World Spay Day

World Spay Day is held annually on the last Tuesday in February. Initiated by Doris Day and her Animal League as Spay Day USA in 1995, when the estimated euthanasia rate in overcrowded shelters was between 14 and 17 million dogs and cats each year, this annual event has grown to global proportions in 74 countries, resulting in the spay/neuter of millions of animals since its inception.  Doris Day Animal Foundation provides grants for World Spay Day, as well as spay/neuter programs at animal welfare organizations across the country, to help alleviate the homeless pet overpopulation and reduce euthanasia rates.  Currently the number of dogs and cats euthanized in U.S. shelters is estimated at just over 600,000 annually, but there is still much work to be done.

Learn more about the many benefits and why you should spay or neuter your pet.

Between 2008-2018, DDAF granted $760,000 to the Humane Society of the United States (now known as Humane World for Animals) to spay or neuter animals in need during World Spay Day. This allowed event organizers in 39 states and the District of Columbia to spay/neuter 14,873 cats, dogs and rabbits: