Spayathon4PR
*Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all Spayathon for Puerto Rico trips and programs are on pause.
Do you work for a humane organization in the medical department and would you like to learn more about HQHVSN in a field setting? Would you like to be a part of Spayathon for Puerto Rico? Consider applying for a the Maddie's Spayathon4PR HQHVSN Apprenticeship with our program! Click here to learn more!
Spayathon for Puerto Rico 
When does it happen:
Clinic dates for 2019 - 2020 are as follows. NOTE THESE ARE ACTUAL ON SITE CLINIC DATES and do not include travel the day before and after the clinic.
Round 6 (dates have changed):
- February 21, 2020 - February 26, 2020
- Arrival date (travel): February 18, 2020
- Set up: February 19 & 20, 2020
- Tear down: February 27,. 2020
- Departure date (travel): February 28, 2020
- Location: TBA
Round 7 (*Canceled due to COVID-19):
- May 1, 2020 - May 6, 2020
- Arrival date (travel): April 28, 2020
- Set up: April 29 & 30, 2020
- Tear down: May 7, 2020
- Departure date (travel): May 8, 2020
- Location; TBD
Round 8 (*Canceled due to COVID-19):
- November 6, 2020 - November 11, 2020
- Arrival date (travel): November 3, 2020
- Set up: November 4 & 5, 2020
- Tear down: November 12, 2020
- Departure date (travel): November 13, 2020
- Location: TBD
About Spayathon4PR
More than 25 organizations (including Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program at Cornell) have come together to serve tens of thousands of animals and provide training and infrastructure for lasting change.
Puerto Rico is facing a growing animal welfare crisis: Many individuals vacating the island after Hurricane Maria had to leave their pets behind, adding to the population of unowned animals (currently estimated at more than 300,000 dogs and one million cats). Zoonotic diseases like leptospirosis are spreading, posing a threat to both animal and human populations. The few veterinary resources on the island are already stretched beyond capacity. The extreme levels of poverty across the island make what veterinary resources there are inaccessible to many pet caretakers.
We responded to this crisis by establishing SpayathonTM for Puerto Rico, a coalition of 26 national and international groups coming together for the first time to spay, neuter and vaccinate at least 85,000 dogs and cats across the island. Spayathon is founded on a historic agreement signed between the Humane Society of the United States, the Puerto Rico government, Veterinary Association and Veterinary Board, allowing teams of high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter veterinarians to practice on the island for the first time ever, assembling the largest coalition dedicated to mass spay/neuter efforts.
In March of 2019, the Government of Puerto Rico announced that the Humane Society of the United States would be granted six additional Spayathon rounds beyond Round 4 (held in May 2019), extending the initiative to 2021, which will help more than 60,000 additional animals. Clinics welcome both owned and TNR/rescue animals (click here to leave this page and go to the HSUS website to learn more ).
