Spay and Neuter
The statistics of the overpopulation of domestic animals is overwhelming. Animal shelters are bombarded with dogs and cats being surrendered for a vast number of reasons. Then due to a limited adoption rate and over crowding many shelters are forced to euthanize a large number of these poor animals even though they would be very adoptable if time was on their side. In the U.S. alone 6-8 million animals are surrendered to animal shelters annually. About fifty percent of these animals are euthanized. These are healthy, loving animals that deserved better than this cruel fate. Just because there are too many animals.
One of the ironies of the cat and dog overpopulation is that it costs about $80.00 to kill an animal and $25.00 to spay or neuter it at a shelter. In some areas there are programs available to low-income households that offer extremely cheap rates to pet owners for getting their animals fixed. A breeding pair of dogs can produce more than 1.1 million animals in their lifetime if all animals survive from every litter. It's a staggering number.
By neutering your pet, you can also help your dog and cat to live a healthier, happier, and likely a longer life. Spaying a cat will eliminates the anxiety, crying and nervous pacing that is typical of a cat that's in heat. Castration stops the drive in males to mate which results in a reduction in the roaming urge, risk of fights, and other dangerous situations for your dog. Once an animal has had their operation they usually cohabitate better. Neutered animals results in less fighting. Other benefits of neutering your dog is the elimination of certain medical conditions. When pets are spayed early in life it nearly eliminates breast cancer, and totally prevents testicular cancer.
People need to start doing their part to curb the over population of dogs by spaying or neutering their pet prior to any type of reproduction takes place. Other options available include a birth control pill for dogs but spaying or neutering your animal is a more permanent and a safe way to do your part to address this problem.
