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Why neuter or spay your new pet?
Pet overpopulation in Livingston County continues to rise and unfortunately, there is not enough space available to house all of these pets.
Cats and dogs have the unique ability to reproduce several times a year. They can go into heat as early as 5 months
of age - sometimes earlier, and they can have litters several times a year. That is why there is an endless cycle of homeless animals.
Your pet is one of the lucky ones-it has a home!
By neutering or spaying your family pet you can actively help solve the problem of overpopulation. The only way to solve this problem is one pet at a time and, if each of us does our part, we can be successful.
Benefits of neutering or spaying your pet:
- Reduces the urge to wander , thus reducing the chance of becoming lost, getting hit by a car, or getting into a fight.
- Reduces indiscriminate urination (spraying or marking their territory)
- Reduces aggression towards other pets and people, thus saving you potential troublesome encounters with neighbors and acquaintances.
- For females-it helps reduces uterine infections and breast cancer , both which jeopardize your pet's life and are expensive to treat-far more than the initial cost to spay your pet.
- For males-it helps reduce prostate and testicular cancers, along with urinary tract problems that may not be reversible. Again, these jeopardize your pet's life and are expensive to treat-far more than the initial cost to neuter your pet.
- Your license fee will be significantly less for a neutered or spayed dog. Your dog license fee in Livingston County is only $7.00 for an altered dog instead of $25 or more for a dog not altered.
What is HSLC's current position on spay/neuter services?
All animals are spayed and neutered before leaving our shelter as part of the medical care included with every adoption. However, due to limited resources, we are currently not able to offer spay/neuter services to the public. We recommend you consult with your veterinarian to determine the best option for you and your pet. If you are looking for more information or financial support, you may find low cost spay/neuter resources available by searching the internet or SpayUSA.org.
In the past, HSLC has co-sponsored various cost-sharing or discounted spay/neuter programs, as well as organized community education programs to address the topic. Future plans call for more community education and cost-saving spay/neuter programs. HSLC is investigating the possibility of a stray cat /low cost spay/neuter program. In the meantime, animal owners, HSLC, and the community can work together to help alleviate this avoidable problem in our county.
Puppies or kittens are cute-we know you think you found them a "good" home, but when they are not "cute" anymore where will they wind up?
Last Updated 2/23/09