⌂ Thematic calendars → Pet and Animal Holidays
Pet and Animal Holidays celebrated around the World
Most Animal Holidays are dedicated to the preservation and protection of wild animals and their habitats throughout the world. Supported and launched by wildlife organizations and animal lovers in countries across the globe, most such Holidays were founded as an effort to raise awareness of animal welfare, and encourage the support of wild animal habitat conservation programs and animal rescue organizations and sanctuaries. Every year many Animal Holidays have a new conservation theme with corresponding artwork, educational materials, and activities.
Pet Holidays are often intended as fun holidays to appreciate our fluffy friends, and thank them for their endless and unconditional love. Pet Holidays founders also intend these Holidays to improve the welfare of pets by trying to stop cruelty towards them, and educating pet owners about the special issues involved with taking care of the animals. 
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Help us List of Pet and Animal Holidays for 2025-2026 year
November 2025
Thursday 13 November - World Chicken Day (Second Thursday of November)
Saturday 29 November - World Anteater Day and World Tamandua Day (since 2014); International Jaguar Day
December 2025
Wednesday 10 December - International Day of Action for the adoption of the Declaration of Animal Rights; International Animal Rights Day
Sunday 14 December - International Monkey Day (The unofficial international holiday was created by artists Casey Gore and Eric Millikin to spread knowledge about animals and to show them care and love)
January 2026
Friday 2 January - Happy Mew Year for Cats Day (The founders, Tom and Ruth Roy, wanted cats to have a very special New Year's celebration all to themselves); National Pet Travel Safety Day in US
Saturday 17 January - Horse Day in Latvia (Zirgu Diena)
Wednesday 21 January - Squirrel Appreciation Day in North Carolina (It is an unofficial holiday started by North Carolina wildlife rehabilitator Christy McKeown in 2001, as a way to encourage people to put out seeds and nuts for these cute rodents)
February 2026
Sunday 1 February - The start of National Bird-Feeding Month (United States); National Axolotl Day in Mexico; National Serpent Day in USA
Saturday 7 February - Have a Heart for Chained Dogs Week (February 7-14)
Wednesday 11 February - Day of help to forest animals in Poland; Westminster Dog Show at Madison Square Garden (February 11-12)
Thursday 19 February - World Marine Mammal Protection Day and World Whale Day (is celebrated since 1986)
Monday 23 February - International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day (The first dog biscuits were developed in the mid-19th century by American manufacturer James Spratt); National Dog Biscuit Day in US
Tuesday 24 February - World Spay Day (Last Tuesday in February)
March 2026
Sunday 1 March - National Pig Day, Fruit Compote Day and National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day in United States; Horse Protection Day (Horse Protection Day was first observed in 2005 when it was founded by pet lifestyle expert and animal behaviorist Colleen Page)
Monday 2 March - Professional Pet Sitters Week (First Full Week in March)
Thursday 5 March - Crufts (The World's Largest Dog Show held in Birmingham, England)
Saturday 7 March - Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race (First Saturday in March)
Saturday 14 March - International Day of Action for Rivers, Water, and Life; Learn about Butterflies Day
Sunday 15 March - Buzzards Day (Buzzards are another word for turkey vultures, a species of vulture protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918)
Monday 16 March - National Animal Poison Prevention Week in USA (Third Full Week in March)
Tuesday 17 March - Larks' Day in Latvia; Gertrude of Nivelles Day (“The Cat Lady of the Catholic Church”)
Friday 20 March - World Sparrow Day; World Frog Day (celebrated since 2009); MeatOut Day in Colorado, US; Great American Meatout
Wednesday 25 March - Crane Day in Sweden (Swedish Trandagen)
April 2026
Friday 3 April - World Aquatic Animal Day (The first ever annual “World Aquatic Animal Day” took place April 3rd, 2020, with the inaugural theme of the aquaculture industry)
Saturday 4 April - World Rat Day; Every Day is Tag Day (First Saturday in April); World Stray Animals Day
Tuesday 7 April - International Beaver Day (The largest beaver-built dam is in Wood Buffalo National Park, Alberta, Canada and is 850m long)
Wednesday 8 April - National Dog Fighting Awareness Day in US (As part of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month in April, the ASPCA)
Sunday 12 April - World Hamster Day; Animal Care and Control Appreciation Week in USA (second full week of April)
Monday 13 April - National Dog Bite Prevention Week in US (the second full week of April )
