Monday, October 24, 2011

Top 10 Spay/Neuter Myths

Reprint from the ARFF Website (Animal Rights Foundation of Florida)

Top 10 Spay/Neuter Myths
 

10. Spaying/neutering my dog or cat will change her/his personality.
Spaying or neutering your animal will make him/her less frustrated and more tranquil. Two changes for the better!
 

9. Spaying/neutering my animal will make her/him fat and lazy.
Too much food and not enough exercise will cause weight gain, spaying/neutering will not!

8. A female dog should have at least one litter for health reasons.
There is just no scientific evidence to back this claim. Instead, the research shows that spaying your dog/cat greatly reduces the risk of uterine and ovarian cancer and uterine infection, which are common occurrences in unspayed females.

7. I couldn’t look my animal in the eye if I had her/him spayed/neutered.
Your animal will be able to look you in the eyes for a lot longer if she/he is spayed/neutered. Spayed/neutered animals on average live longer!

6. It’s not natural.
Maybe. But, the bigger concern has to be the hundreds of thousands of animals being killed at shelters because there simply are not enough homes for all of them. Think birth control v. killing unwanted puppies and kittens.

5. My dog/cat is so cute and unique; there should be more of her/him.
Animal shelters are full of cute and unique dogs and cats, most with only a few days left to live. If you think you can help find homes for animals, PLEASE, volunteer with your local shelter and help find homes for those who are already here.

4. I want the children to witness the miracle of birth.
There are many excellent videos on the subject that won’t result in adding yet another litter to the existing population of homeless dogs and cats in our community.

3. We will find homes for all the puppies/kittens.
Do you really know where your animal’s offspring are? And the offspring’s offspring are? The current companion animal overpopulation crises demands that we halt the breeding of dogs and cats until we can find homes for those who are already here.

2. My dog/cat doesn’t run loose, so she/he doesn’t need to be fixed.
Murphy’s Law says otherwise— anything that can go wrong will. Please don’t let your dog or cat be a possible number in the companion animal overpopulation equation. Be certain. Spay/neuter.

1. Just one litter won’t hurt.
An unaltered female dog, her mate, and all of their puppies and their puppies puppies, if none are ever spayed or neutered, add up to 16 dogs in 1 year; 128 in 2 years; 512 in 3 years; 2,048 in 4 years; 12,288 in 5 years; and 67,000 in 6 years (similar numbers apply to cats.
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(information from SpayUSA.).

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