Spay-Neuter Action Project

It All Began at a Shelter

The Spay-Neuter Action Project (SNAP) was co-founded in 1990 by a group of women who were volunteering at a local municipal shelter. After seeing countless stray animals come and go, Diane Calkins, Maggie Houlihan, Barbara Rosenbaum, Candy Schumann and Rosemary Shelton knew adoptions alone weren’t going to solve the problem – there were simply too many unwanted animals for the number of available homes! To reduce the number of animals euthanized in shelters every year, they had to reduce the number of homeless animals from coming into the shelter system in the first place. They published a referral guide of affordable spay/neuter providers in San Diego County, to address the problem of pet overpopulation at its source.

That effort eventually led to becoming an affordable spay/neuter provider. SNAP became a non-profit, 501(c)3 Charitable Organization in 1995 and a registered charity in 1996. The SNAP Team of volunteers and medical professionals made it their mission to help reduce pet overpopulation and stop euthanasia in shelters. The Neuter Scooter mobile surgical bus launched in 2003 to travel directly into lower-income communities to provide affordable spay/neuter services right where they were needed most. With support from PetSmart Charities and local donors, SNAP added a second mobile surgical bus in 2020 and now operates across San Diego County.

In 2022, SNAP completed 8,523 spay/neuter surgeries, an increase of 68% over 2021 and we are off to an amazing start to 2023 with 932 surgeries completed in March, an all-time record. Support of our small but mighty team of veterinary professionals and animal-loving volunteers is critical to continue our work, please join us in reducing pet overpopulation in San Diego County!