Last week, in anticipation of Clear The Shelters, I began a series on the various and sundry reasons I’ve heard as to why pet owners resist the idea of spaying or neutering their pets. I also took great pains to explain that there are certain folks who are not the intended targets of my “why do you have an intact pet?” themed rants. As I’ve stated before, if your veterinarian feels your pet is not a candidate for surgery, or should not be spayed or neutered until it is more mature, you are off the hook. If you are a licensed, responsible breeder of health-tested, purpose-bred dogs, my gripe is not with you either.
And as I’ve said earlier, if you simply cannot afford to spay or neuter your pet, I am not calling you out either. On the contrary, I’ve put together a list of organizations that will spay or neuter your pet at a steeply discounted price, or perhaps even for free.
The reasons that make me fear for the sustainability of our shelter’s vaunted no-kill status are the ones I hear from pet owners on a regular basis. Most don’t come from a place of ignorance, or even stubbornness. Ironically, they come from a place of love, and of genuine concern. However in our zeal to treat pets as members of the family, we tend to forget that in many ways, they do not think like we do. This is manifested especially clearly in some of the reasons we give for not wanting to spay or neuter our pets. Let’s take a look at some of more of the reasons for spay/neuter resistance.
I could never deprive her of the experience of motherhood
For many humans parenthood is part of a life plan that begins percolating in childhood. It is widely assumed we will grow up to raise children, regardless of whether or not we ultimately choose that path. Because it is a societal expectation, we think about it. A lot. If and when it happens, the rearing of our children occupies a large percentage of our time, energy, identity, and resources. This is not the case with our pets.
Dogs and cats live in the here and now. The don’t ponder possibilities, think of what could be, or wonder what the future might hold. Parenthood, as we know it, is not seen by our pets as milestone or a goal. For them, it is simply a biological urge that results in the production of offspring. Eight weeks after the offspring arrive, they are shipped off to new homes and gone from their mother’s lives forever. And you know what? Everybody just carries on living their lives.
Having babies is not a magical or life-changing experience for cats and dogs. They do not look into the eyes of that special someone and wonder what their future children will look like. They don’t worry about who will care for them when they’re old, or fantasize about hordes of happy grandbabies. They live in the moment. They live without care. And let’s face it - isn’t that one of the reasons why we love them? We kind of want to be them! Your pet isn’t “missing out” on parenthood. She doesn’t know how to miss out. Perhaps that is the true definition of joy.
I just want him to sow his wild oats once
Just like our pets don’t think about the future, likewise they don’t think about the past. They live in a world devoid of a space-time continuum, and the oat-sowing experience will be promptly forgotten. But the consequence of that singular act is a litter of puppies or kittens that are likely to end up in a shelter. It’s hard for us humans to wrap our heads around this one, but honestly, our pets don’t care if they “die as a virgin.” As long as there are car rides and belly rubs and squirrels, he’s going to be a happy camper. To quote a pithy Facebook meme, the only balls he cares about are the ones he fetches. Seriously. Just neuter him.
I want my children to witness the miracle of birth
In the day and age of the internet there is no reason to use this as an excuse to breed an animal. YouTube is a treasure trove of birthing videos involving cats, dogs, livestock - even humans! And if the miracle of human birth is the lesson you’re after, a digital education should leave very few questions unanswered. Videos of women giving birth in hospitals, at home, in birthing pools and in nature are just a few easy clicks away. And unlike the real deal, you as a parent can pre-screen them all.
While the process of birth is natural - and yes, very cool - anyone who’s ever been in or near a birthing situation can tell you things sometimes go wrong. And when the unexpected happens, it often happens dramatically and quickly. Pets can die while giving birth. They may need an emergency c-section you cannot afford. She may bleed to death while you race to the vet’s office. The babies could be stillborn. Or the birth could go smoothly, only to have your pet refuse to care for her own babies. It is utterly heartbreaking to watch these things happen. Ask yourself if you really want your children to witness them as well.
I’ll make good money selling her puppies
How can I put this delicately?
Um. no. You won’t.
I have clients who literally laugh in the faces of people who say this in our lobby. They too, thought the same thing. They lost money, spayed the dog, and vowed never to breed a dog again. Remember the emergency c-section I mentioned? They’re complicated procedures which are not cheap. Your dog may need one of those. In order to be sold legally, each puppy must be vaccinated, dewormed and microchipped. And there is always the chance that one or more puppy will require extensive veterinary care.
