Spaying and Neutering
Millions homeless animals are euthanized in this country each year. In fact, euthanasia of healthy animals is the biggest cause of death for domestic animals. Most of these animals could have been loving, adoptable companion animals for someone. Sadly, they are killed because there are not enough homes for all of the unwanted animals.
The good news is that this fact of today can change.The tragedy of too many pets and not enough homes can be prevented by spaying and neutering our animal companions.
What is Spaying and Neutering?
Sometimes referred to as "altering," spaying and neutering are ways of providing birth control for dogs and cats by removing their reproductive organs, therefore preventing them from having litters of puppies or kittens. Spaying is the procedure used for female pets, and neutering generally refers to the procedure used for male pets.
Why Should I Know About This?
In one way or another, all of us - including those who do not even have pets - are affected by animal overpopulation.
Millions of tax dollars are spent annually to care for lost, abandoned, and unwanted pets. . . and millions more to put to sleep those that were not fortunate enough to find a home.
The health and safety of our communities is another concern. The greater the population of unwanted animals, the greater the incidence of such animal related issues as rabies, dog bites, cat scratches, traffic accidents, and animal abuse.
The Benefits of Spaying and Neutering?
Having your pet spayed or neutered benefits both you and your pet. Your pet can enjoy a longer life and better health, and you get peace of mind knowing your animal companion is safer and happier. Some specific benefits are:
- Reduced risk of testicular and prostate cancer or maladies in male cats and dogs
- No unwanted pregnancies
- Reduced incidence of aggressive behavior in male cats and dogs
- Reduced desire to roam, breed, mark territory, fight with other animals for male cats and dogs.
- Reduced risk of breast, uterine and ovarian cancer or infection in female cats and dogs
- Reduced desire to roam, breed for female cats and dogs.
Please remember when you adopt an animal from a shelter, you save two lives! The life of the animal you adopted and the life of the animal that takes its place!
Making Your Pet Part of the Family
As the temperatures go down into the single digits outside, please remember to bring your pets in and make them part of the family.
Just because your pet has fur does not mean it has the ability to stay warm and avoid frostbite.
What is Frostbite? (The following information was provided from Pets.ca)
Animals have ways of dealing with cold temperatures but when exposed to extreme freezing temperatures for an extended period these same mechanisms that work to keep them warm and alive can actually cause damage and death to the tissues of their extremities (tips of ears, tail, foot pads.) more commonly known as frostbite.
When a dog or cat is exposed to cold temperatures its body reacts in stages;
- Your pet's fur provides insulation just like us wearing a coat. Its hairs, when exposed to cold air undergo pilo-erection. This is like you and I getting goose bumps. The hairs "stand up erect" trapping the air in that layer. This air is warmed by the body and ads additional insulation.
- When the body's core temperature decreases, an involuntary reflex by the skeletal muscles known as "shivering" is triggered to generate heat and warm you up. Animals like humans experience this same reaction.
- When the body is really getting cold and the animal’s life may be at risk, the body responds by vasoconstricting the peripheral tissues. This means the body is being selective in where it is sending warm blood.
- The organs are the most important to keep an animal and human alive so blood is circulating in the core of the body (heart, liver, kidney lungs,) and shuts down temporally by constricting blood vessels to the extremities until the body's normal temperature is attained.
- By this stage if a cat or dog has not received First Aid or warmth on it's own, frostbite will develop. Tissues that have frozen due to this response, die. Cats and dogs often experience frostbite on the tips of their ears, tails, face footpads, legs and the genitalia in male dogs.
- Frostbite can result in the loss of limbs, toes, tips of ears.
Bringing your dog inside has additional benefits;
Dogs need to spend time with their family to learn the rules of the household and how to interact with their family. Dogs are social by nature and being isolated can cause socialization issues. Dogs who spend most of their time alone may demonstrate fearful, aggressive or overactive behavior toward family members or strangers because they have not been taught how to act around people. According to the Center for Disease Control, dogs that are chained up are 2.8 times more likely to attack than dogs who were not tethered.
If you decide to leave your dog outside, know the law
Agricultural & Markets Law Article 26, Section 353b, Appropriate Shelter for Dogs Left Outdoors
(b) For all dogs that are left outdoors in inclement weather, a housing facility which must:
(1) have a waterproof roof;
(2)be structurally sound with insulation appropriate to local climatic condition and sufficient to protect the dog from inclement weather;
(3)be constructed to allow each dog adequate freedom of movement to make normal postural adjustments, including the ability to stand up, turn around and lie down with its limbs outstretched; and
(4) allow for effective removal of excretions, other waste material; dirt and trash. The housing
facility and the area immediately surrounding it shall be regularly cleaned to maintain a healthy and sanitary environment and to minimize health hazards.
Want to make a difference in an animals' life? Take this article and share it with someone who keeps their pet outside. Just clip the article and send it on to someone in hopes of educating them on making their pet part of the family!!!!!
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