Ailea's Place - Spaying and Neutering Your Pet

~ Spay and Neuter ~

Just Some Facts

There are over 65 MILLION dogs and over 60 MILLION cats in the U.S.
Each day there are approximately 70,000 puppies and kittens born (compare to 10,000 people).
Each year 8 to 10 MILLION dogs and cats enter animal shelters.
As much as 70% of dogs and cats in shelters (10 to 12 MILLION) are euthanized.
ONE intact cat is capable of producing more than 420,000 cats in 6 years.
ONE intact dog is capable of producing more than 67,000 dogs in 6 years.

Spaying and neutering will save lives. The fewer babies are created, the fewer wind up in shelters, the fewer wind up euthanized. Spaying and neutering drastically improves the health and longevity of your pet. Spaying a female greatly reduces her chance of breast tumors or cancers, and eliminates the possibility of uterine and ovarian cancers, as well as the risk of bacterial infections of the uterus. Neutering a male greatly reduces the risk of prostate enlargement and prostate cancers. Neutering a male also eliminates the risk entirely of testicular cancers and other diseases of the testicles. Spaying and neutering will also make your pet more affectionate, more attentive and caring, toward YOU!

Dispelling The Myths

Let's look at the most common reasons people give for not spaying or neutering their pets:

My pet will get fat and lazy. Neutering or spaying may decrease your pet's overall activity level because it will diminish the pet's natural tendency to wander, thereby decreasing the amount of exercise your pet enjoys. Surgical alteration also changes hormone levels which may, in turn, affect your pet's appetite and may also slow overall metabolism. The procedure yourself does not cause obesity or laziness. Generally speaking, a pet that becomes lazy and/or overweight after being spayed or neutered is simply being overfed, and not getting the right amount of the right kind of exercise.
We want another pet just like Rover or Fluffy. Breeding two animals never results in offspring that are exactly like one or the other parent.
My pet's personality will change. This is actually, absolutely TRUE! only the changes that are a direct result of the spay/neuter procedure are good changes: Spayed and neutered pets do not tend to wander like intact animals do. Spayed and neutered animals are less likely to mark territories (urine spraying) - even animals with a history of marking territory, when spayed or neutered, marking becomes virtually nonexistent.
We can sell puppies or kittens and make money. Actually, even big, well-known breeders rarely - if ever - make any profit from the puppies or kittens they sell. Costs of tests, veterinarian fees, vaccinations, providing quality care for the pregnant and nursing females as well as their offspring, providing a quality diet and proper overall health care eats up any profits that might have been realized otherwise. Even if you're breeding "Rover" and "Fluffy" - you must always consider "Fluffy" may not live through pregnancy, delivery and care of the newborn puppies.
We want our children to witness the miracle of birth. Companion animals most often go into labor and deliver their young in the middle of the night, the wee hours of the morning, and if left to their own means, will find the most inconvenient (for you) spot to do so. Pets, like people, need privacy when giving birth. Unnecessary commotion (i.e. your child getting the best seat in the house) is an intrusion on that privacy, and may well cause serious upset to the mother. This upset can be as small as simply snapping (biting) at the humans, or as devastating as rejecting the entire litter and refusing to care for them. It may also cause mother's milk to dry up, leaving no way to nurse the babies except through human intervention. And there is always, always, ALWAYS, the risk of mother dying during labor and/or delivery, or giving birth to dead or deformed puppies.
We are worried about our pet going under anesthesia. While this is a common, and understandable concern, the different anesthetics used today by veterinarians are very safe, even for aging animals, greatly reducing risks. Surgery for animals today includes monitoring heart rate and respiration (much like human surgery), so that the vet performing the surgery is aware of how well the animal is tolerating the procedure from beginning to end. This greatly increases the change of a successful, uneventful surgery. If you have specific concerns about your pet going under anesthesia, please speak with your veterinarian about your concerns.
I can't cut my dog's balls off! Probably more common than folks might like to admit, it is had for many people - mostly men - to see castration as a good thing, since the thought of it causes many to inwardly shrink. Rest assured, dogs do not view their sexual organs in the same light we humans do, and will NOT miss those two sacs of tissue hanging between his legs. He will not miss using them, he has never noticed that he has them, nor will he even notice they are gone. YOU will notice the difference, however, in a greatly improved relationship with your dog.
I can't afford the cost of surgery. The costs of carrying a healthy litter of puppies to term, whelping them, providing vet visits, vaccinations, wormings, feeding and otherwise caring for the mother and the puppies until puppies are weaned and ready to leave the nest at 8 weeks is hundreds and hundreds of dollars more expensive than a simple spay or neuter procedure. Please see the links at the bottom of this page, which include several links to various and sundry low-cost spay/neuter programs across the country.

Benefits - More Facts

Spayed or neutered pets will no longer feel the need to roam to look for a mate. Rather, these spayed and neutered pets will stay home, reducing the risk of auto accident, fighting, or of contracting contagious diseases.

Neutered dogs will have a much decreased chance of contracting prostate cancer or enlarged prostate (very common in mature, adult males). Neutering will completely eliminate the risk of testicular cancer. Neutering also greatly reduces (effectively eliminates) the possibility of territorial aggression or territorial marking. Neutering also reduces the risk of perianal tumors and hernias, another common occurrence in older, intact males.

Spayed females have a much decreased chance of contracting breast tumors or cancers. In fact, if the spay is done before the female goes through her first heat cycle, the risk of breast tumors or cancers is nearly ZERO! Spaying will also completely eliminate the risk of uterine infection (quite common and many times fatal), and uterine/cervical cancers, tumors, and other diseases. Spaying also eliminates the mood swings that many intact females undergo as they move through their estrus cycles (they don't call 'em bitches for nothin'!).

For more information regarding the spay or neuter procedure, please visit any of the following off-site links (but don't forget to use your browser's "back" button to return to Ailea's Place!):

American Partnership For Pets - Why Spay/Neuter?

Dispelling the Myths of Spay/Neuter

Dog Owner's Guide to Spay or Neuter Surgery

Spay/Neuter Myths, Mistaken Notions and Excuses

Why I Spay or Neuter Dogs
By Daniel E. Tratnack

The Myths and Facts of Spaying or Neutering

For information regarding reduced-cost/affordable spay-neuter programs across the country, you may try phoning your local Animal Shelter or Humane Society for information, or feel free to visit any of the following off-site links for more information on same (but remember to use your browser's "back" button to return to Ailea's Place!):

Happypets.org
Directory of low-cost or free spay/neuter programs

S.N.A.P.
Spay Neuter Assistance Program

Spay USA
1-800-248-SPAY

1-800-321-PETS
(Friends of Animals hotline)

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