86
NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION >> PAY TO SPAY
A HERO TO PETS
Pay to Spay A Local Animal Advocate Creates a New Nonprofit W R I T T E N B Y H AY L I Z U C C O L A P H OTO G R A P H Y B Y M I C H A E L A . E A D DY
E
very week, daytime television icon Bob Barker would grace the “Price is Right” stage, drawing attention away from the colorful spectacle of a set behind him, and close out the popular game show with a reminder for people to spay or neuter their pets. While viewers associate the remark as one of Barker’s signature catchphrases, his comments offered a solution to reduce the overabundant pet population. According to a shelter intake and surrender study completed by the ASPCA, approximately 6.5 million cats and dogs enter animal shelters across the United States every year. This estimate, though alarming, doesn’t even take into account the number of strays who are left wandering the streets just trying to survive. With limited space in the shelters, adoptable pets – 1.5 million a year nationwide – are euthanized in order to make room for incoming strays and/or newborn pets that owners can no longer afford to take care of. It’s a continuous cycle that sadly results in innocent animals never getting the chance to become someone’s best friend.
86 |
OUR TOWN MAGAZINE
May/June 2019