Spay Neuter Charlotte announces "Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda" A Spay & Neuter Early, Humane Alliance campaign on www.WhenToSpay.org

Oops! "Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda" gotten those puppies and kittens fixed sooner. End Quote

Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC (1888PressRelease) June 27, 2013 - When asked, "When is the best time to spay or neuter pets?" 72% of people in a survey* either gave the wrong answer or said they didn't know. Believe it or not, of the pet owners who admitted their pets had at least one litter, 59% of cat owners and 38% of dog owners say those litters were "unintentional" and "accidental."

• Spay Neuter Charlotte to launch national campaign in Charlotte on June 26
• National campaign addresses "When to Spay" pets. Most people don't know!
• Video launch of national campaign can be seen at http://youtu.be/LCSw8DKIXX0

Spay Neuter Charlotte is ready to hammer that message home. They are rolling out "Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda," a Spay/Neuter Early, Humane Alliance Campaign, that lets people know the best time to spay or neuter puppies and kittens easily and safely is by 4 months old to prevent accidental litters.

"Most people don't want to deal with females going into heat, which can be loud and messy, males who roam and spray, and unplanned litters they have to care for and find homes for," says Aimee St. Arnaud, Extreme Project Manager for the Humane Alliance in Asheville, North Carolina, a national spay/neuter training center. "We hear people say all the time they 'woulda' gotten their pets fixed, if only they knew when to do it. But they usually wait too long and before you know it, their pets are in heat, spraying, and having those accidental litters."

Sadly, it's not just pet owners that are impacted by these accidental litters either. "These 'oops' litters keep our animal shelters full," says Dr. Boyd Harrell, DVM, spokesperson for the Humane Alliance "We really need people to understand that cats and dogs can get pregnant much earlier than most people think with some cats going into heat as early as four months and some dogs by five months. Litter mates can reproduce with each other as well adding to these accidental litters. If people know when to spay or neuter their pets, these accidental litters may all but disappear, making a huge difference in the number of animals entering our nation's animal shelters every year."

Be sure to check out:
A video launch that links spay/neuter clinics together all across the nation -- http://youtu.be/I4gGq6jeXw4
Balls Across America video, where people can submit a video clip of themselves catching a ball on the right and tossing it to the left for a nationwide Balls Across America message to get pets fixed. Visit http://youtu.be/_m1jpRCZJeI to see how to enter a clip.

"We're so excited to be a part of the "Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda" campaign and believe some of these new strategies will make people realize that waiting to get pets spayed or neutered can result in at least one accidental litter," says Cary Bernstein, Executive Director of Spay Neuter Charlotte. "Our goal is to address this out-dated misperception and get people fixing their pets before that happens."

To learn more about the "Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda" campaign and how individuals can help spread the word as well, visit www.WhenToSpay.org.

You can also visit the Spay Neuter Charlotte's website at www.spayneutercharlotte.org or their Facebook page - www.facebook.com/SpayNeuterCharlotte for more on the roll out of the campaign.

* IPSOS Study 2012: Pet Adoption & Spay/Neuter: Understanding Public Perceptions by the Numbers, http://www.petsmartcharities.org/resources/Ipsos-Webinar-11-27-12.pdf

Contact Information:
Spay Neuter Charlotte: Cary Bernstein, Executive Director, (704) 375-2009, cary ( @ ) spayneutercharlotte dot org
Humane Alliance: Aimee St. Arnaud, Extreme Project Manager, (419) 874-9584, aimee ( @ ) humanealliance dot org

About Spay Neuter Charlotte:
Founded in 2011 to improve the lives of the animals in our community, Spay Neuter Charlotte is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit clinic that offers affordable sterilization and wellness services for cats and dogs. Our experienced and compassionate surgical team members specialize in this field and are exceptionally skilled in performing spay and neuter surgeries. Spay Neuter Charlotte's mission to provide high-quality, low-cost spay neuter and animal wellness services to help end preventable euthanasia in Charlotte-Mecklenburg and create a community without homeless pets.

About Humane Alliance:
Humane Alliance is a nationally recognized non-profit organization that focuses on high-volume, high-quality, low-cost companion animal sterilization. Since 1994, when they started as a small spay/neuter clinic in Asheville, NC, they have fostered a new mentoring culture across the country to successfully replicate our tried and tested clinic model. In 2005, the Humane Alliance launched The National Spay/Neuter Response Team (NSNRT), a strategic training program that addresses the urgent need for a skilled and well-organized mentor to help guide other humane organizations in the self-sustaining operation of high-volume, high-quality spay/neuter clinics. More than 115 clinics across the nation have participated in this mentorship/training program.

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