MIDLOTHIAN, Va. - Sept. 21, 2020 - This week Operation Paws for Homes (OPH) will sponsor its tenth Community Spay Day in 2020, providing low cost spay and neuter surgeries to help control dog and cat overpopulation.
Dog and cat overpopulation is a persistent issue and yet spay/neuter is an underutilized component of the animal rescue equation. According to the Humane Society of the United States, on any given day in the United States, there are an estimated 70 million homeless dogs and cats struggling to survive. Unaltered dogs and cats perpetuate the problem – one unspayed female cat and her offspring can lead to 370,000 kittens in 7 years!
"I'd love to take them all in, but the harsh reality is there just aren't enough homes for all the animals," says Laurie Landers, Director of Operations for OPH. "Adoption is one solution but spay and neuter is equally essential."
Shelters can hardly keep up, especially during challenging times. Between six and eight million dogs and cats enter US shelters each year, according to the Humane Society. Only half of dogs and cats entering shelters get adopted, according to the ASPCA.
OPH partners with mobile spay and neuter clinics to provide these critical services to communities struggling with animal overpopulation; communities that don't have easy access to cost effective options to address the issue humanely. One community at a time, one day at a time, 30 animals a day, OPH deeply subsidizes the cost of surgery that could otherwise carry a price tag between $250 and $900. Residents sign up in advance and pay only $20 per dog and $10 per cat. Priority is given to bully breeds, hounds and cats because these animals are the most likely to end up in shelters. OPH has sponsored 200 procedures so far this year.
"It has been extremely hard to find somewhere to get our puppy neutered during the COVID-19 pandemic," said Meagan Brown of Chesterfield. "Our vet quoted $600. I work in healthcare and have had my hours cut back. OPH saved the day."
Operation Paws for Homes is a volunteer-powered 501(c)3 devoted to the rescue, rehabilitation and placement of pets. OPH rescues dogs from crowded, under-resourced shelters primarily in the southern US, providing volunteer foster homes and individualized adoption services to families throughout Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland and southern PA. The organization is 100% donor-funded. Learn more at www.ophrescue.org.
