Animal Holidays

The results are in: we love animal holidays! And with 78 different animal holidays in the year, there’s plenty of love to go around. Whether we’re celebrating our cute and fluffy (and sometimes hairless) dogs, cats, reptiles, and hedgehogs that we spoil at home or the raccoons, squirrels, bisons, and insects that we admire from afar, all animals deserve their own special moment. Luckily, we’ve got a few days, weeks, and months set aside specifically to show our furry, scaly, feathery, and spiky friends some extra love.

Date	Holiday	Category	Tags	Region
Thu Jan 2	Happy Mew Year for Cats Day	Animal	Cat, Pet	U.S.
Sun Jan 5	National Bird Day	Animal	Bird, Pet, Wildlife	U.S.
Tue Jan 14	National Dress Up Your Pet Day	Animal	Cat, Dog, Pet	U.S.
Mon Jan 20	National Penguin Day	Animal	Wildlife	U.S.
Tue Jan 21	National Squirrel Appreciation Day	Animal	Pet, Wildlife	U.S.
Wed Jan 22	National Answer Your Cat's Questions Day	Animal	Activities, Cat, Pet	U.S.
Thu Jan 23	World Spay Day	Animal	Cat, Dog, Pet, Pet Health	U.S.
Sun Feb 2	National Hedgehog Day	Animal	Wildlife	U.S.
Mon Feb 3	Doggy Date Night	Animal	Dog, Fun, joy, Love, Pet	U.S.
Mon Feb 3	National Golden Retriever Day	Animal	Dog, Pet	U.S.
Thu Feb 20	National Love Your Pet Day	Animal	Love, Pet	U.S.
Sat Feb 22	National Walking the Dog Day	Animal	Activities, Dog, Pet, Pet Health	U.S.
Sun Feb 23	International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day	Animal	Dog, Food, Pet	World
Sun Feb 23	National Dog Biscuit Day	Animal	Dog, Food, Pet	U.S.
Tue Mar 3	National If Pets Had Thumbs Day	Animal	Cat, Dog, Fun, Pet	U.S.
Fri Mar 13	National K9 Veterans Day	Animal	Dog, Military	U.S.
Mon Mar 16	National Panda Day	Animal	Awareness, Chinese, Wildlife	World
Mon Mar 23	National Puppy Day	Animal	Dog, Pet	U.S.
Sat Mar 28	Respect Your Cat Day	Animal	Pet	U.S.
Mon Apr 6	National Siamese Cat Day	Animal	Cat, Pet	U.S.
Fri Apr 10	National Hug Your Dog Day	Animal	Dog, Pet	U.S.
Sat Apr 11	National Pet Day	Animal	Bird, Cat, Dog, Pet	U.S.
Tue Apr 21	National Bulldogs Are Beautiful Day	Animal	Dog, Pet	U.S.
Wed Apr 29	International Guide Dog Day	Animal	Awareness, Dog, Pet	World
Thu Jun 4	National Hug Your Cat Day	Animal	Cat, Love, Pet	U.S.
Sat Jun 20	Ugliest Dog Day	Animal	Crazy, Dog, Festivals, Pet	U.S.
Mon Jun 22	National Take Your Cat to Work Day	Animal	Cat, Pet, Workplace	U.S.
Fri Jun 26	National Take Your Dog to Work Day	Animal	Dog, Fun, Pet, Workplace	U.S.
Fri Jul 10	National Kitten Day	Animal	Cat, Giving Back, Mental Health, Pet, Pet Adoption, Pet Health	U.S.
Tue Jul 14	Cow Appreciation Day	Animal	Appreciation, Brand	U.S.
Wed Jul 15	National Pet Fire Safety Day	Animal	Organization, Pet, Pet Health, Safety	U.S.
Fri Jul 31	National Mutt Day	Animal	Dog, Love, Mental Health, Pet, Pet Adoption, Pet Health	U.S.
Sat Aug 1	DOGust 1st: Universal Birthday for Shelter Dogs	Animal	Awareness, Dog, Pet	U.S.
Wed Aug 5	Work Like a Dog Day	Animal	Dog, Fun, Work	U.S.
Sat Aug 8	International Cat Day	Animal	Cat, Pet	World
Mon Aug 10	National Spoil Your Dog Day	Animal	Dog, Pet	U.S.
Sat Aug 15	International Homeless Animals Day	Animal	Awareness, Bird, Cat, Dog, Pet	World
Mon Aug 17	National Black Cat Appreciation Day	Animal	Pet	U.S.
Sat Aug 22	National Take Your Cat to the Vet Day	Animal	Cat	U.S.
Wed Aug 26	National Dog Day	Animal	Dog, Lifestyle, Summer	U.S.
Sun Aug 30	National Holistic Pet Day	Animal	Pet	U.S.
Fri Sep 4	National Wildlife Day	Animal	Wildlife	U.S.
Thu Sep 17	National Pet Bird Day	Animal	Awareness, Pet, Pet Health	U.S.
Sat Sep 19	National Meow Like a Pirate Day	Animal	Pet	World
Wed Sep 23	National Dogs in Politics Day	Animal	Dog, Historical, Weird National	U.S.
Sat Sep 26	National Bunny Day	Animal	Pet	World
