Celebrate Animals with These Springtime Holidays

Spring is a season of renewal, bursting with vibrant flowers, waking bears, chirping birds, and a sense of fresh beginnings. As we shake off winter’s slumber, humans and animals around the planet embrace the changing of seasons. While many people might be focused on more popular holidays like Easter and Earth Day, another layer of festivity is available through our connections with the animal kin-dom. Two special springtime holidays in particular honor our furry and finned friends.

These celebrations are not just about admiration, though—each can raise awareness for conservation efforts, encourage kindness, and provide us opportunities for spiritual connection. Whether it’s a day devoted to pets in general or marine life in particular, each event reminds us how crucial it is to compassionately coexist with the fantastic creatures that share our planet. So, add these observances to your spring calendar!

National Pet Day (April 11)

National Pet Day offers a time to celebrate the joy and companionship animal companions bring into our lives. While every day may feel like Pet Day for devoted “pet people,” this observance encourages people to go even further by doing things to improve well-being for pets, both homed and un-homed.

Get Involved:

• Integrate Ayurvedic wisdom into your pet-care routines.
• Read up on the latest pet-care techniques for anxious or fearful dogs from expert Zazie Todd or try reiki for stressed-out cats.
• Learn how to help save injured pets with pet prosthetics and creative orthocare.
• Support elderly, disabled, and chronically ill pets by donating to a special needs cat rescue, like Milo’s Sanctuary or Blind Cat Rescue & Sanctuary.
• Sponsor a sanctuary dog, cat, horse, parrot, pig, or rabbit, or gift a toy or medical care to an animal at Best Friends Animal Society’s Catalog of Kindness.
• Help animals (and their humans) find a safe harbor from domestic violence by working or volunteering for a canine care provider. Did you know that less than 5 percent of domestic violence shelters can house pets on-site? BestyBnB helps people secure safe temporary homes for pets during their people’s time of crisis.

Spiritual Practice:

Spend some extra time today with the animal companions in your home, learning to deepen your spiritual connections with them. Discover how to meditate with your dog or learn the divine signs felines send.

National Dolphin Day (April 14)

This holiday raises awareness about dolphin conservation, focusing on protecting their ocean habitats and advocating against practices like dolphin captivity and pollution. From getting caught in fishing nets to outswimming plastic waste and avoiding underwater noise pollution, dolphins spend a lot of time dealing with the challenges humanity creates. Can we spend at least one day advocating for them? Try one or more of these starting ideas:

Get Involved:

• Learn about the challenges facing Amazon river dolphins in the 15-minute documentary Red Journey: Crimes Deep in the Amazon River, produced by marine conservation organization Sea Shepherd.
• Adopt a dolphin! Richard “Ric” O’Barry, a former dolphin trainer, has worked against the dolphin entertainment industry for over five decades, helping raise awareness of the problems dolphins face when held captive and forced to perform. His nonprofit, The Dolphin Project, centers on the Umah Lumba Rehabilitation, Release, and Retirement Center in Bali, Indonesia, which helps retire, rehabilitate, release, and retire former performing dolphins.
• Get to know more about these magnificent mammals by reading The Dolphin in the Mirror: Exploring Dolphin Minds and Saving Dolphin Lives by Diana Reiss or Behind the Dolphin Smile: A True Story that Will Touch the Hearts of Animal Lovers Everywhere by Richard O’Barry and Keith Coulbourn.

Spiritual Practice:

Bring to your mind an image of a playful dolphin pod. Offer them this blessing:

May you always glide freely through the vast blue, seeing by sound, guided by your remarkable echolocation, without the interference of human sound in the seas. May your intricate social bonds and lifelong friendships forever thrive in the oceans you call home.

Consider adding a centering prayer for cephalopods and marine mammals or learn to embrace a “blue spirituality” every day of the year.

The Heart of Animal Celebrations

Spring’s animal holidays are more than just dates on a calendar; they are opportunities to deepen our connections with the more-than-just-human world. These celebrations remind us that animals, whether domestic or free-living, are integral to our lives and our habitats. By participating in these holidays—whether through small personal actions and conservation efforts, or by simply taking time to appreciate the amazing creatures we share this planet with—we contribute to a more compassionate and interconnected habitat for all.

Want more advocacy-based spring practices? Learn more about Easter for earth lovers.