Snip!

The other day I was at a pet mega-store, and on the way out I encountered not just one, but two intact adult male boxers. The owners were conversing from about 12 feet away while the one dog strained mightily to get to the other (calm) dog. Neither one of them were show dogs - they weren't nice enough looking for that - and I found myself thinking: why aren't these dogs neutered?

Every rescue, vets' office, and shelter displays or somehow tries to convey the "Spay or Neuter Your Pets" message...and sometimes I think it's not working. Granted, a lot of times the people trying to deliver this message come across as shrill, so you tune them out.

Case in point: Back in '94 I was walking two Bulldogs, one a retired (intact) male show dog and the other a female puppy destined for the show ring (she later got her Championship). Personally, I think conformation classes are just big beauty contests with lots of backstabbing thrown in, but that's just me. Watch Best in Show if you think otherwise. Anyway, I'm walking down the street with these two dogs, and a woman approaches me to ask about them. Then she starts a rant about how come they're not fixed, and don't I know how many unwanted dogs end up in shelters and don't I care? I point to the dogs and tell her "they're not my dogs," whereupon she starts berating me for being a heartless bitch and not caring about the fate of these shelter dogs. Eventually, I got away from her, but she really pissed me off - at the time we had a dog and two cats and all three were fixed, as well as being rescues. Even our two horses were gelded. She was so focussed on getting her message across that she didn't listen to me at all.

Friday, I saw a dog that looked to be a Chow/Corgi cross. She seems friendly, but man, who let that happen? To a certain extent, urban dogs who spend their lives leashed or indoors, rather than unattended in backyards, seem less at risk for unintended breeding. I have heard of dogs getting it on at dog runs - some moron brings his bitch in (I thought she was too young to come into season!) and the obligatory intact male dog gets to her before their oblivious owners have a clue. Female dogs in heat are pretty obvious, both physically and behavior-wise.

People still believe the myth that speutering (spaying + neutering = get it?) young will stunt their dogs growth. How big your dog will get is determined by genetics and influenced by nutrition. Stuffing your puppy with high-protein food in an attempt to make them bigger will most likely result in a fat puppy with joint problems later on in life, but isn't going to make them any taller than they are destined to be. Conversely, a puppy who doesn't get all the nutrients they need at a very young age may be stunted - but we're talking starvation here, not which brand of kibble.

I see an intact male Dalmation around on a regular basis, and more intact Labradors than Westminster. Why? It's not like this is a rare breed, and they can't all be show dogs. I know the Dalmation isn't. Jack Russells, too, and considering that many of those are hyper-agressive to start with, why aren't they neutered? Because they're little? Spare me. I see an Otterhound too, and oddly enough, I believe he is neutered. There are fewer than 40 intact male Ottterhounds worldwide, and only around 1000 Otterhounds altogether. That's a rare breed.

I believe that a lot of this has to do with human notions of freedom. Most people seem to think that it is their right to breed, and I know very few people who would consider having themselves and their partner genetically tested before having a baby. I loathe people who mortgage their lives to the hilt to afford some exotic form of AI resulting in quintuplets - while living in a two bedroom house and barely getting by on two salaries. The mutiple mouths that they can't afford to feed and clothe are invariably referred to as "God's precious gifts" - no, I think you had a teensy bit of medical help. How is it that it wasn't "God's will" that you not get pregnant? Phew, got off on a bit of a rant there.

There are still people who believe that speutering is unnatural, unneccesary and expensive, whether through ignorance or arrogance. The result is the same. Dogs do not understand the concept of abstinence when it comes to sex, and I don't think they ever will.

Unwanted dogs (and cats) end up dead, one way or another. We need to either prevent unwanted puppies and kittens from happening or make their exit from this world as humane as possible. No-Kill shelters are a lovely idea, but they do nothing to address the problem of animals that are too aggressive or too damaged one way or another to ever live with people again. I have a huge problem with rescues who spend thousands of dollars on a crippled/severely physically damaged animal with the idea that all life is sacred, when that money could have been used to save twenty other healthy animals.

My husband and I adopted a cat from a shelter in NJ several years ago. Our much-loved cat, Jack, had to be euthanized when his vocal-fold tumors could no longer be managed by medication and surgery was not a viable option. So, we adopted this handsome 10 year old Maine Coon, and named him Simon. Once we got him home, we discovered that he was incontinent, and at some earlier point in his life had a perineal urethrostomy (my spelling might be a bit off, but google it anyway). Our vet was unable to explain the reason for the urine dribbling, other than stress, and by that point we were committed to keeping him. Over the next four years, our lives became a nightmare of trying to prevent Simon from leaking all over everything we owned. One night he began bleeding rectally (or so we thought), and as a result, we changed vet practices. Our new vets were, eventually, able to determine that the original PU surgery was badly done, and bacteria from his feces was causing constant urinary tract infections. Over the years, this had caused scarring, which contributed to the incontinence - which would have been present since the surgery. (Imagine, if you will, the pain Simon was in for years with chronic UTI's.) We tried about 6 months of drug therapy, and in the end decided to have him euthanized. His original owners had to have realized he was incontinent, and in fact, he was surrendered to the shelter with the understanding that he would be euthanized. If we had known his problems, we would not have adopted him, plain and simple. His owners should have had the guts to make it clear to the shelter what his problems were, and the shelter should have noticed that he leaked urine. More simply, his owners should have taken him to a vet and had him euthanized. Loving an animal also means that you do your absolute best to keep them free of pain, and that you have the courage to realize when that pain is chronic and unmanageable.

I got a little off track here, but the message is the same. Be responsible. Think.