FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
San Diego, December 19, 2024
Pets of low-income seniors will receive $25 spay/neuter surgeries
Spay-Neuter Action Project (SNAP) is grateful to an anonymous donor for a $6,000 grant to support $25 spay/neuter surgeries for pets of low-income San Diego County senior citizens. The surgeries will be done on SNAP’s mobile “Neuter Scooter” surgical bus and at the SNAP East Spay Center at 702 Broadway, El Cajon.
SNAP’s mission is to save lives by reducing pet overpopulation. Spay/neuter helps to prevent more unwanted animals from being born, thereby reducing the crisis at already over-capacity local animal shelters. SNAP’s “Maryann’s Mission” program provides an additional discount on top of SNAP’s already-discounted fees for spaying and neutering pets of low-income seniors age 65 and over.
Pets can also have direct health benefits for their senior owners by effects on cardiovascular health (reduced blood pressure and blood triglyceride levels and increased survival rates and exercise capacity for those with cardiovascular disease), increased physical activity for dog owners, decreased loss of the ability to conduct activities of daily living, and mental health benefits in decreasing feelings of isolation, loneliness, and anxiety, and reducing the effects of stressful life events. The program enriches the lives of seniors by extending their pets’ life expectancy an average of two years, allowing the seniors to spend more time with their beloved pets who are frequently their only source of companionship inside the home.
Pets will also receive a health exam, nail trimming, flea and tick treatment, deworming, pain medication, recovery collars, rabies vaccinations, and DAPPV (dogs) and FVRCP (cats) vaccines. Wound care is provided when needed, and for a nominal fee, neutering of animals with cryptorchidism, loose teeth extraction, simple hernia repairs, and microchips.
“This is our third grant from this anonymous donor in support of SNAP’s Maryann’s Mission program. We anticipate that the program will be extremely popular in 2025, as it was in the past — especially since veterinary care prices are out of reach for the pet owners who we serve and many senior citizens can barely meet the cost of living as it is” said Dorell Phillips Sackett, SNAP’s Executive Director.
About Spay-Neuter Action Project (SNAP)
SNAP became a registered nonprofit organization in 1996. SNAP was the first organization in the San Diego region to implement programs to reduce the number of companion animals euthanized in local shelters. SNAP brings no- and low-cost spay/neuter services directly to communities struggling with chronic pet overpopulation. SNAP has become the primary provider of affordable spay/neuter services to the San Diego community, and has fixed more than 85,000 dogs, cats, and rabbits since 2003. Visit www.snap-sandiego.org to learn more, or follow SNAP on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with our latest news and events.
SNAP became a registered nonprofit organization in 1996. SNAP was the first organization in the San Diego region to implement programs to reduce the number of companion animals euthanized in local shelters. SNAP brings no- and low-cost spay/neuter services directly to communities struggling with chronic pet overpopulation. SNAP has become the primary provider of affordable spay/neuter services to the San Diego community, and has fixed more than 85,000 dogs, cats, and rabbits since 2003. Visit www.snap-sandiego.org to learn more, or follow SNAP on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with our latest news and events.