Reason 1: Spaying or neutering increases your pet’s chances for a longer, healthier life.

Reason 2: An altered dog or cat is a better pet for your family.

Reason 3: Spaying results in a cleaner female dog and home.

Reason 4: You are helping to alleviate the pet overpopulation problem.

Spay/Neuter Myths and Facts

Subsidized Spay/Neuter Clinics

Reason 1: Spaying or neutering increases your pet’s chances for a longer, healthier life.

paying your female dog or cat before her first estrous cycle (that is before she goes into "heat") greatly reduces her chances of developing breast cancer and uterine infections, which are common occurrences in unaltered females. Neutering your male dog or cat prevents testicular tumors and may prevent prostate problems. Neutering also decreases the possibility of perianal tumors and hernias, which are commonly observed in older, unaltered dogs. Neutered dogs and cats are less likely to develop negative behaviors such as aggression, urinary marking and the urge to roam in search of a female.

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Reason 2: An altered dog or cat is a better pet for your family.

No family wants to cope with an unwanted pregnancy. Spaying prevents your pet from giving birth to unwanted puppies and kittens, and adding to an already serious pet overpopulation problem in this community. Males neutered early in life are less aggressive toward other males and are not distracted by females in heat. Therefore, a neutered male will be less tempted to leave your property and cross that dangerous highway in search of a mate. Neutered males are also less likely to mark every one of your (or your neighbor's) expensive shrubs with his urine. Spaying your female pet eliminates the problem of stray males camping in your yard and decreases her desire to roam and breed.

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Reason 3: Spaying results in a cleaner female dog and home.

Because female dogs pass bloody fluid for about ten days, twice a year, as part of their estrous cycle, constant care must be taken to avoid carpet stains in homes with such animals. Spaying your dog eliminates this problem.

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Reason 4: You are helping to alleviate the pet overpopulation problem.

Each year, millions of animals are euthanized at shelters across the country. Although pet behavioral problems are often a reason that animals are taken to shelters, many animals we shelter are as a result of accidental breeding by free-roaming, unaltered pets. The more pets that are spayed or neutered, the fewer animals will have to be destroyed.

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Spay/Neuter Myths and Facts

MYTH: My pet will get fat and lazy.
FACT: The truth is that most pets get fat and lazy because their owners feed them too much and don't give them enough exercise.

MYTH: It's better to have one litter first.
FACT: Medical evidence indicates just the opposite. In fact, the evidence shows that females spayed before their first heat are typically healthier. Many veterinarians now sterilize dogs and cats as young as eight weeks of age. Check with your veterinarian about the appropriate time for these procedures.

MYTH: My children should experience the miracle of birth.
FACT: Even if children are able to see a pet give birth—which is unlikely, since it usually occurs in seclusion—the lesson they will really learn is that animals can be created and discarded as it suits adults. Instead, it should be explained to children that the real miracle is life and that preventing the birth of some pets can save the lives of others.

MYTH: But my pet is a purebred.
FACT: So is at least one out of every four pets brought to animal shelters around the country. There are just too many dogs and cats—mixed breed and purebred.

MYTH: I want my dog to be protective.
FACT: Spaying or neutering does not affect a dog's natural instinct to protect home and family. A dog's personality is formed more by genetics and environment than by sex hormones.

MYTH: I don't want my male dog or cat to feel like less of a male.
FACT: Pets don't have any concept of sexual identity or ego. Neutering will not change a pet's basic personality. He doesn't suffer any kind of emotional reaction or identity crisis when neutered.

MYTH: But my dog (or cat) is so special, I want a puppy (or kitten) just like her.
FACT: A dog or cat may be a great pet, but that doesn't mean her offspring will be a carbon copy. Professional animal breeders who follow generations of bloodlines can't guarantee they will get just what they want out of a particular litter. A pet owner's chances are even slimmer. In fact, an entire litter of puppies or kittens might receive all of a pet's (and her mate's) worst characteristics.

MYTH: It's too expensive to have my pet spayed or neutered.
FACT: The cost of spaying or neutering depends on the sex, size, and age of the pet, your veterinarian's fees, and a number of other variables. But whatever the actual price, spay or neuter surgery is a one-time cost—a relatively small cost when compared to all the benefits. It's a bargain compared to the cost of having a litter and ensuring the health of the mother and litter; two months of pregnancy and another two months until the litter is weaned can add up to significant veterinary bills and food costs if complications develop. Most importantly, it's a very small price to pay for the health of your pet and the prevention of the births of more unwanted pets.

MYTH: I'll find good homes for all the puppies and kittens.
FACT: You may find homes for all of your pet's litter. But each home you find means one less home for the dogs and cats in shelters who need good homes. Also, in less than one year's time, each of your pet's offspring may have his or her own litter, adding even more animals to the population. The problem of pet overpopulation is created and perpetuated one litter at a time.

Click here to spread the word about what you can do to "Lick Pet Overpopulation."

For more information about how to support spay/neuter programs in Ohio through the Ohio Pet License Plate, visit www.petsohio.com.

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Click here for information on subsidized spay/neuter services in Central Ohio.