Why spay or neuter your animal?

Lately, there has been a tremendous amount of talk on spaying your animal/s. This is because there is becoming a huge problem with over population with cats/dogs. Every town you go to I'm sure a person will see at least one cat or dog wondering the streets. Homeless animals is an affect of not spaying a pet. There are humane societies that will take in cats and dogs, but they can not care for them forever. It is estimated that 6-8 million animals are taken to shelters every year; half of those are adopted out and, unfortunately, the other half are euthanized. http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/pet_overpopulation/facts/why_spay_neuter.html. Euthanasia, simply put, is putting something living painlessly to rest. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/euthanasia

My father is a veterinarian and he has the city pound. The way the system works is that if an animal is picked up in city limits, the animal has 5 days for the owner to come and get his/her pet, then it is euthanized. If the animal is picked up outside the city limits then the animal has 3 days for the owner to come claim him/her. Of all the animals to be brought here, over half are not claimed. If the animal is claimed or adopted, the owner must show proof of a rabies vaccination and the animal has to be spayed/neutered. Many people get angry when they find this out, however, there is nothing wrong with spaying/neutering your cat/dog. When a veterinarian spays/neuters an animal it is for the best interest of the animal and its offspring. You wont have to listen to your female pet when she is in heat trying to find a male mate http://www.pawsperouspets.com/tips/spayneuter.shtml , you wont have to come out in the morning calling the new additions to your household because they have ran off , you wont see them smashed on the highway, and it is less expensive in the long run because you don't have little kittens/puppies running around and scarfing down food.

Many individuals believe that spaying or neutering is going to "break them." This isn't true. Spaying and neutering goes by the animals weight. So be prepared to spend more if you own a Newfoundland then if you owned a Yorkie. There are numerous agencies that provide cuts to there spay/neuter costs, for example, animal shelters will pay half of the spay/neuter cost, if not all of it. So ask around and see what the prices are in your area and do the responsible thing, get your pet spayed/neutered.