As an animal shelter volunteer, I witness the anguish of the millions of homeless pets that end up in shelters each year in the U.S. The fact is, there are far more homeless pets entering shelters each day than homes to adopt them. Day after day, the endless influx of dogs and cats entering shelters continues. Herculean pet adoption efforts make a world of difference, but there are few homes available to adopt the 6 to 8 million homeless dogs and cats who enter US shelters each year and are in desperate need of a loving home . (Data source: Humane Society)
Eliminating, or at least drastically reducing, pet overpopulation and the vast number of homeless pets is within our grasp. Based on my experience as a shelter volunteer, I strongly believe that two simple things will help us achieve this goal.
STERILIZE AND NEUTRALIZE OUR DOGS AND CATS:
It continually amazes me that despite ongoing efforts to convince owners to spay and neuter their dogs and cats, so many people still refuse to do so. There is a large segment of our society that simply does not spay or neuter their dogs and cats. Although most shelters in the US offer very low-cost, free, and even mobile spay/neuter services, many people will not. I rack my brain trying to figure out why some people adamantly refuse to spay or neuter their dogs and cats. Is it culture, religion, fear or something else that causes this resistance? I don’t have the answer. What I do know is this:
Spaying and neutering your dog or cat will prevent the huge number of unwanted puppies and kittens that invariably end up in shelters every day. People always think that they will find homes for all the puppies in all the litters their unpaid dog has. they don’t end up dumping the remaining unadopted (or unsold) puppies into a shelter. Or worse yet, they dump them in a park or dumpster. Even if a person finds homes for all the puppies or kittens in a litter, what about all the puppies and kittens that are subsequently born from all the offspring? According to the Humane Society of the US, the average female dog produces 2 litters per year, each litter containing 6 to 10 puppies. If that dog remains unspayed and breeds for six years, that’s 72 – 120 puppies born! If that dog’s offspring also don’t get paid, it could produce tens of thousands of puppies over a 6-year period. A female cat and her offspring could produce an even larger number of kittens during the same time period. Excuse me while I choke on a giant furball.
Neutering reduces your dog’s or cat’s desire to roam the neighborhood looking for a female in heat. A male dog can smell a female in heat from up to 3 miles away! Roaming also contributes to pets getting lost, hit by cars, or attacked by strange dogs they may encounter.
Castration will reduce or eliminate the desire to urine mark and claim territory. I don’t need to elaborate on the benefits of that!
Castration reduces unwarranted aggression in males. Without the compelling desire to mark, roam, and mate, there is less need to compete and become aggressive with other males. Dogs will continue to protect your home and family, so don’t worry about your dog turning into a pussycat!
According to the Humane Society, spaying and neutering can reduce several types of canine and feline cancers in both males and females. A healthier pet means fewer illnesses for your beloved pet and fewer vet bills for you.
How can we bring about change? Beyond making sure our own pets are spayed and neutered before unwanted litters are produced, we can spread the word widely to others. Please share these facts with family, friends, on social media and in the organizations we participate in, encouraging people to spay and neuter their own dogs and cats and also to share the message. Everyone needs to come to their own decision, I get that, but sharing the cold, hard facts often and widely will eventually do the trick. There are many myths about spaying and neutering; see the Humane Society website at http://www.humanesociety.org for a long list of mythbusters. If we all work for change, one by one, every dog and every cat will be spayed and neutered, which will drastically reduce the number of homeless pets in shelters, which will also result in a drastic reduction and hopefully the elimination of euthanasia of dogs and cats from shelters.
MICRO CHIP OUR DOGS AND CATS:
If I had a dollar for every dog and cat that comes to the shelter without a microchip or collar with up-to-date tags, I’d already be a mega-millionaire. Just the other day at the shelter, someone brought in a black and tan puppy that they had found wandering around a mall. No collar or tags, no microchip. The puppy may have slipped out of the collar, it’s easy for a collar to get lost or broken. This woman’s first thought was to take the puppy to the nearest shelter. The owner could have been 3 blocks away, not realizing that her pup was taken to a shelter several miles away. The woman didn’t have time to stop at every store or tour the neighborhood and couldn’t take the puppy home with her, so they went to a shelter. I could see that the pup was very young and the tattoo on her belly indicated that she had been spayed. We scanned her for a microchip, but there was none on her. I commend the woman for taking action and getting the puppy loose from harm’s way. If that beautiful pup had been microchipped, she would be home with her family right now instead of sitting in the shelter waiting for someone else to adopt her. She could tell hundreds of stories like this, but you get the point. Again, beyond making sure our own pets are microchipped, we can get the word out to others widely and frequently. One more microchipped dog or cat means one more lost pet that can be returned home safely. The microchip costs about $20 at a shelter and about $50 at the vet.
I firmly believe that if all dog and cat owners take these two simple actions, homelessness and pet overpopulation will be dramatically reduced. As they say, it takes a village. Together we can break the vicious cycle of pet overpopulation and too many cats and dogs ending up in shelters. What am I doing to further this cause? I help shelter animals find loving homes and educate pet adopters on the importance of microchipping and spaying/neutering. I post information and stories on my blog and on Facebook. And of course, I write articles like this in hopes of inspiring good people like you to help spread the word about the importance of spaying/neutering and microchipping your pets.
