FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
San Diego, CA – December 18, 2025
San Diego, CA — Spay-Neuter Action Project (SNAP) has received a grant from The Brown Family Foundation. This funding will enable SNAP’s Maryann’s Mission program to provide specially discounted spay/neuter services for 320 pet dogs, cats, and rabbits of low-income San Diego County seniors, who will pay only $40 per cat and $90 per dog for their pet’s spay or neuter. The surgeries will be done by licensed veterinarians on SNAP’s mobile surgical suites, and at the SNAP East Spay Center in El Cajon.
Fixing these 320 pets will make a tremendous impact towards reducing unwanted litters and the numbers of cats, dogs, and rabbits entering local animal shelters. Many seniors cherish their pets, who are frequently their only source of companionship inside the home. Yet San Diego County seniors who live on fixed incomes often struggle to afford the high cost of pet care at local private veterinary practices. SNAP’s Maryann’s Mission program helps to address this need.
Spaying and neutering helps pets by reducing their cancer risk and urge to fight, helping them to be more relaxed and happier, and reducing their chances of getting lost while wandering to find a mate. SNAP’s services benefit pet owners by helping to reduce the financial obligation of taking care of their pets as well as reducing pets’ behavioral problems such as house soiling, roaming, and aggression. 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, the effects of stressful life events, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for military veterans and disaster victims. 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 animals. The community benefits by preventing even more unwanted and abandoned animals from entering the already overburdened and over-capacity animal shelters.
At the time of their spay/neuter, pets will also receive a free pre-anesthetic health exam, rabies and DAPPv (for dogs) or FVRCP (for cats) vaccinations, nail trimming, flea and tick treatment, deworming, pain medication, recovery collars, cardboard carriers, and wound care as needed. SNAP provides microchips for pets whose owners want them for only $10. These extra services all incur additional charges with private vets and at the San Diego Humane Society.
“Witnessing the bond between a senior and their pet is truly heart-warming—and knowing that pet will be healthier, happier, and protected from unplanned litters is essential to the well-being and longevity of both the person and the pet,” said Dorell Sackett, SNAP’s Executive Director.
About The Brown Family Foundation
The Brown Family Foundation provides financial support to organizations focused on providing programs and services to disadvantaged and marginalized individuals. In addition to helping people, the foundation supports causes that lift up and protect our animal friends. The Brown Family Foundation is recognized as a Golden Paws donor on SNAP’s website, due to their generous support of SNAP’s lifesaving work.
About Spay-Neuter Action Project (SNAP)
SNAP was founded in 1990 and became a registered nonprofit organization in 1992. 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 95,000 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.