Last Hope Resource

Spay and Neuter

When a veterinarian spays or neuters an animal they perform a surgical operation to remove the reproductive organs. Females are spayed and males are neutered. Having your pet spayed or neutered can be costly. This is one of the reasons why some people don’t spay or neuter their pets. In an effort to lower the surplus of litters born each year there are financial assistance programs such as Last Hope, Inc’s Spay Neuter Program is available to assist people with covering the costs of spaying and neutering. If a pet owner is unable to afford to spay or neuter their pet without financial assistance Last Hope is willing to cover a portion of the costs of the operation.

There are many benefits to spaying and neutering domestic animals. There are benefits for the pets, pet owners, and the pet population. However, there are many misconceptions about spaying and neutering.

· The operation will cause the animals to become lazy and gain weight. In truth, spaying or neutering your pet will not cause them to get fat. An unhealthy diet and limited exercise will.

· Some people believe that neutered male dogs will lose their desire to hunt, won’t be as playful, and will become less protective. This is also untrue, a neutered male dog will still enjoy hunting, playing, and protecting his family.

· Some pet owners believe that by spaying and neutering their pets, they are denying their pets the satisfaction gained by being sexually active and having babies. Studies have shown that animals mate in order to relieve a physical hormonal urge. When an animal is spayed or neutered, they no longer have a physical compulsion to mate

· Also, some have cited “wanting their children to experience the miracle of birth.” Considering the overpopulation situation and the millions of unwanted, abandoned animals, I would consider going to a petting zoo.

· Spayed and neutered animals make great pets. As a result of the operation at six months, your pet will never experience the hormonal shifts, have the physiological changes that go along with maturation, and there personality will not change in any way. Older animals personalities’ may become more docile, affectionate, less aggressive and will be less apt to roam.

· In tact pets tend to spray urine around the house, but neutered males in general don’t do mark their territories in this way.

· A spayed female will no longer go through periods of heat. This means that she won’t call for a mate, or go to the bathroom outside of her box. Your female dog will stay cleaner because you won’t have to deal wit the mess of estrus fluids.

· Spaying your pet lowers their risk of developing various forms of cancer and infections of the reproductive system. Female cats and dogs that are spayed won’t contract pyometra. Pyometra is a life threatening disease of the uterus that occurs most frequently with females over 6 years of age.

The Animal Shelter by Shelley Swanson Sateren says that, “The main advantage is that spaying and neutering reduce the number of surplus and homeless pets. At presents, an estimated ten thousand cats and dogs are born every hour in the United States. While it’s true that there are few things on earth as cute as kittens and puppies, people who allow their pets to breed should understand that by permitting more to be born, they are causing others to die.”

One unspayed or intact male can make a huge impact. According to The Humane Societies by Shelley Swanson Sateren, “An unspayed dog and her unspayed descendants can produce as many as 4,000 dogs in only seven years, if they’re all allowed to breed. “Just one unspayed cat and her unspayed litter can contribute even more animals to the population explosion, if permitted to breed.” One female cat is able to have a litter three months after contraception. It isn’t unusual for a cat to have a litter of six babies. We can safely assume that three of these kittens would be female. If these three females are not spayed, after they reach maturity they too could have a litter of six kittens each. “In a few months more there would be about eighty cats. If their kittens were also allowed to breed, in one year the feline family could consist of about 250 cats. If this one family of unaltered felines continued to breed unchecked, as many as 150,000 cats could come into the world in just seven years.” People who want to observe the “miracle of birth” in their pets might consider this.”

This fact doesn’t suggest that the goal of animal shelters is to create a world where there are no puppies and kittens. Instead we envision a world where the number of wanted and unwanted pets are in balance. Euthanasia is a temporary solution. By spreading awareness about the pet overpopulation problem we can create more responsible pet owners that spay and neuter their pets. This will directly impact pet overpopulation, and it will lower the staggering number of animals that are euthanized each year.

Jordyn Arndt