SPAY OR NEUTER YOUR PET

Spaying or neutering your pet prevents the suffering and tragic death of thousands of animals.

Half of the pets taken to American animal shelters get euthanized (killed).  In fact, 3-4 million dogs and cats are euthanized each year, due to lack of homes to adopt them.

Spaying (the procedure for female animals) and neutering (the procedure for male animals) are two of the most common surgical procedures performed on cats and dogs. Spaying or neutering your pet is simple, avoids the cost and hassle of dealing with litters, decreases aggressiveness (e.g. biting), and can increase your pet's lifespan, by:

• eliminating the risk of uterine infections (in females)
• reducing the incidence of mammary cancer (in females)
• eliminating the risk of testicular cancer (in males)
• decreasing the incidence of prostate disease (in males)

Many healthy kittens and puppies are euthanized before reaching six months old. Yet some pet owners continue to allow their animals to breed. In fact, 28 percent of owned dogs and 16 percent of owned cats are not spayed or neutered, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association.

The consequences of strays can be staggering: One unspayed cat and her offspring can produce 420,000 kittens in seven years and one unspayed dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 puppies in six years, according to the SPCA. There simply are not enough homes to adopt them all.

The most heart-wrenching result of our failure to spay and neuter is the fate of all the resulting unwanted animals. Unwanted pets that get euthanized in a shelter are often the lucky ones; others get abandoned or otherwise killed or disposed of. Stray cats and dogs on the streets usually live miserable and short lives, ending only when they die from cold, starvation, disease, or worse.

But it's not just the animals who suffer due to our failure to spay and neuter. Capturing, impounding and eventual euthanasia costs taxpayers and private agencies millions of dollars each year, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

In addition to the tax burden of pet overpopulation, a host of societal problems also result.  As a potential source of rabies and other diseases, some abandoned pets become public health hazards. Stray animals scare children, bite passersby, cause accidents, and soil streets and parks. 

Our society seems to have adopted a distressing view of animals as disposable "goods" that can be dealt with only via the inherently disrespectful solution of euthanization. The failure to spay and neuter is costing us all.

The good news is that communities with active spay/neuter programs and legislation are seeing very encouraging results — declines of as much as 60 percent in the number of animals that are euthanized each year, according to the Humane Society of The United States.  Not only that, but spaying and neutering pets lets them live longer, healthier lives, and also often makes them more affectionate and easier to care for.

• Spay and neuter your pets. To make the arrangements, call your veterinarian or local animal shelter.

  To find your local shelter, visit the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. You can also search online for local clinics and low-cost programs at Pets 911, Spay USA (1-800-248-SPAY), or Friends of Animals (1-800-321-PETS). Generally, your pet will return home the same day of the spaying or neutering and you'll have simple after-care instructions to follow.

• Work to spay or neuter other animals in your neighborhood. Extend your compassion beyond the scope of your own household and commit to ensuring the spaying and neutering of other unaltered animals in your neighborhood. Talk to owners of unaltered pets to educate them about why it's so important to spay and neuter. Make it your mission to ensure that the stray cat who frequents your back yard doesn't bring more strays into the world to endure the same hard life. If possible, team up with neighbors and make it a joint effort.

  Spay/neuter educational leaflets are available at most shelters, or from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). For information about trapping and spaying or neutering homeless and feral cats, visit Alley Cat Allies or Spay USA.