Over twenty veterinarians in Clarke and eight surrounding counties will be reducing their spay-neuter fees for cats or dogs in February as part of the Doris Day Animal Foundation's (D.D.A.F.) National Spay Day 2003, sponsored locally by Pet Assistance and Welfare Society of Athens, Inc. (P.A.W.S.)

"We are thrilled to have such an enthusiastic response from our veterinarians," said Barbara McDonald, Ph.D., the event coordinator for P.A.W.S. "Our community has a serious overpopulation problem and this is one way that we can make a significant difference by working together. We encourage the Athens community to get involved and tell their friends and neighbors who need to get this surgery for their pets!"

In Athens-Clarke County last year, 2,362 cats and dogs were euthanized. This includes 833 dogs at Animal Control - 40% of the dogs taken in - and 1, 529 cats at the Athens Area Humane Society - 80% of the cats that were surrendered.

"This is very painful for us because we love animals," said Scott Raymond, president of P.A.W.S. "We much prefer to see this community use prevention through spay-neuter, rather than have litters of unwanted kittens and puppies being produced at an alarming rate. These surgeries are safe and the pets recover very quickly. And there are many benefits for the pets and their owners."

Among those benefits are reduction of breast cancer and prevention of various reproductive tract disorders. Neutering will often resolve undesirable behaviors such as aggression, spraying, and roaming, as well as eliminating the risk of various testicular diseases.

"Anyone who has had to rush their cat to the vet because of a bad cat fight knows how expensive that can be," McDonald said. "It's much cheaper to prevent such an occurrence by getting the cat neutered when it is young. So anyone worrying about the cost of the surgery should weigh the cost of an emergency hospitalization after that pet is in a fight. In addition to the expense, who would want to allow their pet to go through that?"

This year's event also has a celebrity "spokescat," The Athens Banner-Herald columnist M.A. Barnes famous cat Bulldog. Barnes' columns about Bulldog, formerly a feral kitten rescued from Bulldog Car Wash, have kept the Athens community in stitches.

"We're very excited to be able to have Bulldog endorsing spay-day," said McDonald. "He's one of Athens most famous cats!"

Artist James Dean has created a portrait of Bulldog and prints will be available for purchase by the public for $20 at locations around Athens. The artist will sign all prints sold this year.

DDAF created Spay Day in 1995 to encourage communities to help solve the country's severe pet overpopulation problem. Since it's inception, participants have altered more than 835,000 animals. This is the third year that P.A.W.S. will sponsor local Spay Day activities and the program is growing.

"We had two veterinarians participate our first year and 40 animals were fixed," said E. J. Stapler, last year's event coordinator. "Last year, we had 10 veterinarians participate and 352 animals were surgically altered. We are very excited that this event is still growing and look forward to seeing the results of Spay Day 2003."

P.A.W.S. is the only animal welfare nonprofit in Athens devoted exclusively to no or low cost spay-neuter surgeries for the elderly and indigent. In 2002, P.A.W.S. was able to get 808 cats and dogs spayed or neutered with the assistance of local veterinarians. Details on all the veterinarians participating in Spay Day 2003 and locations where James Dean prints can be purchased will be posted on the P.A.W.S. website at www.pawsofathens.com.