Fall Festival Freebies: Pumpkins, Smarties, and Spay/Neuter Surgeries

PETA’s Seasonal Special Will Help Keep the Specter of Animal Homelessness at Bay

For Immediate Release:
October 16, 2017

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Calling all ghosts, goblins, and companion-animal guardians: PETA is offering free spay/neuter surgeries—complete with microchipping—on Thursday at the group’s headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia. Every smarty who brings in an animal to be “fixed” will be fixed up with free Smarties candies donated by the vegan candy company and a pumpkin from PETA’s “Great Pupkin Patch” to take home and decorate.

Date:    Thursday, October 19

Time:    12 noon–4 p.m. (by appointment only)

Place:    PETA’s Sam Simon Center, 501 Front St., Norfolk

Appointments are required, as space is limited, and can be made by calling PETA at 757-622-PETA (7382), extension 3, or visiting PETA.org/SpayNeuterAppt.

“It’s all treats and no tricks at PETA’s seasonal deal for free spay/neuter surgeries,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “We can all care for companion animals, save lives, and combat the homeless-animal overpopulation crisis one ‘snip’ at a time.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—notes that every year, more than 6 million dogs and cats end up in animal shelters across the U.S., and half of them must be euthanized because there simply aren’t enough good homes for them. Sterilized animals lead longer and happier lives, are less likely to develop cancer of the reproductive system, and—in the case of neutered males—are less likely to roam or fight. Since 2001, PETA has performed free and low-cost spay/neuter surgeries on more than 147,700 dogs, cats, and rabbits, including more than 15,000 in 2016.

For more information, please visit PETA.org/SpayNeuter.