Sure there are puppies and kittens being advertised online for thousands of dollars apiece. But those kinds of prices are fetched for animals with impeccable and well-documented bloodlines. They are bred by professionals who know what they’re doing. They often test their breeding stock for genetic markers that indicate a tendency towards breed-specific, inherited diseases. They are happy to provide you with references from people who have bought from them in the past, and by the way, they will likely want to “interview” you as well. They charge what their puppies and kittens are worth, and the money you pay a good breeder represents money you will probably not pay a vet. Even so, many of these diligent professionals barely break even. They do it for the love of the breed. The money is negligible at best. Please do not be fooled into thinking that breeding a cute pet with another cute pet is a viable source of income. Potential buyers will not want to pay for a pet without a documented history. You’re likely to end up giving them away, or surrendering them to a shelter in order to cut your losses.
I’m not from here. And where I come from, we don’t do that to animals.
I’m not from here either, so I can relate to this one. I love this country deeply. I chose to come here, but like many immigrants there are things about it I suspect I will never understand. However, what I do understand is that while I am not expected to lose my identity or surrender my culture, I am expected to assimilate.
Where I come from, we don’t “do that to animals” either. But part of being a responsible citizen of the country that welcomed me is being a responsible pet owner as well. That means all of us doing our part to keep unwanted pets from flooding our shelters and roaming our streets. It means stepping out of our comfort zones and looking beyond our cultures to do what is right for our animals. It means spaying and neutering the animals in our care. Period. It’s our adopted country’s societal expectation, and it’s in the best interest of our pets.
This country was kind enough to provide us with a home. Sadly, the same cannot be said for all of its animals. The no-kill status of the animal shelter in our adopted community will only be sustainable if we as individuals take responsibility for making it so.
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Last week, in preparation for Clear The Shelters, I shared my thoughts on South Florida’s alarmingly high shelter pet population.Additionally. I shared my thoughts on our community’s low spay/neuter compliance rate, and the correlation between that, and the need for what is becoming an annual adoption event.
There are many reasons why conscientious pet owners do not spay or neuter their pets.Some pets are poor candidates for anesthetic procedures, others still may benefit from waiting until adolescence or adulthood before having said procedures performed.Such animals, however, are the exceptions, rather than the rules.
I also detailed whom I was not addressing in my “why do you have an intact pet?” rant, and offered some solutions for pet owners who are genuinely struggling.In case you missed it, let me go over it again:
If your pet is not a candidate for an early spay/neuter procedure due to a legitimate veterinary concern, this next bit is not for you. Carry on, and spay or neuter your pet if and when your veterinarian decides the time is right. Ditto for those of you whose pets are not healthy enough to have surgery.
Additionally, if you are a licensed, responsible breeder of healthy, purpose-bred dogs, I am not addressing you either. Ditto for those of you with genetically strong specimens whose bloodlines will truly benefit future generations of the breed. Thanks for not sending me hate mail. Keep up the good work.
And once again,if you would absolutely love to get your pet spayed or neutered, but simply cannot afford to do so, I am not calling you out either. I am no stranger to financial hardship. Trust me, you won’t see any poor shaming here. Click here for a list of organizations that will spay or neuter your pet at a steeply reduced price, or perhaps even for free. http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Low-Cost-Spay-and-Neuter-Clinics-in-Miami-Dade-Broward-Palm-Beach-Monroe-Counties-386355091.htmlThese organizations are here to help, and would love for you to take advantage of their services.
If none of the above reasons apply to your pet, you undoubtedly have a reason for having an intact pet. Chances are, I’ve heard it before; and chances are, it’s bunk. Sadly, these misconceptions have been around for so long, that we tend to assume they are true.So let’s do a little veterinary “mythbusting” as I share some of the most oft-repeated excuses for spay/neuter non-compliance.
“It makes them lazy and boring.”
While spaying and neutering will reduce a pet’s sex drive, that’s the only type of drive it affects. They will still retain their play drive, prey drive, activity level, protectiveness, eagerness to please, ability to work, and all the other things you love about them. In fact they will be more focused on the things you love about them because, as my wife so eloquently puts it, they will be thinking with the correct organ! The sex drive of a pet dog or cat can make them extremely unpleasant to live with. They can yowl, escape, fight, roam, and spray foul-smelling urine. Intact dogs are involved in roughly 90% of serious attacks on humans. https://www.avma.org/Advocacy/StateAndLocal/Pages/dogbite-summary.aspx These are the pets who bolt into traffic, dig under fences, destroy property, and make your neighbors hate you. They are often deemed “out of control” and surrendered to shelters - along with the unwanted offspring they produce. Both of our dogs were spayed and neutered before they were five months old. Grendel will swim until she is blue and shivering. Zohan is the Ironman of play. Lazy and boring? See for yourself.
