Did you know:
- Approximately 10,000 humans are born every day in the
- Approximately 70,000 puppies & kittens are born every day in the
- An unsprayed female dog, her mate, & all their pups & their pups, if none are ever spayed or neutered, add up to 128 dogs in 2 years? 2,048 dogs in 4 years? 67,000 dogs in 6 years?
- An unsprayed female cat, her mate and all of their offspring, producing 2 litters a year with an average of 2.8 kittens per litter, if none are ever spayed or neutered, add up to 376 cats in 3 years? 66,088 cats in 6 years?
That is a lot of animals to find homes for! And sadly, the majority of these dogs and cats will never find homes, ending up on the streets fighting to survive, or at the shelters where, once there for a predetermined amount of time, will be euthanized due to the pet overpopulation.
What can you do to help?
PLEASE SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR PETS!
Spaying & Neutering will go a long way to helping the pet overpopulation. But that’s not the only reason to have your pet spayed or neutered: it’s also healthier for them!
Reasons to Spay:
- Decreases the chance of breast cancer
- Removes the chance of pyometra (Infected uterus requiring emergency surgery in the presence of infection, greatly increasing the anesthetic risk. The pet will die without surgery, and may die in spite of surgery due to massive systemic infection).
- Removes the chance on unwanted pregnancies (which could get expensive if complications arise)
- Decreases tendancy to roam while in heat (could cause them to be hit by a car)
- Don’t have to deal with the mess of a dog in heat
- Decreases chances of aggression due to hormones
- Cats are induced ovulators, meaning they will come into heat over and over until they either become pregnant or are spayed.
Reasons to Neuter:
- Decreases the chance of prostate issues
- Removes the chance of testicular cancer
- Decreases tendancy to roam looking for a mate (could cause them to be hit by a car)
- Decreases chances of aggression due to hormones
- Decreases marking behaviors
Spaying/Neutering Myths:
- Spaying & neutering will alter my pet’s personality.
- NO: While it may calm your pet a little due to the removal of the reproductive hormones, it will not alter the personality of the pet
- Spaying & neutering will stunt my pet’s growth.
- NO: Your pet will still grow to the proper size for their genes.
- Spaying & neutering will make my pet fat.
- NO: Removing the reproductive hormones will lower the pet’s metabolism, meaning that you may need to adjust your pet’s caloric intake to maintain a proper weight.
- Females should go through at least 1 heat.
- NO: The more heat cycles your pet has, the greater the chance your pet will develop breast cancer at some point in her life. You also run the risk of an unwanted pregnancy.
- My dog/cat is too old to spay/neuter.
- NO: It’s never too late to spay/neuter your pet! Ask your veterinarian to do pre-anesthetic testing on your pet to help determine the anesthetic risk. When you consider all that can happen to unaltered pets, it’s definitely healthier to spay or neuter.
Many people breed for the wrong reasons, including:
- wanting offspring from a particular pet
- want children to see ‘the miracle of birth’
- make money!
- you almost never make money by breeding animals if you breed correctly
- Breeding animals need good veterinary care as in vaccines and deworming
- Breeding animals may need a variety of testing (blood, x-rays) to determine the chances of passing on genetic issues or even STD’s (yes! even in pets!)
- There’s the chances of complications during pregnancy that may result in extra veterinary visits or even a c-section delivery
- Offspring or mother may not survive pregnancy or delivery
Animals should only be bred to improve the breed and with good research into what to expect from the breeding.
So, the best thing to do is to spay and neuter your pets. This helps the pet overpopulation and is overall healthier for your pet. Please talk to your veterinarian today about scheduling this important surgery. Most dogs and cats can be neutered or spayed as early as 3-4 months of age.