Dispelling Spay and Neuter Clinic Myths

A spay and neuter clinic will often be put into the position of dispelling many of the myths people have about sterilizing their pets. Because there is a mass failure in this country to do such a thing, pounds and SPCA offices are inundated with animals that no one wants and no one will care for. Here is some truth to counteract the fallacies.

A spay and neuter clinic will often be put into the position of dispelling many of the myths people have about sterilizing their pets. Because there is a mass failure in this country to do such a thing, pounds and SPCA offices are inundated with animals that no one wants and no one will care for. Strays become a problem in neighborhoods and a generally bad situation is made worse by the mere presence of misinformation. If you've heard that doing this for your pets is a bad thing, you may have been subject to these myths yourself. Here is some truth to counteract the fallacies.

One of the most prevalent myths a spay and neuter clinic is likely to hear on any given day is the one where you should let your pets have a litter first before they are fixed. The amateur science concludes that this is healthier for the pets, but real science disagrees with this claim. In fact, it has been shown in studies that the opposite is likely to be true. Pets will live healthier lives if they never give birth. When the animals are fixed early in their lives, it drastically reduces the chances of certain cancers and infections from taking root later in life. This information, of course, is only relevant to female animals. No science has yet come forth to show that fixing a male dog or cat will do anything to prevent reproductive disease.

Of course, a myth that is propagated more often than any other is that of the great personality change. Many people will urge their friends not to take pets into a spay and neuter clinic because of the supposed drastic changes that will be inflicted on their dogs and cats. Much of this is completely false. As humans, we have a tendency to imbue our pets with various anthropomorphisms to make sense out of their lives. When we see a dog act a certain way, we ascribe a human emotion to the act. Most of the time, these attributions are nothing but nonsense. Getting fixed may cut down on aggressiveness and in-home urinating, but it will not create these vast personality changes.

Finally, while not necessarily a myth, per se, one reason some pet owners use to put off taking their animals to a spay and neuter clinic is the expense. While any veterinary procedure is going to come with some costs, it's important to weigh those costs accurately against the costs of not doing it. If a pet gives birth, seeing it through the procedure could easily cost as much or more than the sterilization process. This is to say nothing about reproductive diseases which can cost a lot of money and will certainly cost you a great deal of emotional stress.

Article Tags: Neuter Clinic