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.
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!
