Talking About The Importance Of Spaying And Neutering Pets And The Holiday That Promotes It
Every February, pet lovers around the world celebrate and rejoice in the educational holiday known as Spay And Neuter Awareness Month. As the name suggests, this month-long holiday aims to encourage pet owners to have their pets spayed or neutered. It also serves as a reminder about the importance of spay and neutering and how it affects the dog and cat population across the world.
Spay And Neuter History
While spay and neuter practices were used by farmers and ranchers for their livestock since the early 1900’s, they were not readily accessible to pet owners. It wasn’t until the 1930’s that spay and neuter procedures for pets became a realistic option. The first public spay/neuter clinic didn’t open until 1969 in Los Angeles, California. Finally, in 1972, the A.S.P.C.A. (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) made it mandatory for all pets they adopt out to be either spayed or neutered. This was the beginning of true change for dogs and cats across America.
The Importance Of Spay And Neutering
So why is having your dog or cat spayed or neutered so important? Simply put, because of overpopulation in dogs and cats. Humans successfully domesticated both dogs and cats over centuries of time and effort. The very existence of household dogs and cats is because of human involvement. We created them. Therefore, it is our responsibility to care for them and give them the quality of life they deserve.
The Dog & Cat Overpopulation Crisis
Sadly, the human race has failed to properly control and sustain a healthy population for both dogs and cats. According to statistics provided by the A.S.P.C.A. every year U.S. animal shelters take in 6.3 million dogs and cats. 3.2 million of them are cats and the other 3.1 million are dogs. These numbers are staggeringly high. This country has an overabundance of dogs and cats and not enough people willing and/or capable to take them in.
Why Have A Holiday About It?
The A.S.P.C.A. has revealed that U.S. animal shelters end up euthanizing 920,000 shelter animals every year. Of them, 390,000 are dogs and 530,000 are cats. This is absolutely tragic as most of these animals never even had a chance to flourish or be loved. Spay And Neuter Awareness Month aims to change these horrific numbers. By spaying and neutering our cats and dogs, we can begin to control the cat and dog population. Getting more control over the cat and dog population will help reduce the amount of animals that are forced to enter shelters. Thus, reducing the amount of dogs and cats that are unnecessarily euthanized every year.
How You Can Help
There is no single solution to solving the dog and cat overpopulation crisis. But, spaying and neutering is a step in the right direction. If you are a pet lover, then we implore you to have your cat or dog spayed or neutered. If not for their sake, then for the sake of all the dogs and cats across the world that don’t have a good home. They don’t have to suffer or have their lives cut short so long as we all do the responsible thing as pet owners. Have your dog or cat spayed or neutered and encourage others to do the same. It’s better to be part of the solution than part of the problem.
More Pet Related Articles
This article covered a very serious and sad pet related topic. But, it’s important to discuss these topics so that real change can be made to help solve these problems and crises. If you are interested in reading more pet related articles, both serious and less serious, then check out the blog section of our official Long Island Pet Service website. We post new articles every other week, so be sure to check in with us regularly to stay up-to-date on everything pet related.
