One for the Books: Spay/Neuter Clinics Set New Record in February
Betelgeuse, my son’s kitten, was doing the sort of things most 6-month-old kittens do: racing around the house, charming the figurative pants off everyone, and rapidly reaching the age when mating was on his radar. My son, knowing that spaying or neutering goes with the territory when you open your home to a companion animal, had been calling around for a fee that wouldn’t break the bank. I knew where to point him: PETA’s low- to no-cost spay/neuter clinics.
But who knew the little guy—Betelgeuse, not my son—was going to help set a record for PETA’s spay-and-neuter program? He and 1,303 other cats and dogs, including 99 pit bulls and 24 feral cats, did just that, making February the best month since the program’s inception 15 years ago.
Setting the record in February was the icing on the cake: It always draws the short straw, even in a leap year. PETA’s annual Spay-a-Thon, held on February 23—World Spay Day—helped push the clinics into record-setting territory. It was cold and rainy, but that didn’t stop the guardians of 122 animals from doing the right thing.
That’s how PETA’s Mobile Clinics Division rolls. More than 124,000 animals have been spayed or neutered since 2001, meaning millions of unwanted puppies and kittens haven’t been born only to be abandoned, neglected, or abused. It also means that countless dogs and cats who are languishing in shelters right now get a better shot at finding a loving home. With four mobile clinics now on the road, the dedicated staff is always busy, busy, busy.
If you live in southeastern Virginia or northeastern North Carolina, spay/neuter surgeries through March are only $35 for dogs and, to commemorate the 15th anniversary of PETA’s mobile clinics, $15 for cats.
Better make room in the record books.
