Today is the day internationally known as Spay Day - a time to remind everyone how important it is to spay/neuter your pets. In truth, every day is spay day, for each time an animal is bought/adopted/found it should be spayed as soon as it is old enough. If everyone did this, the overpopulation problem would be nonexistent.
In Puerto Rico we know all too well the effects of not spaying animals - the number of unneutered dogs roaming the island is over 100,000. Many of these animals were pets or born to pets and discarded, and it is the responsibility of the humans to help stop this problem.
We have heard all of the excuses ranging from "I just wanted her to have one litter" to "it is not healthy for him to be neutered", but the one that makes me most angry is that a dog is less "valuable" when it is neutered, that a whole animal is a prized animal and a neutered animal is worthless. These dogs are allowed to roam and mate and no one thinks about the offspring that end up suffering.
What can you do? Each one of us should do our part to educate. If you have a friend that has an unneutered animal, take the time to talk to them about it - use the information on our website or others to talk about health benefits and over population statistics. Teach your children the same, we have a variety of fun activities on our web page that can help you. If you are able, consider sponsoring a spay for a shelter dog.
In these economic times, paying for spay/neuter surgery may be out of reach for many. Find out about low cost options, which are available in most every community. Understand that if you take on the responsibility of owning a pet that this expense is part of that responsibility, and seek out a resource to help you. For Puerto Rico we provide an extensive list of low cost options which can be found here. In other parts of the US, please visit Spay USA for a clinic near you.
You can make a difference.
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