February is National Spay/Neuter Month

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Humane societies and animal shelters do everything possible to find homes for each and every animal in their care; however, there simply aren’t enough homes to go around. All over the United States, healthy, loving companion animals are humanely euthanized by the millions each year due to lack of homes. And countless others are neglected, abused, or abandoned, all victims of a tremendous overpopulation problem.

Every single puppy and kitten born contributes to this tragedy. Even when pet owners have “found homes” for an entire litter, each of those animals deprives a dog or cat waiting patiently in a shelter from finding a loving home. Purebreds are no exception. Studies have shown that close to 25 percent of animals in shelters are purebred dogs and cats.

Consider these statistics: According to the Humane Society of the United States, a single unspayed female cat, her mate, and their offspring are capable of producing a total of 420,000 kittens in just seven years! In six years, one unspayed female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 puppies! This results in the euthanasia of millions of homeless pets.

If these facts and figures are difficult to comprehend, I have a personal anecdote to help illustrate the severity of the problem. I once helped rescue over 300 cats from an 800-square-foot home in Detroit. The owner had one un-spayed female cat and had taken in a non-neutered male cat he found wandering around his home. A few years later, his house was completely over run by hundreds of inbred cats. Most of these cats were wild and suffering from illnesses and had to be humanely euthanized. This situation was filmed, and televised on Animal Planet, in an episode of Animal Cops Detroit titled House of Cats. This situation may seem extreme, but had the pet owner spayed and neutered his two cats, this unfortunate situation would never have taken place.

I’ve heard people ask: “Won’t we run out of pets if all animals are spayed and neutered?” And here’s the answer: Each day in the U.S., 70,000 puppies and kittens are born – seven times the number of humans born annually. As long as these birth rates exist, there will never be enough homes for all the animals. Given the fact we can’t spay and neuter all animals, there’s no chance of running out of pets anytime soon!

Aside from spaying or neutering your pet to help with the overpopulation crisis, spaying and neutering has both medical and behavioral benefits for your dog and cat:

* Neutering male dogs and cats make them less likely to fight with other males or mark their territory and it virtually eliminates the risk of testicular tumors or prostate problems.

* Spaying female dogs and cats greatly reduces their chances of developing mammary, ovarian, or uterine cancers.

* Spayed and neutered pets are also less likely to try to get out of the yard to find mates. Each year, thousands of roaming animals in search of mates become lost or are hit by cars, resulting in needless suffering or death.

Spaying and neutering isn’t just for dogs and cats. Rabbits reproduce faster than dogs or cats and often end up in shelters where they must be euthanized. Spaying or neutering rabbits can reduce hormone-driven behavior such as lunging, mounting, and spraying. Spaying female rabbits can also prevent ovarian, mammary, and uterine cancers, which can be common in mature females.

As tremendous as the problem of pet overpopulation is, it can be solved if each of us takes just one small step, starting with not allowing our animals to breed. Please have your pet spayed or neutered.

There are several veterinary clinics in Santa Barbara County participating in National Spay/Neuter month by offering low cost spaying and neutering.

Participating Clinics:

Santa Barbara and Goleta

ABC Veterinary Clinic: 564-1464

Artemis Animal Hospital: 569-5997

San Roque Pet Hospital: 682-2647

Santa Barbara Humane Society: 964-4777

VCA Noah’s Ark: 683-7788

Lompoc

St. Francis Veterinary Hospital: 735-8980

Village Veterinary Clinic: 733-3548

West Valley Veterinary Clinic: 736-1238

Santa Maria

Adobe Animal Clinic: 925-1131

All Valley Pet Hospital: 922-0305

Santa Maria Animal Hospital: 925-4059

Santa Maria Valley Humane Society: 349-3435

Santa Ynez Valley

Buellton Veterinary Clinic: 688-2334

Santa Ynez Humane Society: 688-8224

Call today to make your appointment! I’m sure that they will be very happy to hear from you, especially during National Spay/Neuter Month.

Tiger

Adoptable Pet Of the Week: Meet Tiger

This 3 year old, 48 lb., Dutch Shepherd/ Kelpie mix is a handsome boy with lots of energy and a happy disposition. He's a little shy at first but soon you're his best friend and he wants to play. He'll want lots of daily exercise in his new home.

Tiger likes some dogs (he needs more dog-to-dog socialization) and would do well with kids 8 and up. Sorry no cats for this tiger.

You can tell by his happy face, Tiger's looking to be someone's new best friend.

Visit Tiger and all his friends at K-9 PALS at the Santa Barbara County Animal Shelter, 5473 Overpass Road, 805-681-4369 or online at www.k-9pals.org.

February is "Share the Love" month. Save $10 on all adoptions.

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