Millions of animals are euthanized each year purely because there are not enough people willing to open their homes and adopt this mass surplus of “unwanted” animals (I’m using the word unwanted in quotes because if I had it my way, I would take them all). While spaying and neutering does help this problem, the importance of taking that step goes far beyond ensuring they don’t reproduce any extra, “unwanted” offspring. Spaying and neutering can help prevent both future health and behavioral issues in your pet.
Removing your pet’s sex organs (uterus/testes) will eliminate females’ monthly cycles (no diapers for them!) and reduce those natural breeding/heat behaviors such as humping, aggressiveness during mating season, or wandering outside of their normal perimeter to find a mating partner. This can even help prevent marking (urinating to claim territory). If you adopt your pet young, there are advantages to spraying/neutering as soon as possible, such as decreased risk of uterine infections and certain types of cancer. Now Iif you meet your furry soulmate later in their life, you should still get them spayed or neutered because these issues can still appear at any age.
There are no detriments or drawbacks to spaying or neutering your pet – it does not affect their personality (outside of avoiding aggressive future behaviors, which is a benefit!). As always, consult your vet before making the decision to ensure that your pet is healthy enough to undergo the procedure. Once their pre-surgery results come back and they are cleared, SNIP SNIP!
Nine of our foster dogs need to be spayed or neutered. Click here to support our campaign to raise the funds needed for their procedures.
