About This Stamp
With the issuance of the Neuter or Spay stamp pane in 2002, the U.S. Postal Service continued its tradition of raising awareness of social issues. An estimated 70,000 cats and dogs are born each day in the United States. Animal shelters and veterinarians throughout the country urge pet owners to neuter or spay their dogs and cats in order to combat the problem of animal overpopulation.
Neutering or spaying pets can lead to better health and longer lives. For instance, neutered male dogs and cats have a decreased chance of developing prostate disease. They are also less likely to stray from home, diminishing the possibility of engaging in fights or being hit by cars. Among female cats and dogs, spaying decreases the rate of breast cancer and eliminates nervous behavior associated with the heat cycle.
The puppy, Kirby, and kitten, Samantha, featured on the stamp pane were adopted from no-kill animal shelters and, according to the shelters’ policies, were respectively neutered and spayed.
Stamp Art Director
Derry Noyes
For more than 40 years Derry Noyes has designed and provided art direction for close to 800 United States postage stamps and stamp products. She holds a bachelor of arts degree from Hampshire College and a master of fine arts degree from Yale University.
Noyes worked as a graphics designer at Beveridge and Associates, a Washington, D.C., firm, until 1979 when she established her own design firm, Derry Noyes Graphics. Her clients have included museums, corporations, foundations, and architectural and educational institutions. Her work has been honored by American Illustration, the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington, Communication Arts, Critique magazine, Graphis, Creativity International, and the Society of Illustrators.
Before becoming an art director for the U.S. Postal Service, she served as a member of the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee from 1981 to 1983.
Noyes is a resident of Washington, D.C.
Stamp Artist
Sally Andersen-Bruce
Sally Andersen-Bruce has been the president and sole proprietor of her photography business for more than 30 years. Based in Connecticut, her assignments have taken her all over the world for clients such as IBM, Polaroid, AT&T, Pepsi, Fortune, and the Wall Street Journal.
Her portfolio includes photographic content for corporations, institutions, and publications, focusing on executives, products, food, architecture, financial reports, and websites.
In addition to her commercial work, she has collaborated with several museums, including the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico; the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont; and the Strong Museum in Rochester, New York.
Andersen-Bruce’s photographs have appeared on numerous U.S. postage stamps, among them Classic American Dolls (1997), Neuter and Spay (2002), Nutcrackers (2008), Animal Rescue: Adopt a Shelter Pet (2010), Weather Vanes (2012), Gingerbread Houses (2013), and Diwali, first issued in 2016. Most recently, her photograph appeared on the 2025 Lunar New Year • Year of the Snake stamp.
