by Suzyn Barron, President of Warwick Valley Humane Society, Inc.
February is Spay/Neuter Awareness Month! The slogan is “Don’t let two become twenty, spay/neuter now! February is also Responsible Pet Owners Month and National Prevent a Litter Month. How many ways can we say the same thing to get the point across? The numbers do not lie. In one year, 12-18 kittens can be born from one cat. A dog can produce 12 to 20 puppies in one year. Do the math for subsequent years and you hit hundreds to thousands. And people wonder why shelters are always full. Back yard breeders, craigslist and puppy mills are a business where animals suffer. Both are looking to make money at the animal’s expense. They do not take their “sold” animals back.
In New York the Puppy Mill Pipeline Act prohibits retail pet shops from selling, leasing, or transferring ownership of dogs, cats, or rabbits. Pet stores may still partner with registered, nonprofit animal rescue organizations to showcase animals available for adoption. Violators of the Puppy Mill Pipeline Act may be subject to enforcement action by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), which could include penalties of up to $1,000 per violation. Unfortunately, people will always find a way to circumvent the law. Locally there is a person who sells puppies for a pet store in New Jersey. This person advertises them and brokers the deal but doesn’t breed them so therefore, does not require a pet dealer license.
But back to spaying and neutering. I was recently told by a person that she does not believe in spaying or neutering animals. The only reason can be that this person intends to back yard breed that dear dog. Or the person who feels that humans have no right to interfere with nature during a TNR project and that cats should be able to repeatedly procreate. Both individuals have no clue as to the stress these animals are being subjected to and the suffering and deaths that could and should be prevented. Female dogs and cats often end up with pyometra, a fatal uterine infection if left untreated which requires emergency surgery, in addition to mammary tumors and other cancers. Male dogs and cats are prone to testicular cancer. Males are always on the hunt for females in heat causing behavior problems of roaming and aggression, marking and yowling.
There are low cost spay-neuter clinics for both canines and felines so there is no excuse not to get it done. Some towns subsidize a certificate program especially for cats at minimal cost to the caregiver. People need to put aside their feelings and do the right thing for the animal. If you feed a stray cat, fix that cat before you end up with many more. Neighborhoods need to work together, pool their finances and fix the stray or feral cat issue through TNR – trap-neuter-return. It’s a proven humane method of preventing overpopulation and other nuisance issues. Being a pet caregiver comes with the responsibility for the pet’s well-being for the pet’s lifetime. And that responsibility includes spaying and neutering. Oh and,
“PREVENTING LITTERS is CHEAPER than FUNDING SHELTERS!
Pets of the week:
Cat adoption applications are available at wvhumane.org or call 845-986-2473 for more information.
