World spay day brings awareness about getting pets fixed

It’s a phrase made famous by the hit t.v. show “The Price is Right”….

“Don’t forget to have your pets spayed and neutered.”

That’s what world spay day on Tuesday was all about. The goal: to raise awareness about getting your pets fixed.

The biggest benefit to having animals spayed and neutered is to control the overpopulation in animal shelters.

According to the Humane Society, about 6 to 8 million animals go into a shelter every day. Barely half of those are adopted. The rest are euthanized. Shelters simply can’t care for them all.

“We have so many unwanted pets in our area and the shelter, they do everything they can to find those animals homes, but there aren’t enough homes. And so spaying and neutering is the number one way we can reduce the pet population,” said Dr. Rena Carlson, a vet at the Alpine Animal Clinic in Chubbuck.

There are other benefits to spaying and neutering your pet, besides helping with overcrowding.

“Behavior wise they really are just no longer interested in running off and finding other animals,” said Carlson. “The reproductive behaviors, such as marking territories, are reduced. As well as decreased chance of mammary tumors, as well as reproductive diseases as they age.”

It can prevent cancer in the reproductive organs, as well as other forms of cancer like uterine and prostate. It can also reduce an animal’s risk of developing pyrometra, which is a fatal urine infection.

But time does make a difference.

Vets say the sooner you do it, the better off they are. Most vets recommend doing it at about 4 months. They say it’s a lot easier on the animals the younger they are.

“They recover quicker, the reproductive organs are not as developed, and so we see less complications,” said Carlson.

On average, pets that are spayed and neutered tend to live longer than those that aren’t. It can also save pet owners a lot of money down the road in medical expenses.

“Definitely spay and neuter,” said Carlson. “It really is a great thing and has a lot of benefits.”

One thing the Pocatello Animal Shelter talked about that they found interesting is that Connecticut has a state-wide program for spaying and neutering. As a result, it is the only state whose shelters don’t have an overcrowding problem. Pets are actually pulled in for their shelters.

For more information on how to get your pet spayed and neutered, you can contact your local vet or animal clinic.