Cats and dogs are the quintessential genetically modified organisms.There is no such thing is a free-ranging Schnauzer or an indigenous Golden Retriever. There is nothing natural about them.Why we suddenly go into “granola mode” with regards to their reproductive organs is utterly beyond me.
A colleague of mine sometimes chides his clients by reminding them that rattlesnake venom is 100% natural and organic. In other words, not everything that’s natural is automatically good.
A spayed pet has a zero percent chance of developing a life-threatening uterine infection known as pyometra. Ditto for the risk of testicular cancer in neutered pets. The risk of metastatic breast cancer in intact female pets increases drastically with each heat cycle - and let’s not forget, our pets generally have between eight and ten breasts! And in nearly 20 years of practice, I’ve seen just one case of prostatic cancer in a neutered dog. For an intact male, this condition is almost inevitable -dare I say, a “natural” progression of events.
“I really want one of his/her puppies!”
Just as every family has it’s black sheep, there is no guarantee the traits you love will be passed to the next generation. Breeding for temperament is something best left to qualified, experienced, professional breeders who know what the heck they are doing. I am nothing like anyone in my family, and I’m convinced my wife was left on her family’s doorstep by the fairy folk. Personality is not always an inherited trait.
If you still insist on breeding for “one of the puppies”, I would strongly encourage you to closely examine that sentence. There is a word included therein that saddens the hell out of me, and it should sadden the hell out of you too. Do you see it? Look closely...
One.
You want one of the puppies. She may have four. Or nine. Or twelve! What will become of the rest of them once you select the pick of the litter?
Don’t answer that. I know what you’re thinking. (I’ve been at this a while.) You’re thinking of the friends, coworkers and family members who have told you they would line up for one of Snowflake’s puppies! And yet what people say and what they ultimately do are often two separate things. Life changes quickly, and those surefire homes may be relocated, foreclosed upon, filled up with babies, or occupied by someone else’s surplus puppy.Guess where that leaves Snowflake’s litter? You guessed it! Your friendly neighborhood shelter.If your friends and family members have puppy-ready homes, great! There are plenty in our shelters. And if we want said shelters to maintain their much-lauded, “no-kill” status, we as individuals must get our own houses in order. No-kill shelters are not sustainable in communities whose residents do not spay and neuter their pets. Period.
Folks, we all like to think our pets are special. I am absolutely besotted with mine. But in terms of the pet population’s gene pool, well...they’re not. I love them to pieces, but truth is truth. And if my dogs aren’t special enough to warrant a genetic legacy, chances are, yours aren’t either.
Next time, we’ll discuss even more of the reasons we don’t spay and neuter our pets! I’m sorry, did you think I was done? Like I said I’ve been at this a while, and I’ve got some good ones. Manliness, motherhood, miracles, educa
Last week, in preparation for Clear The Shelters, I shared my thoughts on South Florida’s alarmingly high shelter pet population. Additionally. I shared my thoughts on our community’s low spay/neuter compliance rate, and the correlation between that, and the need for what is becoming an annual adoption event.
There are many reasons why conscientious pet owners do not spay or neuter their pets. Some pets are poor candidates for anesthetic procedures, others still may benefit from waiting until adolescence or adulthood before having said procedures performed. Such animals, however, are the exceptions, rather than the rules.
I also detailed whom I was not addressing in my “why do you have an intact pet?” rant, and offered some solutions for pet owners who are genuinely struggling. In case you missed it, let me go over it again:
If your pet is not a candidate for an early spay/neuter procedure due to a legitimate veterinary concern, this next bit is not for you. Carry on, and spay or neuter your pet if and when your veterinarian decides the time is right. Ditto for those of you whose pets are not healthy enough to have surgery.
Additionally, if you are a licensed, responsible breeder of healthy, purpose-bred dogs, I am not addressing you either. Ditto for those of you with genetically strong specimens whose bloodlines will truly benefit future generations of the breed. Thanks for not sending me hate mail. Keep up the good work.
And once again, if you would absolutely love to get your pet spayed or neutered, but simply cannot afford to do so, I am not calling you out either. I am no stranger to financial hardship. Trust me, you won’t see any poor shaming here. Click here for a list of organizations that will spay or neuter your pet at a steeply reduced price, or perhaps even for free. http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Low-Cost-Spay-and-Neuter-Clinics-in-Miami-Dade-Broward-Palm-Beach-Monroe-Counties-386355091.html These organizations are here to help, and would love for you to take advantage of their services.
