Thousands of healthy cats and dogs are killed every year in Ireland because there are not enough homes for all of them. As printed in Ann Landers column of The Pet Press, here are the 10 worst excuses to not spay or neuter your pet:
- Just one litter and we’ll have her spayed. (Virtually the entire pet overpopulation problem stems from the ‘just one litter’ mentality.)
- My dog doesn’t run loose, so he doesn’t need to be fixed. (Not fixing him increases the likelihood that he will try to escape and find a mate.)
- We always find homes for all the kittens. (And that means an equal number of kittens at the pound will have to be killed. In Ireland, for every kitten your cat brings into the world, nine die because homes can’t be found for them.)
- I want the children to witness the miracle of birth. (Rent a video.)
- My dog is so cute and unique, there should be more of her. (Irish pounds are full of cute and unique dogs, most with only a few more days to live.)
- It’s not natural. (There hasn’t been anything ‘natural’ about dogs and cats since we began developing breeds thousands of years ago and having them live in our homes.)
- I just couldn’t look my dog in the eye if I had him castrated. (Dogs are not human and don’t care if they are castrated. Don’t make the mistake of applying human emotions to your pet. Males have a particular problem with this one for some reason.)
- A female cat or dog should have one litter for health reasons. (Actually spaying or neutering early will prevent certain forms of cancer.)
- Neutering my dog will make him fat and lazy. (Too much food and not enough exercise will make him fat and lazy.)
- Fixing my pet will change his/her personality. (Your pet will be more content to stay home and be a part of your family and neutered males are less aggressive.)