Sunday 19 April - National Pet ID Week in US (Third Full Week of April starting with Sunday); Pet Owners Day; Dancing Cow Day in Denmark (On the third Sunday of April); Animal Cruelty/Human Violence Awareness Week in USA (Humane Society of the US – third week in April)
Tuesday 21 April - Bulldogs Are Beautiful Day (They are related to the Asiatic Mastiff, which, according to historical records, lived in Mesopotamia around 4,000 BC)
Friday 24 April - International Day Against Vivisection; National Scoop the Poop Week in USA; Hairball Awareness Day (Last Friday in April); World Day for Laboratory Animals
Sunday 26 April - Help A Horse Day; National Kids and Pets Day in US; National Pet Parent's Day in US (Last Sunday in April)
Wednesday 29 April - International Guide Dog Day (Last Wednesday in April); Birthday of the World Wildlife Fund (Date of foundation of the WWF April 29, 1961, Morges, Switzerland); Animal Day in Argentina
Thursday 30 April - National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day in US; National Therapy Animal Day in USA; National Tabby Day in USA
May 2026
Friday 1 May - Save the Rhino Day; National Purebred Dog Day in USA; Spring Decade of Birdwatching (May 1-10); Responsible Animal Guardian Month; Be Kind to Animals Week
Sunday 3 May - National Pet Week in US (First Full Week in May); National Specially-abled Pets Day in US; Mayday for Mutts (First Sunday in May); American Humane Be Kind to Animals Week (celebrated since 1915, always first full week of May)
Monday 4 May - Puppy Mill Action Week in US (Begins the Monday before Mother's Day); Bird Day in the United States; Bird Day
Saturday 9 May - National Animal Disaster Preparedness Day in US (Held on the second Saturday of May); International Migratory Bird Day
Sunday 10 May - Cat Parade or Kattenstoet in Belgium (Held on the second Sunday in May); World Migratory Bird Day
Thursday 14 May - Thai Buffalo Conservation Day (Adopted 7 March 2017); International Chihuahua Appreciation Day
Friday 15 May - World Endangered Species Day (This environmental date is celebrated on the third Friday of May)
Saturday 16 May - Sea Monkey Day (They’re known as Artemia New York Ocean Science and go through anhydrobiosis, or hibernation when they are dried out. Then, with the right mixture of water and nutrients they can spring right back into life); World Dog Day (started by The Vanderpump Dog Foundation in 2016. Celebrated on the third Saturday of May)
Saturday 23 May - World Turtle Day (sponsored yearly since 2000 by American Tortoise Rescue, is to bring attention to, and increase knowledge of and respect for, turtles and tortoises, and encourage human action to help them survive and thrive)
Wednesday 27 May - World Otter Day (Held on the last Wednesday of May)
June 2026
Tuesday 2 June - National Dog Day in Argentina (Día Nacional del Perro)
Saturday 6 June - International Day of Cleaning Water Reservoirs (celebrated since 1995); National Black Bear Day in the USA (Held on the first Saturday in June)
Sunday 7 June - Pet Appreciation Week (First Full Week in June)
Tuesday 9 June - World Pet Memorial Day (Held on the second Tuesday of June)
Monday 15 June - Day of the creation of the youth movement in Russia; Take Your Cat to Work Day in USA (Held on the third Monday of June); Animal Rights Awareness Week ( Begins from the third week of June)
Tuesday 16 June - World Sea Turtle Day (WWF is the world’s leading independent conservation organisation)
Sunday 21 June - World Giraffe Day (is an exciting annual event initiated by GCF to celebrate the longest-necked animal on the longest day or night); National Dog Party Day in US
Monday 22 June - Take Your Dog to Work Week in US (Celebrated Monday after National Father's Day)
Thursday 25 June - National Catfish Day (United States); Cat World Domination Day; Dog Friendly Ireland Day; World Anti-Bullfighting Day
Friday 26 June - Take Your Dog to Work Day (Friday after Father's Day)
Saturday 27 June - World Day against the abandonment of domestic animals (Held on the last Saturday of June)
July 2026
Friday 3 July - US International Dog Day (#IDD)
Tuesday 21 July - No Pet Store Puppies Day; National Craft for Your Local Shelters Day in US; National Craft for Your Local Shelters Day in USA; Dog Day in Latin America; National Veterinarian Day in Venezuela
Thursday 23 July - World Whale and Dolphin Day (International Whaling Commission — IWC)
Friday 31 July - Mutt's Day (By definition a mutt, sometimes called a "Half-breed", is a dog that is of mixed breed)
August 2026
Sunday 2 August - International Assistance Dog Week (Starts on First Sunday in August)
Wednesday 12 August - World Elephant Day (Conceived in 2011 by Canadian filmmakers Patricia Sims and Michael Clark of Canazwest Pictures, and Sivaporn Dardarananda, Secretary-General of the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation in Thailand, it was officially founded, supported and launched by Patricia Sims and the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation on August 12, 2012)
