February is National Spay-Neuter Month

By Lauren Masellas Sanford News Guest Columnist

Thursday, February 17, 2011

February is National Spay-Neuter Month, which means there is no better time than now to get your pet "fixed."

For the record, the term "spay" refers to surgically removing the reproductive organs of a female animal. The term "neuter" refers to removing the reproductive organs of a male animal. Many people simply use the term "fixed" or "altered" to indicate that an animal has been rendered incapable of producing young.

But no matter what you call it — and despite the fact that there is no current law requiring it — spaying or neutering is one of the most important health care items you can provide your pet. And here are some great reasons why!


The rest of the article


This article highlights some of the things we hear as to why a pet is not spayed or neutered. A few things I didn't see:


"it'll make my pet fat"  - your pet's metabolism, especially if it's a puppy or kitten - WILL go down as they mature no matter what and a spay/neuter can cause a decrease in metabolism - but I have seen plenty of FAT, unspayed or unneutered pets! You have to adjust the calorie intake to suit your animals breed, activity level, etc.  


"it'll change their personality" - well, maybe - for the better - they are generally calmer nicer pets to have and have a much lower likelihood of having aggressive tendencies (esp true for some dog breeds)


"she's so sweet, I'd like a pup from her" - yeah, so are A LARGE number of pets in shelters and foster homes


Look for a shift back to some medical or surgical educational stuff and  a few stories from the "front lines."