On Feb. 28, San Diego Humane Society will perform 80 free spay/neuter surgeries and give away 75 free spay and neuter appointments to qualifying pet owners in celebration of World Spay Day. Income-qualifying individuals with pit bulls, Chihuahuas and cats are invited to sign up their pets for a free spay or neuter surgery starting as early as 10 a.m. at one of San Diego Humane Society’s three campuses: Oceanside, Escondido and San Diego. Each campus will schedule 25 appointments for future dates on a first-come, first-served basis.
While pet owners are signing up for future appointments, 80 pre-scheduled surgeries will be performed on animals who are the most at-risk of entering shelters in San Diego – pit bulls, Chihuahuas and cats. “By celebrating World Spay Day we can shine a spotlight on the importance of spaying and neutering pets to prevent overpopulation,” said Dr. Gary Weitzman, president and CEO of San Diego Humane Society. “Preventing unwanted and unplanned litters is one of the best approaches we can take to end pet homelessness in San Diego, which is why in addition to our World Spay Day promotion, we have affordable and accessible community spay neuter services, available all year long.” The allocations of free appointments for each campus are:
Oceanside Campus Escondido Campus San Diego Campus
572 Airport Road 3450 E. Valley Parkway 5500 Gaines St.
25 free appointments 25 free appointments 25 appointments
Beyond San Diego Humane Society’s World Spay Day promotion, last year SDHS performed nearly 17,000 spay/neuter surgeries to stave off more than 45,000 homeless and unwanted animals flooding local shelters annually.
Reducing animal homelessness by altering pets also provides health and behavior benefits such as:
Stems roaming and calms temperament.
The reproductive drive of unaltered animals may cause them to leave home in search of a mate, putting them at risk of getting lost, injured or killed on streets.
Hormonal changes associated with procreating can influence an animal’s temperament. For example, there are noticeable behavioral changes in female dogs when they look after their pups. Male dogs may act more aggressively when unaltered.
Helps prevent illnesses and cancer.
Spaying or neutering your pets involves removal of their reproductive organs. In doing so, you can help protect your pet against illnesses like:
– pyometra, a common, potentially fatal bacterial infection of the uterus. Approximately 25 percent of all unaltered female dogs will suffer from pyometra before the age of 10.
– testicular cancer and enlarged prostate gland.
– mammary and uterine cancer.