The Central Pennsylvania Humane Society is being \”pro-active\” about animal overpopulation.
CPHS is undertaking its annual \”Spay Days\” campaign the end of February with an effort to raise funding for spay and neuter procedures.
At least two local supermarkets will help in the campaign along with other merchants. Customers who visit Giant Eagle stores in Altoona and Roaring Spring during the week of February 21st will be asked to donate change to help sponsor spay/neuter procedures for pet owners.
“Spay Days” is an effort to help control the pet population by providing spay/neuter services to animals whose owners could not otherwise afford them. Information posters and handout material will be available at the stores.
In addition, CPHS will have other \”high visibility\” appearances such as Superpetz (Park Hills Shopping Center), Chris\’ Hallmark and Lasser\’s Shoe Fly (both in Pleasant Valley Shopping Center).
At Chris\’ Hallmark, shoppers who make donations to CPHS will have an opportunity to win a special basket of store items donated by Beth and Chris Fahr. During the week of March 1st, Lasser’s will donate $5 to CPHS for every pair of shoes sold. The contributions will go directly to help fund spay/neuter procedures.
CPHS Executive Director Dave Hopkins says he\’s optimistic about this year’s campaign: “We\’re all very excited about Giant Eagle\’s involvement….and the help and exposure we\’ll be getting from Chris\’ Hallmark and Lasser\’s Shoe Fly this year. It\’s gratifying to know that an increasing number of area merchants are willing to step up and help us in this important effort. CPHS urges all pet owners to spay/neuter their animals. Left unchecked, the animal population mushrooms at an alarming rate. For example, one pair of cats…a male and a female if not fixed and none of their offspring is either, in just seven years they can (theoretically) produce up to 420,000 cats. The process is easily tolerated by most pets and the benefits are many. Spayed/neutered pets live longer as a rule and are healthier, running less risk of cancers. In males, neutering calms the urge to roam, making the pets less likely to wander away and ultimately become strays.
The problem of dealing with strays alone ends up costing the public many thousands of dollars each year used by government and community serving agencies (such as CPHS) to collect and care for the animals found abandoned or straying.
For more information or to sponsor a procedure, contact CPHS at 94-.2477.
