does have an assistance program called “Help Fix ME.” According to their website, www.spaymaine.org, this program is now open! They are providing spay and neuter vouchers to persons who qualify for cats and pit bull or pit bull-mix dogs. You can call 800-367-1317 to see if you qualify.
While the problem of pet overpopulation will likely never completely go away, you can do your part by having your pet spayed or neutered and by supporting your local animal shelter.
The Central Aroostook Humane Society is located at 26 Cross St. in Presque Isle. We are open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Please visit our shelter or call us at 764-3441.
