Cosmo the Groundhog Day dog predicts early spring for Huntsville

Groundhog Day is technically Feb. 2, but in Huntsville, we have our own Groundhog Day tradition now, as Cosmo — the mixed breed pooch at Huntsville Animal Services — predicted an early spring for the Rocket City.

Unlike the traditional Groundhog Day ritual where a groundhog sees or doesn’t see his shadow, Cosmo predicted an early spring a different way:

Cosmo uses his nose

Coming a full day ahead of Punxsutawney Phil’s annual Groundhog Day prognostication, Cosmo didn’t see his shadow like the famous groundhog. Instead, he was presented with two bowls of food and used his nose to choose the bowl marked “Early Spring.”

His prediction was in no way influenced by Mayor Tommy Battle, who held Cosmo’s leash. Battle and Huntsville Animal Services Director Dr. Karen Sheppard used the event to promote adoptions and an ongoing spay/neuter campaign, “The ‘Fix’ Is In.”

Because February is National Spay/Neuter Awareness Month, Sheppard urged pet owners to break the cycle of unwanted litters of puppies and kittens.

Supporting the efforts of Huntsville Animal Services

The use of Cosmo instead of a groundhog to predict the next phase of our weather served multiple purposes. One, a dog was a lot easier to find than a groundhog. Two, Cosmo played the role fabulously last year, so why not this year too? But most importantly, Huntsville Animal Services wants to bring attention to the need to spay and neuter your pets.

Like Cosmo, each animal available for adoption is spayed or neutered before it leaves the facility. They are also microchipped and come with a city license and free bag of pet food.

“We helped 400 more animals in 2022 than we did in 2021. That number would have been much lower if everyone spayed and neutered their pets. We’re hopeful 2023 will be a groundbreaking year for spay/neuter awareness in our community.”

Huntsville Animal Services Director Dr. Karen Sheppard

Sheppard said there are plenty of spay/neuter options available in the community, most of which can be found at this link. She added that she is hopeful that “2023 will be a groundbreaking year for spay/neuter awareness in our community.”

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