Spay Day USA February 24, 2009

Pet overpopulation is a huge issue. There are more cats and dogs out there than there is room in many a shelter. These animals are forced to live on the streets a very hard life with no one to care for them, the possibility of disease, attack by other animals, or even inhumane treatment by people. They might, if they are lucky, be admitted into a shelter where they could potentially be adopted into a loving home IF the shelter has room for them. Even if the shelter has room to admit the kitten or puppy, that's not to say that they won't be euthanized at a later date due to overpopulation in the shelter or, in these hard economic times, the closing of a shelter.

Every cat or dog who dies as a result of pet overpopulation—whether humanely in a shelter or by injury, disease or neglect—is an animal who, more often than not, would have made a wonderful companion, if given the chance. Tremendous as the problem of pet overpopulation is, it can be solved if each of us takes just one small step, starting with not allowing our animals to breed.

Spay Day is an annual campaign of The Humane Society of the United States to inspire people to save animal lives by spaying or neutering pets and feral cats. Four million cats and dogs—about one every eight seconds—are put down in U.S. shelters each year. Often these animals are the offspring of cherished family pets, even purebreds. Maybe someone's cat or dog got out just that one time or maybe the litter was intentional, but efforts to find enough good homes failed. Spay/neuter is the only permanent, 100-percent effective method of birth control for dogs and cats and a proven way to reduce the vast numbers of animals who are born only to die prematurely and without a family who loves them. Save a life: click here to learn more reasons why you should spay/neuter your pet.