FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, February 3, 1998
CONTACT:
Media: Maggi Jones Public Relations, (713) 524-7626
Public: The Fund for Animals Spay & Neuter Clinic, (713) 863-0010
HOUSTON, Tex. -- Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander and his wife Nanci are offering Houstonians a chance to be their special guest for an evening, including joining them courtside at a Rockets home game, just for having dogs and cats spayed or neutered during the month of February. This offer is in conjunction with "Spay Day USA" on February 24, a national event designed to bring awareness to the crisis of dog and cat overpopulation. More than 100,000 homeless dogs and cats are destroyed each year in Houston resulting from overpopulation.
Anyone who spays or neuters a dog or cat during the month of February at one of The Fund for Animals' Houston facilities will receive a Rockets merchandise item and will be eligible to win an evening with the Rockets owners through a random drawing. One entry per animal is permitted. The Alexanders will draw the winner at the SNAP Mobile Clinic on March 5.
"All of the SNAP mobiles in the world won't end the misery of the animal shelter killing rooms if we don't stop the breeding of cats and dogs," Nanci Alexander said. "There are many ways everyone can help, starting with adopting cats or dogs from shelters only -- never buy an animal from a pet shop or a backyard breeder -- and having them spayed or neutered. Also, each of us can make a diffrence by writing our city and county officials asking for a breeding moratorium because it has worked in other communities, and it can work in our community."
The Fund for Animals provides FREE and REDUCED COST spaying and neutering for dogs and cats at two Houston facilities. The Fund for Animals Spay & Neuter Clinic, located at 1603 Shepherd Drive, provides reduced cost spaying and neutering by appointment year-round. This facility is open to the general public. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call (713) 863-0010.
The Fund's second Houston facility, the Spay-Neuter Assistance Program, or "SNAP," is the nation's first "spay and neuter clinic on wheels." SNAP actually started as the result of a gift from the Alexanders in 1993. Ongoing annual support of the SNAP mobile clinic project from the Rockets has provided for the spaying and neutering of more than 10,000 dogs and cats FREE OF CHARGE to qualifying Houston families during the last three years. To find out about the schedule of operation and how to qualify, call the SNAP calendar hotline at (713) 522-2337.
Spaying or neutering dogs and cats prevents homeless animals from being born. Spayed or neutered animals live longer, healthier lives.