Mass spay and neuter event set this weekend

DAVAO-BASED animal sanctuary Happy Animals Club and the Philippine Pet Birth Control Center Foundation (PPBCC) of Mandaluyong have announced a mass spay and neuter event for dogs and cats.

Happy Animals Club founder Ken Amante said the event, dubbed as "Happier Animals I," will take place on August 26 and 27, and is intended to usher in a new era of responsible pet ownership. The event also seeks to break the current national record of 386 animals sterilized, previously set by the PPBCC

He said the purpose of the event is to change animals lives for the better, and to encourage responsible pet ownership in Davao. They observed that many unwanted kittens are usually abandoned by the roadside and often starve to death.

Spaying and neutering, while a common practice in developed countries, has yet to fully catch on in the Philippines, and market prices for spaying (sterilizing a female animal) and neutering (sterilizing a male animal) at local veterinary clinics remain high. Sterilizations average around P1,500 for male cats, P3,000 for female cats, P4,000 for male dogs, and as much as P9,000 for female dogs.

Amante said sterilized animals are healthier, less prone to fighting and aggressive behavior, much quieter, less likely to wander the streets, and at a reduced risk of developing cancer. Female dogs are protected from pyometra, a potentially deadly infection of the uterus that often afflicts unspayed females.

Happy Animals Club, which was founded by then 9-year-old Ken in 2014, raised funds from overseas donors and joined forces with the PPBCC to enable local pet owners to sterilize their pets for free of charge. The two organizations designated the event as Happier Animals I in the hope that it will be the first of many such events.

The Happy Animals Club team raised more than P400,000 to fund the event.

"We are so blessed to have generous donors and the opportunity to work with the PPBCC," said Amante, who is now 13 years old and a junior high school student. (PR)

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