Saturday 15 August - Clear the Shelters Day (Third Saturday of August); National Check the Chip Day in USA; International Homeless Animals’ Day
Monday 17 August - National Black Cat Appreciation Day in USA; International Black Cat Day; Vet Day in El Salvador (Día del veterinario); National Veterinarian Zootechnician Day in Mexico
Wednesday 26 August - US & UK National Dog Day (was founded by a woman - Colleen Paige - in 2004); International Dog Day (supported by the International Fund for the Protection of Animals)
Thursday 27 August - World Day for the End of Speciesism (The concept appeared in 1970 in the work of British psychologist Richard D. Ryder, Speciesism)
Sunday 30 August - National Holistic Pet Day in USA; National Cheetah Day in Iran; International Whale Shark Day
September 2026
Monday 7 September - National Threatened Species Day (Australia)
Sunday 13 September - National Pet Memorial Day in US (Second Sunday of September); Hug Your Hound Day (Second Sunday of September); International Crane Day (Celebrated on the 2nd Sunday in September); Pet Birth Defect Awareness Day
Tuesday 15 September - Greenpeace Birthday (an international independent non-governmental environmental organization established in 1971 in Canada)
Saturday 19 September - Responsible Dog Ownership Day (Third Saturday in September); Puppy Mill Awareness Day (Third Saturday in September)
Sunday 20 September - Love Your Pet Day (celebrated twice - in February and September); National Dog Week in USA (Last Full Week of September); National Deaf Dog Awareness Week in US (Last Full Week in September); National Horse Day in Argentina
Monday 21 September - Adopt a Less Adoptable Pet Week (Last Full Week in September); National Deaf Pet Awareness Week in USA (Held in the last full week of September)
Tuesday 22 September - World Protection Elephant Day; World Rhino Day; National Elephant Appreciation Day in USA
Thursday 24 September - Remember Me Thursday (Held on the fourth Thursday in September)
Friday 25 September - World’s Largest Pet Walk (held since 2018)
Saturday 26 September - International Rabbit Day (Held on the fourth Saturday in September)
October 2026
Thursday 1 October - National Walk Your Dog Day in US; National Fire Pup Day in US; National Black Dog Day n US; National Walk Your Dog Week in US (First Week of October); World Vegetarian Day and International Vegetarian Week
Friday 2 October - World Day for Farmed Animals; Herring Holiday in Finland; World Farm Animals Day; Mame shiba Day in Japan
Sunday 4 October - Animals' Day in Poland (Dzień Zwierząt, established in 2006); World Pet's Day; Animal Welfare Week (First Full Week of October); Feast of St Francis of Assisi; World Animal Day
Monday 5 October - Vet Nurse Awareness Week in New Zealand (Starts on the first Monday in October); World Habitat Day
Friday 9 October - International Vet Nurse Day (Held on the second Friday of October)
Saturday 10 October - Fall World Migratory Bird Day (Held on the second Saturday of May and October with the support of the United Nations Environment Program - UNEP); World Animal Road Accident Awareness Day; Migratory Bird Days in the Lower Saxon Wadden Sea National Park
Tuesday 13 October - African Penguin Awareness Day (All 17 species of penguins live in the southern hemisphere, but only three species live year-round in Antarctica)
Wednesday 14 October - National Pet Obesity Awareness Day in USA (Held on the second Wednesday of October)
Friday 16 October - Feral Cat Day (Global Cat Day, Alley Cat Allies)
Saturday 17 October - Sloth International Day (Celebrated on the third Saturday in October)
Sunday 18 October - National Veterinary Technician Week in USA (sponsored by the National Association of Veterinary Technicians of America)
Wednesday 21 October - Hagfish Day (Held on the third Wednesday of October); National Pets for Veterans Day in USA
Thursday 22 October - Wombat Day (Australia)
Tuesday 27 October - Black Cat Appreciation Day (United Kingdom); National Pit Bull Awareness Day in USA
Thursday 29 October - National Cat Day (United States)
November 2026
Sunday 1 November - National Bison Day in United States (Celebrated on the first Saturday in November); National Cook for Your Pets Day in US; Dog Day in Japan (Inu No Hi); World Vegan Day
Monday 2 November - National Animal Shelter and Rescue Appreciation Week in USA (First Full Week of November)
How to celebrate Animal and Pet Holidays
Never abuse an animal yourself, and try to get actively involved in protecting them in any possible way you can think of. Doing nothing does nothing to help animals in need.
And…don’t forget to be nice to your pet, and indulge it with something delicious regardless of whether it is his(her) holiday today or not.
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