If none of the above reasons apply to your pet, you undoubtedly have a reason for having an intact pet. Chances are, I’ve heard it before; and chances are, it’s bunk. Sadly, these misconceptions have been around for so long, that we tend to assume they are true. So let’s do a little veterinary “mythbusting” as I share some of the most oft-repeated excuses for spay/neuter non-compliance.
“It makes them lazy and boring.”
While spaying and neutering will reduce a pet’s sex drive, that’s the only type of drive it affects. They will still retain their play drive, prey drive, activity level, protectiveness, eagerness to please, ability to work, and all the other things you love about them. In fact they will be more focused on the things you love about them because, as my wife so eloquently puts it, they will be thinking with the correct organ! The sex drive of a pet dog or cat can make them extremely unpleasant to live with. They can yowl, escape, fight, roam, and spray foul-smelling urine. Intact dogs are involved in roughly 90% of serious attacks on humans. https://www.avma.org/Advocacy/StateAndLocal/Pages/dogbite-summary.aspx These are the pets who bolt into traffic, dig under fences, destroy property, and make your neighbors hate you. They are often deemed “out of control” and surrendered to shelters - along with the unwanted offspring they produce. Both of our dogs were spayed and neutered before they were five months old. Grendel will swim until she is blue and shivering. Zohan is the Ironman of play. Lazy and boring? See for yourself.
Cats and dogs are the quintessential genetically modified organisms. There is no such thing is a free-ranging Schnauzer or an indigenous Golden Retriever. There is nothing natural about them. Why we suddenly go into “granola mode” with regards to their reproductive organs is utterly beyond me.
A colleague of mine sometimes chides his clients by reminding them that rattlesnake venom is 100% natural and organic. In other words, not everything that’s natural is automatically good.
A spayed pet has a zero percent chance of developing a life-threatening uterine infection known as pyometra. Ditto for the risk of testicular cancer in neutered pets. The risk of metastatic breast cancer in intact female pets increases drastically with each heat cycle - and let’s not forget, our pets generally have between eight and ten breasts! And in nearly 20 years of practice, I’ve seen just one case of prostatic cancer in a neutered dog. For an intact male, this condition is almost inevitable - dare I say, a “natural” progression of events.
“I really want one of his/her puppies!”
Just as every family has it’s black sheep, there is no guarantee the traits you love will be passed to the next generation. Breeding for temperament is something best left to qualified, experienced, professional breeders who know what the heck they are doing. I am nothing like anyone in my family, and I’m convinced my wife was left on her family’s doorstep by the fairy folk. Personality is not always an inherited trait.
If you still insist on breeding for “one of the puppies”, I would strongly encourage you to closely examine that sentence. There is a word included therein that saddens the hell out of me, and it should sadden the hell out of you too. Do you see it? Look closely...
One.
You want one of the puppies. She may have four. Or nine. Or twelve! What will become of the rest of them once you select the pick of the litter?
Don’t answer that. I know what you’re thinking. (I’ve been at this a while.) You’re thinking of the friends, coworkers and family members who have told you they would line up for one of Snowflake’s puppies! And yet what people say and what they ultimately do are often two separate things. Life changes quickly, and those surefire homes may be relocated, foreclosed upon, filled up with babies, or occupied by someone else’s surplus puppy. Guess where that leaves Snowflake’s litter? You guessed it! Your friendly neighborhood shelter.If your friends and family members have puppy-ready homes, great! There are plenty in our shelters. And if we want said shelters to maintain their much-lauded, “no-kill” status, we as individuals must get our own houses in order. No-kill shelters are not sustainable in communities whose residents do not spay and neuter their pets. Period.
Folks, we all like to think our pets are special. I am absolutely besotted with mine. But in terms of the pet population’s gene pool, well...they’re not. I love them to pieces, but truth is truth. And if my dogs aren’t special enough to warrant a genetic legacy, chances are, yours aren’t either.
Next time, we’ll discuss even more of the reasons we don’t spay and neuter our pets! I’m sorry, did you think I was done? Like I said I’ve been at this a while, and I’ve got some good ones. Manliness, motherhood, miracles, educational value...I’ve heard them all. And next time, so will you.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go answer some hate mail…
tional value...I’ve heard them all. And next time, so will you.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go answer some hate mail…
