Every year millions of pets are euthanized in US shelters simply because there are not enough homes. Over 17,000 were euthanized in our own city last year. Even with more people choosing to adopt rather than buy, there is simply not enough homes for all the animals. While ten thousand humans are born everyday, 70,000 puppies and kittens are born. The only way to keep the pet population under control is for owners to spay and neuter their pets.
- Spaying and neutering saves lives!
Spay or neuter one dog saves 67,000 lives in six years if two survive each litter. Spaying or neutering one cat saves 420,000 lives in seven years if two survive from each litter. - Spaying your female cat or dog will help prevent pyometra (puss filled uterus) and breast cancer.
It is also less expensive and easier to treat medically (pets go under general anesthesia and are released within hours) than treatment for pyometra (requires hospitalization, surgery and IV). - Neutering your male cat or dog prevents testicular cancer.
- A spayed female will not go into heat.
There will be no yowling or frequent urination of your un spayed cat looking for a mate and no bloody discharge from your unsprayed dog in heat. - A neutered dog is less likely to roam.
An un neutered male will go to extremes in searching for a mate, including jumping the fence or digging his way out of the yard. Once out, he is at risk of getting lost, getting hit by a car, causing an accident or getting into a fight. A dog who roams is also more likely to get external and internal parasites. - Neutered males are better behaved.
They are less likely to be aggressive (statistically most dog bites are inflicted by intact males), less likely to mark their territory with strong smelling urine and less likely to mount when stimulated. Spayed and neutered pets are more affectionate and more focused on their owner. - Spaying or neutering your pet will not make them fat!
Pets become obese from lack of exercise and overfeeding. The myth that spaying and neutering your pet makes them fat is medically and factually indefensible. - Spaying and neutering your pets help create a safer neighborhood.
Stray animals can cause problems in the community. They can prey on wildlife, cause traffic accidents, scare children etc. - There are no benefits of letting your female have “just one litter.”
Research shows the whole pet population virtually stems from “just one litter.” Many pet owners think their dog is special and unique and that is why they should breed their dog. The shelters are full of special and unique dogs. Letting your children witness your dog giving birth to a litter that you do not intend to keep does not teach them about birth, it teaches them to be irresponsible. Finding homes for the litter is not enough. An equal number of animals will then die in shelters. Furthermore what happens when the new owner doesn’t spay or neuter the puppy? What if they can no longer keep the puppy? Every time an animal dies in a shelter, someone somewhere is responsible. Don’t be that person. - Just because your dog is a purebred doesn’t mean it should be bred.
25% of dogs in shelters are purebred not including those in rescue groups.
