DESPITE STORM , HUNDREDS OF LOW-INCOME PET OWNERS GET LOW-COST SPAY/NEUTER SURGERIES ON NINTH ANNUAL “SPAY DAY”
Davis Vet Clinic Neuters Cats By Flashlight After Losing Power

Sacramento, CA (February 24, 2008) – Heavy rain today didn’t stop hundreds of pet owners from taking advantage of the chance to have their pets spayed and neutered for just $15 per cat and $20 per dog as part of Sacramento’s ninth annual Spay Day USA event.

A client arrives at American River Animal Hospital on Spay Day 2008

Three hundred volunteer veterinarians, shelter employees and animal advocates from Auburn to Woodland worked to spay and neuter 780 dogs and cats belonging to low-income residents of Sacramento, Placer and Yolo Counties as part of the national Spay Day USA campaign. Operated by the Sacramento Area Animal Coalition (SAAC), the event has been held every year since 2000 and is the largest of its kind in the nation. Five thousand Sacramento-area pets have been spayed or neutered on Spay Day since 2000.

Each pet receives more than $200 in services on Spay Day. Today, fifteen vet clinics and four shelters donated more than $150,000 in services and supplies to pet owners who otherwise might not be able to afford them. After losing electricity for two hours, the staff at South Davis Veterinary Center neutered 18 cats by flashlight.

Staff at 15 clinics and 4 shelters donated their time and talents to spay and neuter more than 750 animals on Spay Day 2008.

According to SAAC board member Barbara Jones, DVM, spaying and neutering is one of the most effective ways to reduce the problem of homeless and unwanted pets in the Sacramento area, where nearly half of the 40,000 animals entering the city’s three shelters each year are killed because there are not enough homes. It can also reduce health risks and unsavory behaviors, making pets healthier, happier and less expensive to care for.

“Spaying and neutering benefits both people and pets,” Dr. Jones said. “Animals who are spayed and neutered can be healthier, better behaved and live longer, and they do not produce puppies and kittens who often end up being killed in shelters because there aren’t enough people willing to adopt them.”

“The current economic downturn is making money even tighter for a lot of people,” Dr. Jones added. “SAAC is very grateful to the vet clinics and shelters that generously donated their time and skills to help struggling families and their pets, and to help ease the influx of unwanted animals into our shelters.”

Get details on other low-cost spay/neuter programs available
year-round at www.sacanimal.org.

Spay Day USA 2008 participating clinics and shelters: Acorn Vet Clinic, Davis; All About Pets, Citrus Heights; American River Animal Hospital, Orangevale; Arden Animal Hospital, Sacramento; Auburn Spay and Neuter Clinic, Auburn; Campus Commons Pet Hospital, Sacramento; City of Sacramento Animal Care Services; Hazel Ridge Veterinary Clinic, Fair Oaks; Hatton Veterinary Hospital, Elk Grove; Loomis Basin Veterinary Clinic, Loomis; Midtown Animal Clinic, Davis; Midtown Animal Hospital, Sacramento; River City Cat Clinic, Sacramento; Sacramento County Animal Care and Regulation; Sacramento SPCA; South Davis Veterinary Hospital; Sunrise Boulevard Animal Hospital, Citrus Heights; Woodland Veterinary Hospital; and Yolo County Animal Services.

Spay Day USA 2008 Sacramento Facts

• Five thousand pets belonging to low-income families have been spayed and neutered on Spay Day USA in Sacramento since the Sacramento Area Animal Coalition (SAAC) held the first one in 2000.
  
• Spay Day USA Sacramento is the largest one-day spay/neuter event in the nation, and has been for nine years running. Nowhere else in the United States are this many animals spayed and neutered in a single day.
  
• Each pet on Spay Day receives more than $200 worth of services – including permanent identification, flea preventive and vaccination – for just $15 per cat and $20 per dog.
  
• Households earning $35,000/year or less are eligible to have up to two animals altered on Spay Day.
  
• In 2008, fifteen vet clinics and four animal shelters in Sacramento, Yolo and Placer Counties participated in Spay Day. More than 300 volunteer veterinarians, vet techs, shelter employees and animal advocates were involved.
• Spay Day prevents the births of millions of unwanted animals, many of whom would end up in our region’s already overwhelmed animal shelters. About half of the 40,000 animals that enter Sacramento’s three shelters each year are euthanized because there are not enough homes for all.
• Two unaltered cats and their offspring can produce 370,000 kittens in seven years, and more than two million in eight years. Two unaltered dogs and their offspring can produce 67,000 puppies in six years.
  
• Spaying and neutering have many health and behavior benefits for animals, including:
  
  • Spaying females greatly reduces the risk of breast cancer; completely eliminates the risk of uterine or ovarian cancer; and almost completely eliminates the risk of a life-threatening infection of the uterus called pyometra, which requires emergency surgery.
  • Neutering males reduces or eliminates annoying behavior like urine marking, spraying and mounting; reduces fighting with other males; reduces risk of prostate infections in male dogs and feline AIDS (feline immunodeficiency virus or FIV) in male cats; completely eliminates the risk of testicular cancer; and reduces sexual frustration and stress.

• Demand for low-income spaying and neutering in the Sacramento area is very high. SAAC received hundreds more requests for Spay Day than it could accommodate.
• Needy pet owners can visit www.sacanimal.org for a list of low-cost programs available year-round throughout the region. 

Spay Day is organized by the Sacramento Area Animal Coalition (SAAC), a nonprofit organization committed to eliminating the number of homeless and unwanted pets in the Sacramento area through aggressive spay/neuter efforts. Other sponsors of Spay Day USA 2008 include the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights, Fort Dodge Animal Health, City of Sacramento Animal Care Services, The Humane Society of the United States, PETCO Foundation and Petfinder, Sacramento Magazine, Sacramento River Cats, Sacramento SPCA, Schering-Plough Animal Health, TEAM (Teaching Everyone Animals Matter)/Sacramento County Animal Care and Regulation, United Animal Nations, Yolo County SPCA, Animal Protection Institute, First Street Design, MWI Veterinary Supply, Pfizer Animal Health, Placer SPCA, Sacramento Valley Veterinary Medical Association, Sierra Office Supply and Printing, and Yolo County Animal Services.

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