To prevent unwanted puppies and kittens from being born, the Pearl River County SPCA is promoting a sale, called the Un-Father’s Day, so Pearl River County residents can get male pets neutered.

“We want to make sure there are no unwelcome pets coming into the world. It happens too often that a pet is born and has no one to take care of it. But when you get your pets neutered, this prevents these neglected animals from having to struggle through a life of carelessness,” said the President of PRC SPCA Carla Gerrard.

The coupons for the Un-Father’s Day provide the service at a discount of $30 for cats and $40 for dogs, which is half-off. Coupons are accessible at the PRC Animal Shelter and Longleaf Farm and Garden in Poplarville.

PRC SPCA has provided this service since 2006 to over 30,000 animals.

“These animals will be much better pets after being neutered. They are much calmer, don’t roam and run away from home chasing females, and will live a healthier and longer life. We have seen time and time again that the growling goes down and the animal becomes more people oriented,” said public relations representative and former shelter president Maria Diamond.

There are some erroneous assumptions of the effects of getting a pet neutered, Diamond said, like personality changes.

“Guard dogs that come into surgery will come out still guard dogs. They will not lose their natural personality and will not become lazier. Your dog or cat will remain the same pet it has been prior to being neutered, just less aggravated, which is always a good thing,” said Diamond.

PRC SPCA has a long-term goal of becoming a “no-kill” shelter, said Gerrard, which is an animal shelter that does not euthanize healthy or treatable animals even when at full capacity. Providing awareness of how important it is to spay and neuter pets is something the people at the shelters take seriously, Gerrard said.

“We want to become a ‘no-kill’ shelter very badly. Anything we can do to save these innocent animal’s lives is why we do what we do. With getting your animals spayed and neutered, it means that we have less unwanted pets in the shelter, allowing us to keep the ones we do have,” said Gerrard.

Gerrard and Diamond recommend pets be at least four-months-old before being neutered so they can properly recover from not only the surgery, but also the anesthesia, Diamond said.

After acquired a coupon, pet owners are asked to call the number provided on it. The shelter will then assess the pet to see if they can handle the transport and call back to set an appointment.

“The animals are sent to a variety of places. We ship them to Southern Pines, Humane Society at Gulfport, Picayune Vet Clinic, and Animal Health Clinic in Picayune. Because Southern Pines and the Humane Society are farther away, we transport them to these facilities to get treated,” said Gerrard. “We have been working with these clinics for about 10 years. The veterinarians that conduct the surgery are well experienced and seasoned. We get great responses from our customers because of these vets.”

All the animals must be in carriers if being transported, Gerrard said, and if they do not have one, the shelter can provide one for them for a $10 fee. Gerrard asks that the carriers be cleaned properly before their appointment.

She also asks that pets be treated for fleas at least three days before the animal’s appointment.

The coupon sale lasts from June 11 through June 25 and the coupons are valid for six months after purchase.