Spay/Neuter Does Make a Difference

For every 1 person born, 15 dogs and 45 cats are also born. Sadly, only one in ten will find a home. Pet overpopulation is the number one problem for domestic animals in America. Some homeless dogs and cats just roam the streets. In Atlanta alone, almost 100,000 pets a year are euthanized in animal shelters. There are just not enough homes for all of the pets.

But surely my one cat or dog can’t make that much difference?

Two uncontrolled breeding cats, plus all their kittens and all their kittens’ kittens, if none were ever neutered or spayed, in the first fifteen years could theoretically add up to:

• 2 litters per year


• 2.8 surviving kittens per litter


• 10 year breeding life for each cat


• 80 million cats!

Our spay/neuter program, Casper's Fund, subsidizes over 200 spay/neuter surgeries per year for Atlanta's pet owners. Often, these owners don't qualify for the free programs, but don't have enough left over each month to afford the $300+ for a spay or neuter surgery at a local vet. Our participants either volunteer for 5 hours or make a small-copay in exchange for a subsidy for their surgery. We work with local spay/neuter clinics who accept our vouchers.

We want to make sure that every pet owner who wants to get their pet fixed is able to do so. We never disqualify anyone who wants to do the right thing for their dog or cat. In the long run, every pet we help spay/neuter means potentially hundreds of puppies and kittens that won't die in shelters or on the streets.

Help us expand our spay/neuter program to fix more pets, and to help owners afford annual preventative care, such as heartworm tests and rabies vaccinations. Click here to make a donation.

Spay/neuter might not give us the warm fuzzy feelings that our adoption stories do. But I am moved every time I read a survey from one of our participants that says they would not have gotten their pet fixed otherwise. I know that our program is making a difference.