World Spay Day is an exciting event that is all about spreading awareness of the importance and benefits of spaying and neutering our pets. Founded in 1995 by the Doris Day Animal League (now the Doris Day Animal Foundation) as “Spay Day USA,” the day has now progressed to become a global event. It is currently celebrated on the last Tuesday in February each year.
Spay/neuter clinics, veterinary hospitals, and animal welfare advocates all over the world take time on World Spay Day to recognize the valuable benefits of spay/neuter. They do so by holding special celebratory events, promoting the importance of spay/neuter online and in person, advocating for more available spay/neuter resources, and even conducting “Spayathon” surgery days to get as many animals as possible spayed and neutered.
Why is spaying and neutering your pet or local community cat so important? There are a multitude of reasons, including:
- Address Pet Overpopulation – Spay/neuter is a surgical procedure that removes the reproductive organs of a pet, making them sterile. After being spayed/neutered, they can no longer have puppies or kittens which prevents unwanted animals from ending up abandoned or in animal shelters.
- Health Benefits – Spaying and neutering prevents multiple types of cancer (including uterine, ovarian, and testicular) and decreases the risk of mammary cancer and transmissible venereal tumors. The procedure also eliminates the risk of life-threatening conditions like pyometra, testicular torsion, and dystocia. Pets that are spayed and neutered statistically live longer, healthier lives.
- Behavioral Benefits – Unwanted behaviors like urine marking, roaming, some types of aggression, and the anxious/restless behavior associated with dogs in heat can be improved or eliminated after reproductive hormones are gone from a pet’s system. Many intact males run away each year in search of a female in heat, with the possibility of being hit by a car, otherwise injured, or permanently lost.
- Public Health and Community Well-being – Spay/neuter benefits communities as a whole, not just the individual animals. Access to spay/neuter services in a given area results in fewer stray animals, meaning fewer incidents of aggression, noise complaints, and property damage. Animals are also vaccinated against rabies at the time of surgery if they are not already up to date. Rabies is a zoonotic (spread between people and animals) disease that can spread to humans and is invariably fatal, so ensuring all cats and dogs are vaccinated is paramount in preserving public health.
Overall, spaying and neutering is a vital part of responsible pet ownership, not only for the individual pet but for the community as a whole.
At the York County SPCA, our Spay/Neuter Clinic is focused on providing affordable spay/neuter services all year round. Each day, up to 65 animals are spayed or neutered in the clinic by our team of dedicated veterinary professionals. In 2023, our Spay/Neuter Clinic performed a total of 11,862 spay/neuter surgeries, and this number has continued to grow with each passing year.
We understand that achieving our mission of reducing the number of unwanted pets and free-roaming cats via an aggressive spay/neuter program is not one we can achieve without the help of our community. The positive impact we make is only possible with the help of responsible pet owners, community cat trappers and transporters, municipal leaders, generous donors, and hard-working volunteers.
For more information on the services the clinic offers, please visit the Spay/Neuter Clinic page on our website.
