Spay/Neuter: The Answer to the Pet Overpopulation Crisis

My first dog was a purebred standard poodle I named Misty, given to me as a Christmas present by a relative. My mother, a widow with a child to raise, was always trying to figure out how to make extra money, and so she decided to breed Misty. I remember the day we went to the breeder's house to have Misty bred with a pedigreed stud named Brandy. Both dogs were placed on the coffee table while my mother and the breeder casually chatted about everyday matters and I-an embarrassed teenager-tried to look elsewhere. In what I can only call assisted rape, a reluctant Brandy was induced to mount a terrified Misty. I didn't realize it at the time, but that event did more than just impregnate my dog; it also planted the seeds for my future animal advocacy work. Unfortunately, my mother didn't make the money she had hoped from the two litters of puppies Misty eventually produced. She ended up giving most of them away to friends and relatives for free. Even back in the 60s, it was hard for dogs to find homes.

Fast-forward about 35 years. I was wearily driving home after midnight from my evening shift at the hospital when I decided to stop for gas. I pulled into a convenience stop. As I walked towards the door of the outlet to pay for the gas, a handsome black dog with a bear face-a chow, I could see-approached me, curly tail wagging. I stopped and gave him a pat. A few minutes later, while I was filling my tank, he draped his furry body over the concrete island and studied me intently. I asked one of the store clerks if the dog belonged to anyone. He told a sad but all-too-common story: someone had abandoned him there a few days before and the employees had been feeding him ever since. Animal Control had been called, but for some reason they were unwilling to drive out to pick him up. I made a rash decision to take him home. I opened the car door. He jumped in. I named him Mu Shu, or Shu for short.

Our other dogs include Hunny, our sweet chow mix-like Shu, an abandoned "gas station dog", who came to us through a rescue group-and Puppy, a challenging pit bull/border collie cross. Puppy had started out in life as one member of an unwanted litter on its way to certain death at the pound, when a concerned animal lover rescued her. Initially we fostered her and then we decided to adopt her.

Boz, a husky mix and loose cannon if there ever was one, came to our home after being removed from a Dumpster at our county dump. As a skinny, homeless stray, he had crawled into it desperately looking for food and become trapped. I interceded before he was hauled off to the animal shelter.

Of our five cats, four are from the local shelter. Tao, our gentleman tuxedo cat, and Karma the diva, a longhair tortie, were surrendered by their owners as tiny kittens. Circe, a gorgeous blond longhair, and Maya, an affectionate older calico, were on the euthanasia list because they were too frightened to attract potential adopters. Matilda, a playful tortie, was a stray who had been forced to fend for herself in an area populated with hungry coyotes and other raptors. She lost an eye before we decided to take her in.

I'm nuts about all of my pets. They keep me sane and focused in a mad, chaotic world. But what's wrong with this picture?

What's wrong is that no matter how many dogs and cats we save, we can't save them all. Millions of animals are killed each year because there are just too many of them and not enough caring humans. Humans, after all, are responsible for their welfare. But humans allow them to roam and breed, humans abuse them and abandon them, and humans fail to spay or neuter them. Humans perpetuate the cycle of suffering. But they can choose not to.

If you're the guardian of a cat or dog, and you haven't already done so, run, don't walk, to your veterinarian or shelter and have your pet spayed or neutered. Contrary to popular myth, "fixing" an animal does not change its personality or make it sexually frustrated; in fact, it guards against some forms of cancer and behavioral problems.

Whether you're looking for a particular breed or just seeking an animal you can relate to, check out your local shelter and rescue groups. They all have extensive selections of potential adoptees. Or take a needy stray home with you. Or get into fostering and buy some precious time for a worthy animal.

If you're a breeder-whether you're a licensed professional or a backyard breeder who just wants to make a few bucks off the family pet-please think about what you're doing. For every dog or cat you sell, you will be condemning a shelter dog or cat to death. Did you know that fifteen to twenty-five percent of shelter animals are purebreds? Or that thousands of breed rescue groups are kept busy trying to save purebreds that have been abandoned or surrendered to shelters?

One of the reasons for so many homeless animals is puppy mills, hellish places run by thoughtless people who just want to make a profit and have no interest in the welfare of the vast numbers of dogs and cats they breed. The under-staffed USDA, which is responsible for regulating puppy and kitten mills, has often turned a blind eye to even obvious abuses. So they continue to exist, and many animals needlessly suffer and often die at the hands of unscrupulous operators. These often sick, congenitally damaged, undernourished, and neurotic assembly line animals end up in pet stores, where unsuspecting customers buy them.

What about no-kill shelters? Can't they take care of all the excess animals? No-kill shelters, which have been springing up all over the country, are noble endeavors, but they are limited in how many animals they can care for. They are not the answer to pet overpopulation.

Many dedicated animal lovers work or volunteer at animal shelters and rescue organizations, where they confront painful issues like euthanasia as well as animal abuse and neglect every day. For my money, they have the hardest work on the planet. I'm sure they would love to see their jobs become extinct in a future world that is more compassionate and sensible about animals. But that can only happen if every one of us animal lovers takes responsibility for our pets by limiting their numbers.