World Spay Day 2012: Have you done your part?

Every eight seconds, a dog is euthanized in this country alone. That adds up to almost 4 million dogs per year. This saddening statistic is directly related to pet owners failing to spay and neuter their pets. Spaying refers to the removal of the uterus and ovaries of a female, and neutering is the removal of the testicles in males. Not only does spaying and neutering control the pet population, it has many health benefits as well.

Spaying a female (before or after their first heat cycle is a conversation you should have with your vet, as there are varying opinions on the subject of early alteration) drastically cuts the risk of uterine infections and cancer, which according to the ASPCA, is fatal in 50 percent of dogs and 90 percent of cats. It also prevents her from going into heat, which is a bit of a mess, and annoying as she yowls for the attention of a mate every three weeks!

Neutering a male not only makes him better behaved because he’s not searching and fighting for a mate while marking his territory, but also eliminates the risk of testicular cancer if done before 6 months of age. Because he isn’t trying to find a female to mate with, he will better connect with his family, which helps to reduce aggression problems.

One popular myth about spaying and neutering is that your pet will gain weight—not true. As long as your cat or dog is getting the proper exercise and not allowed to free feed from a constantly topped-up bowl, he or she will be of good weight. Contrary to popular belief, your children do NOT need to see the family pet have a litter to experience the “miracle of birth”. If anything, it will show the irresponsibility of "backyard breeders" that contributes to the overpopulation problem in our country. Your children are more likely to learn about responsible birthing from books or videos at the library or perhaps in the barn at Kensington Farm Center.

All six of our girls are spayed—two dogs and three cats. Of our dogs, Mona was already spayed at the time of adoption, possibly because of her age (she’s estimated to be 10), and Brooke was spayed after adoption. We had her spayed by our vet, and the surgery went well, she was back to her hyper self within days. Keeping her calm was the hard part of recovery! Of our cats, Mae and Polly were both spayed prior to adoption, but Juliet was spayed at 6 months at All About Animals Rescue Clinic in Warren. They offer low-cost “speuter” programs, and we were able to afford the surgery, along with pain meds, for only $40. Definitely check them out for low-cost dog or cat spay and neuter, and they are a great resource for those interested in TNR (Trap, Neuter, Release) for the feral community. Pet alteration saves money in the long run—compared with the cost of whelping a litter and providing care for all those little ones (some litters can number more than 10 puppies!) and mom, the cost of an alteration surgery is a drop in the bucket.

Please consider spay or neuter for your pet—it also has a positive effect on your community, as it decreases the number of strays, which impacts wildlife and motorists, as well as cutting down the number of injuries as a result of cat and dog fights due to mating aggression. Interestingly, here is some math for you: if you take a cat, her mate, and their offspring, with each producing two litters per year, and only 2.8 surviving kittens, in only NINE years, they will have produced over 11 MILLION kittens (SpayUSA). Wow. There’s some food for thought on today, World Spay Day 2012.