Mon Sep 28	World Rabies Day	Animal	Pet	World
Thu Oct 1	National Black Dog Day	Animal	Cultural, Dog, Pet	U.S.
Thu Oct 1	National Fire Pup Day	Animal	Dog, Environment, Pet, Pet Health	U.S.
Sun Oct 4	World Animal Day	Animal	Environment, Pet, Wildlife	World
Wed Oct 14	National Pet Obesity Day	Animal	Health, Pet	U.S.
Fri Oct 16	Global Cat Day	Animal	Cat, Pet	U.S.
Fri Oct 16	National Feral Cat Day	Animal	Pet	U.S.
Sat Oct 17	National Fetch Day	Animal	Dog, Pet	U.S.
Tue Oct 20	International Sloth Day	Animal	Wildlife	U.S.
Wed Oct 21	National Reptile Awareness Day	Animal	Pet	U.S.
Wed Oct 21	National Reptile Day	Animal	Wildlife	U.S.
Mon Oct 26	National Pit Bull Awareness Day	Animal	Dog, Pet	U.S.
Tue Oct 27	National Black Cat Day	Animal	Cat, Pet	U.S.
Thu Oct 29	National Cat Day	Animal	Cat, Pet	U.S.
Sun Nov 1	National Cook For Your Pets Day	Animal	Bird, Cat, Cooking, Dog, Pet, Pet Health	U.S.
Mon Nov 2	National Bison Day	Animal	Wildlife	U.S.
Sat Nov 7	National Canine Lymphoma Awareness Day	Animal	Pet	U.S.
Wed Dec 2	National Mutt Day	Animal	Dog, Pet	U.S.
Wed Dec 9	National Llama Day	Animal	Wildlife	U.S.
Sun Dec 13	National Horse Day	Animal	Activities, Fun, Sports	U.S.
January	National Train Your Dog Month	Animal	Dog, Pet	U.S.
January	Unchain a Dog Month	Animal	Dog, Pet, Pet Health	U.S.
January	Walk Your Dog Month	Animal	Activities, Dog, Pet, Pet Health	U.S.
February	Dog Training Education Month	Animal	Activities, Dog, Educational, Pet	U.S.
February	National Cat Health Month	Animal	Cat, Pet, Pet Health	U.S.
February	Pet Dental Health Month	Animal	Cat, Dog, Pet Health	U.S.
February	Responsible Pet Owners Month	Animal	Cat, Dog, Pet	U.S., World
April	National Pet Month	Animal	Bird, Cat, Dog, Pet, Pet Health	U.S.
April	Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month	Animal	Pet, Pet Health, Wildlife	U.S.
May 1–7	National Pet Week	Animal, Family	Bird, Cat, Dog, Family, Pet, Reptile	U.S.
June	National Hug Your Cat Day	Animal	Cat, Love, Pet	U.S.
July 18–26	National Moth Week	Animal	Climate Change, Conservation, Environment, Insects	U.S.
August 2–8	International Assistance Dog Week	Animal	Dog	U.S.
September	Animal Pain Awareness Month	Animal	Bird, Cat, Dog, Pet	U.S.
September 20–26	Deaf Dog Awareness Week	Animal	Dogs, Pet, Pet Health

Where did animal holidays come from?

Did you know that animal holidays weren't created just to celebrate our beloved pets at home? According to Colleen Paige, who created some of America's very first animal holidays, they originally came about in order to "bring attention to the plight of animals and encourage adoption."

In 2004, she originated National Dog Day (falling on August 26) to draw attention to all the dogs waiting for their fur-ever homes and the employed pups who work tirelessly every day to keep us safe, happy, and healthy. After it rocketed to success, she spun it off into other holidays like National Puppy Day, National Mutt Day, and National Cat Day to celebrate all animals large and small.

She unwittingly started a holiday movement — and now we have holidays celebrating everything from loving cats to cold-blooded reptiles!

Submit Your Favorite Animal holidays

Can't find a holiday on the list that celebrates your favorite animal? Click the button below to submit a holiday suggestion! Just give us an idea as to what the holiday should focus on and any background information you may know such as who started it and how many people celebrate it. If you made it up, tell us why people should start celebrating. Once you fill us in on all the deets, we'll take care of the rest!

Submit a holiday!

Where did animal holidays come from?

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