Namaste Spay & Neuter Initiative
A staggering 67,000 puppies can be born from a female dog and her offspring in seven years, and 420,000 kittens can be produced by a female cat and her offspring in just six years. These statistics are driving our primary goal of addressing pet overpopulation, by helping to prevent the cascade of unwanted animals that can stem from a single unaltered pet.
The financial burden to the taxpayer of sheltering, feeding, treating, housing, and even killing so many unwanted animals every year far outweighs the alternative approach—implementing targeted, publicly funded spay/neuter programs. These address the cause of our pet overpopulation problem at its source. Spay/neuter is a highly efficient way to allocate resources, because every dollar spent has an exponential effect. Every animal we fix today saves tens, then hundreds, and ultimately thousands of animals from our shelter system of tomorrow. Together, we have the power to create a consensus that rejects euthanasia as a method of achieving results.
To address this pet population crisis directly, we launched the Jason Heigl Foundation Namaste Spay & Neuter Initiative. Through this program, we are partnering with qualifying 501(c)(3) groups to fully fund the cost of spay and neuter surgeries, including associated pain medication and any necessary vaccinations.
On Namaste Days, pet owners bring their cat or dog to pre-approved host clinics for free surgery. Through the Heigl Foundation’s benevolence, pet owners will save financially; but, more importantly, the shelter system will be saved from the burden of countless unwanted pets.
Spaying and neutering also has added benefits for the health of our companion pets—reducing the risk of certain cancers, the desire to spray or mark territory and the desire to roam.
If you do not have a pet, you still can support our efforts to bring about this change in mindset. As a society, if we can adjust our thinking from focusing solely on the rescue and support of orphaned pets to the prevention of unwanted pregnancies, we will have made significant strides in addressing pet overpopulation and the problems our shelters face.
Pet owners wanting to take advantage of the Namaste Spay and Neuter Initiative should tell their local rescue or spay and neuter clinic about the program.
To qualify for funding, applicants must be a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization or a dedicated Spay & Neuter Clinic.
With our guidance, qualifying hosts organize dog/cat large-scale spay/neuter clinic(s) called Namaste Days. During Namaste Days, pet owners are invited to bring their animals to the clinic to be spayed or neutered for free. Animals typically return home later that day. Clinic hosts then can invoice the Heigl Foundation and be fully reimbursed for the costs of all surgeries, associated pain medications, and any other pre-approved vaccinations or incidentals that the veterinarians deem necessary.
Participating hosts must document Namaste Days with pictures and videos, sending them to the Jason Heigl Foundation for our promotional and social media use. We want to showcase the positive work that is being done. Successful applicants also will need to sign an agreement defining what is expected of both the partner clinic and the Heigl Foundation.
Organizations wanting to host a Namaste Day clinic should complete the application form below.
21
Our Reach
States where Namaste events were held last year
4,160
Spayed / Neutered
Sterilization surgeries fully funded in 2024