Essie Petrovich
Anyone who steps foot in Essie Petrovich’s home in Mechanicsburg can tell immediately that her advocacy for animals has become much more than just a passion—it has become her life’s mission.
After being greeted by her 17 rescue cats and three rescue dogs, a guest in Petrovich’s home is sure to engage in conversation about her most recent animal welfare initiative.
Currently, that would be the Spay Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP) license plate sale, a brainchild of hers that recently came to fruition.
Petrovich, the president of SNAP, a tri-state organization that provides financial aid to get stray animals spayed and neutered, has long desired to raise greater awareness of the issue. She explained that spaying and neutering reduces overpopulation, a problem that can lead to stray animals’ suffering and, often, euthanasia.
Years ago, Petrovich was inspired by a new way to highlight the cause.
She noticed a spay/neuter license plate in New Jersey and said that she “held that idea in the back of her mind” until 2019, when she started the process of creating a license plate for the commonwealth.
After a long legal process and pandemic delays, the “Spay/Neuter Saves Lives” plates became available in December 2023, and, so far, 125 cars bear the message of spay/neuter. Petrovich’s goal is to sell 10,000 plates.
Petrovich believes that this cause is vital to animal welfare but explained that not many people recognize or understand its importance. She believes that spay/neuter programs struggle more than other animal welfare programs to raise funds because people are not as willing to help financially when they do not see the direct result of their efforts.
“If you show a sick animal on social media, people will always send you money to help,” she said. “But with spay/neuter, people do not readily donate or volunteer. This is because, when people give of their time or money, they require a certain level of self-satisfaction. With spay/neuter, the results are not measurable, and people just can’t wrap their heads around it.”
While the license plates serve as a fundraiser for the organization, the main goal of the plates is not simply monetary—it is about publicizing the importance of spay/neuter.
Petrovich believes that by putting the message on license plates, it can reach more people than through another means, such as a billboard. She opted for the “Spay/Neuter Saves Lives” plate, promoting the message itself rather than promoting just SNAP.
“This is not just a local issue,” Petrovich said. “I wanted this to be available throughout the whole state of Pennsylvania. I didn’t want it to be SNAP specific. I wanted it to be about the message, not about SNAP.”
Driving Force
Petrovich’s passion traces back to her time living in Lewisberry in the early 1980s. Down the road from her house was a dilapidated barn overrun with stray cats, constantly pregnant and giving birth to kittens, which would often end up killed on the road.
When she discovered this tragic situation, she felt she had to take action. She reached out to the Humane Society for assistance, and they directed her to SNAP, which was a new organization at the time. After SNAP helped Petrovich get the stray cats spayed and neutered, she began volunteering with the organization.
Forty-five years later, she has held numerous leadership positions for SNAP, currently in her 24th year as the organization’s president. To date, SNAP has aided in spaying and neutering over 117,000 animals.
Lisa Snyder, the vice president of SNAP, has worked alongside Petrovich for many of these years and credits her for the success of the license plate program, despite facing setbacks.
“Essie was the driving factor. She did the work,” Snyder said. “Her work ethic is amazing on anything she does, and I think the license plate demonstrates it. With all the difficulty, many people would have let the project fall off the cliff. But not Essie.”
In April, Petrovich’s hard work was recognized publicly as she received the Humane Society of the United States’ “Advocacy Partner of the Year” award.
Petrovich sees her hard work as well worth the effort, as she believes that the spay/neuter cause is key in solving animal suffering.
“Homeless animals and animal suffering are 100% due to human negligence,” she said. “There are not enough homes, and animals are seen as disposable. Human beings are the ones who have created this problem. The animals didn’t. It is my belief that spay/neuter is the number-one way to stop the cruelty of suffering and death of animals.”
For more information on Spay Neuter Assistance Program, visit www.snapofpa.org. “Spay/Neuter Saves Lives” plates can be purchased on the site for $68.
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