The Washington Humane Society Offers a Special Holiday Half Price Special for Pit Bull Sterilization Services
Helping to Reduce Animal Overpopulation and Homelessness
in the District of Columbia

Washington, DC – The Washington Humane Society’s already low-cost Spay/Neuter Clinic is taking things one step further and offering a special limited-time deal during the months of December and January, allowing for all Pit Bulls belonging to DC residents half price sterilization services, as long as the dogs belong to private citizens.

Howard Nelson, Executive Director of the Washington Humane Society, explains the focus on Pit Bulls: “The dog adoptions at our shelter are keeping up with the intake of adoptable dogs. Unfortunately, we still see too many neglected, abused and aggressive Pit Bulls. For these animals, the battle against homelessness and abandonment has to be fought on the intake side. We simply have to bring down the number of these particular animals entering the shelter.”

The Washington Humane Society operates the only low-cost, high-volume Spay/Neuter Clinic in the Washington Metropolitan area and performs safe and effective sterilization surgery on thousands of animals each year. Normal prices for sterilization surgery at the Spay/Neuter Clinic are $45 for cats and $100 for dogs. Thanks to the support of members in the community, the surgeries are subsidized and therefore the Spay/Neuter clinic is able to charge only a fraction of the real cost of surgery. For the months of December and January, the Washington Humane Society will extend a special holiday discount rate of $50 for sterilization services on Pit Bulls who are privately owned, at least four months of age, and in good health. The state-of-the-art clinic also offers a full range of discounted wellness services, including micro-chipping, vaccinations, and flea treatment to its clients at the time of surgery.

The Washington Humane Society makes every effort to provide sterilization surgery for as many dogs and cats as possible. Animals can reproduce at an astounding rate. One female cat and her offspring can produce 420,000 cats in 7 years, and one female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 dogs in 7 years (figures from the Humane Society of the United States). As a result, thousands of unwanted cats and dogs are abandoned, neglected, or turned into our shelters each year.

Dog owners can also save money by ensuring that their animal sterilized. District of Columbia laws require annual licenses for dogs, and a license for an un-sterilized dog costs $46, but only $13 for sterilized animals. Also, since the average direct care cost (food, shelter, medicine, supplies) per animal at the DC Shelter is $62, sterilization promises significant savings to the tax payers and represents the most fiscally responsible approach to the pet overpopulation crisis.

The Washington Humane Society provides care and comfort to over 20,000 animals each year through our broad range of programs and services including sheltering, adoption, spay and neuter, law enforcement, lost and found, CatNiPP (the program to humanely manage the number of feral and stray cats in DC through trap-neuter-return) and humane education. The Department of Health selected the Washington Humane Society to operate the DC Animal Shelter and Animal Control Program. The Spay/Neuter Clinic is a private operation, as is the Society’s own shelter on Georgia Avenue, NW.

For more information please call or e-mail the media contact above or contact Lara Mangan, Spay-Neuter Program Manager at 202-88-ALTER or via e-mail lara.mangan@washhumane.org to make an appointment.

The Washington Humane Society is the oldest animal protection agency in Washington, D.C. Since 1870, WHS’s open door policy has served homeless, lost, and abused animals in the District of Columbia; providing protection from cruelty, shelter from the elements, and a second chance at a loving home. No call for help goes unanswered, and no animal is ever turned away. Please visit our web site for more information on the programs offered: www.washhumane.org

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