World Spay/Neuter day 2021
25 February 2021
To spay or not to spay? It is a question you can see quite often on social media - with more and more people turning to social media to ask questions regarding their pet's health and whether their animal should undergo the knife…
In our eyes it is a simple 'yes' to neutering. Just by neutering your beloved pets you can rule out so many unwanted health issues later.
In rescue, you get to see the good and the bad, many of the animals that come through our gates unfortunately are not neutered - it still seems to be one of those things people question about doing.
In February 2021, we had the heart-breaking case of a middle-aged dog being signed over in an emergency after it was rushed to the vets showing signs of pyometra (a cystic, infected uterus).
Unable to afford the surgery, the dog was signed over to PACT by her owners. Our amazing vet team worked tirelessly to help this dog but unfortunately she did not survive.
It was heart-breaking and preventable. No dog should die from something that is preventable, it felt so unfair.
The statements we hear so often are:
We do not have the money.
We do not want to take our animals instincts away.
I do not want to put my animal through unnecessary surgery.
I like the look of my dog the way it is.
I am scared about the surgery.
All these things are about the owner, not the animal. After seeing many animals suffer from health-related issues when not neutered we are urging you to please book your pet in, for their sake.
Did you know you can get vouchers for neutering?
- Cats Protection do £5 or £10 neutering vouchers depending on your area.
- RSPCA do vouchers, you just have to enter their postcode checker.
- PDSA do vouchers.
Neutering can help reduce behavioural issues, as it reduces the testosterone levels in male animals. An unneutered animal can be dominant which can turn to aggression from surges of testosterone.
What you may call an unnecessary surgery now, could prevent an even bigger surgery later in your dog’s/animal’s life.
Emergency surgery to remove a cystic, infected uterus is a dangerous life-threatening condition that could be stopped by a basic routine operation which removes the animal’s ovaries and uterus. But it is not just female animals that can suffer from not being neutered male animals are at higher risk of testicular cancer and prostate problems.
Neutering also stops any unwanted/accidental breeding, in many cases of accidental breeding its two different breeds of dogs which can cause complications during birth depending on how big mum dog is. If those complications did occur, it can become an expensive vet visit and emergency surgery for mum to have a caesarean.
If mum successfully gives birth and raises her pups well, you then have puppies you need to safely rehome into a suitable forever home. Hoping all pups are healthy - if not then its more vet bills and the added worry that you may need to take over the role of mum to help a pup survive.
Neutering is now a routine operation in vet practices, vets know what they are doing, they have trained for years. Please listen to your vet. If you are concerned, ask for a second vet opinion. Do not ask untrained people on social media that like to scare monger.
When we can prevent our animals suffering shouldn’t we jump at the choice to keep them safe?
