Spay and Neuter Your Pets: Spay Day 2011

Every day about 70,000 puppies and kittens are born in the United States.  Every year 4 - 6 million are euthanized because there are not enough home for all of them.

Our communities spend millions of dollars to control and eliminate unwanted animals.  Our animal shelters are overburdened with unwanted animals.  Irresponsible breeding contributes to the problem.

Here are the top ten reasons to spay or neuter from the ASPCA:

1. Your female pet will live a longer, healthier life.  Spaying helps prevent uterine infections and breat cancer, which is fatal in about 50% of dogs and 90% of cats.  Spaying your pet before her first heat offers the best protection from these diseases.
2. Neutering provides major health benefits for your male.  Besides preventing unwanted litters. neutering your male pet prevents testicular cancer, if done before six months of age.
3. Your spayed female won't go into heat.  While cycles can vary, female felines usually go into heat four to five days every three weeks during breeding season.  Ibn an effort to advertise for mates, they'll yowl and urinate more frequently - sometimes all over your house.
4. Your male dogs won't want to roam away from home.  An intact male will do just about anything to find a mate.  That includes digging his way under the fence and making like Houdini to escape from the house.  And once he's free to roam, he risks injury in traffic and fights with other males.
5. Your neutered malewill be much better behaved.  Neutered cats and dogs focus their attention on their human families.  On the other hand, unneutered dogs and cats may mark their territory by spraying strong smelling urine all over the house.  Many aggression problems can be avoided by early neutering.
6. Spaying or neutering will NOT make your pet fat.  Don't use that excuse!  Lack of exercise and overfeeding will cause your pet to pack on the extra pounds.  Not neutering.
7. It is highly cost effective.  the cost of your pet's spay or neuter surgery is a lot less than the cost of having and caring for a litter.  It also beats the cost of treatment when your unneutered tom escapes and gets into fights with the neighborhood stray.
8. Spaying and neutering your pet is good for the community.  Stray animals pose a real problem in many parts of the country.  They can pray on wildlife, cause car accidents, damage the local fauna and frighten children.  Spaying and neutering packs a powerful punch in reducing the number of animals on the streets.
9. Your pet does not need to have a litter for your children to learn about the miracle of birth.  Letting your pet produce offspring you have no intention of keeping is not a good lesson for your children - especially when so many unwanted animals end up in shelters.  There are tons of books and videos available to teach your children about birth in a more responsible way.
10. Spay and neutering helps fight pet overpopulation.  Every year, millions of cats and dogs of all ages and breeds are euthanized or suffer as strays.  These high numbers are the result of unplanned litters that could have been prevented by spaying or neutering.

Be a responsible pet owner.  Spay and neuter your pets.