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Spay/Neuter
According to the Humane Society of the United States...
Five million dogs and cats are killed yearly in U.S. shelters!
That is 13,800 every day or 575 dogs and cats killed every hour, 24/7. And that doesn't include the number of
cats and dogs that die in less humane ways - being hit by a car, shot, poisoned, starvation, killed by other animals, etc.
In six years, one female dog and her off spring can theoretically be the
source of 67,000 dogs.
Benefits of Spaying/Neutering:
First and foremost, you're preventing the birth of unwanted litters.
Your dog will be healthier. Females that have been spayed have a lower occurance of breast cancers
and uterine infections. Males experience a lower incidence of prostate cancer. On average, a spayed/neutered pet
lives longer than their intact counterparts.
Your dog will NOT become overweight or lazy due to spay/neuter. The causes of obesity and laziness
are overfeeding and underexercising you dog.
You help decrease the tendency for your dog to roam away from home if you spay/neuter.
Websites Detailing the Facts About Early Spay/Netuer:
From Dr. Shawn's weekly column The Holistic Pet, distributed by Knight
Ridder
News Service.
Dear Dr. Shawn: "What is your opinion of the new shot that can be used
to neuter dogs? I prefer to avoid surgery if possible but want to know if this drug would be as effective as surgery."
A:"Recently the medication called Neutersol (Zinc Gluconate)
was approved as a non-surgical option for neutering puppies ages 3 to 10 months of age. The medication is injected into the
testicles with a small needle. According to a press release, Neutersol is 99.6% effective in achieving sterilization.
During testing, puppies, ages 3 to 10 months, were injected with Neutersol.
Complete physical exams were conducted at three
days, two months, and six months post-injection. Mild, temporary swelling of the testicles was an expected reaction to the
injection noticed within 24-48 hours after injection. Other side effects included vomiting, anorexia, lethargy, diarrhea,
scrotal pain and inflammation. While Neutersol appears highly effective, it is not 100% effective as is surgical neutering.
I find it difficult to believe that the normal puppy will hold still when placed on its back during testicular injection.
In my practice, it's rare to find a quiet puppy! I believe many of these puppies will require chemical sedation to minimized
trauma to the testicles during the injection. Also, by leaving the testicles in the puppy there is still a risk of prostate
and testicular disease later in life. By removing the testicles during surgical neutering, we can avoid future disease in
most cases. At this point I am still recommending surgical neutering."
Chemcial Castration Using Neutersol
Chemical Castration ala Neutersol
To read more on the topic of spay/neuter, please visit the following
site:
The Animal Fund Spay/Neuter Page
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Heartworm Prevention
Heartworm is a mosquito-transmitted disease that can be FATAL to
your dog.
General Information from HeartwormSociety.Org
Reported cases of Heartworm
in your area: (Keep in mind, sometimes only 60-70% of vets and clinics are reporting. That's a lot of unreported
cases of heartworm infestation.) Residents of Gulf Coast states are especially susceptible to heartwom, so get
your pets tested and please maintain a monthly heartworm prevention regimen!
Just look at these numbers...
Heartworm Occurances Nationwide
ABTR Dogs with Heartworms
Depending on the grade of heartworm infestation, our dogs that undergo
treatment will be with us anywhere from 4 weeks to several months. (Grades 1-4, with one being the mildest case.)
All dogs who are being treated for heartworms must be kept calm (which
means being confined) for a period of at least 4 weeks. Six weeks in more severe cases. During this
time, the dogs are kept crated except for potty breaks. No playtime, no walks, no exercise.
The reason for this is after the first heartworm treatment is administered,
the worms will start to 'break up'. Excitement in the dog will cause an increase in heart rate, which in turn causes
increased blood flow and could result in an embolism, as the pieces of worm have not yet fully dissolved.
Dogs who are crate trained usually find this confinement much more bearable
than dogs that are not crate trained. (Yet another reason to crate train your pet.)
While there is more than one way to treat heartworms, this is our preferred
method.
Here is a useful link on the subject of heartworms:
And remember: Heartworms are EASY to prevent!
Just one pill a month can keep this killer from claiming the life of your dog.
Heartworm preventives
include: Interceptor: Prevents hookworm infestations as well as heartworms. Monthly. Ivermectin: Excellent control
of hookworms and roundworms as well as heartworms. Monthly. Filarbits Plus: Contraindicated
if microfilariae are already present in blood. Controls hook, round, and whip worms to some extent. Can be used in puppies 8 weeks or older. Daily.
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**We DO NOT use Sue Sternberg's Assess-A-Pet or any other extreme
temperament tests on our dogs.
If we used her methods to test Boston Terriers, who are usually
highly stressed in a shelter environment, most of the Bostons that we have been able to save and place would be dead dogs
instead of beloved dogs in new homes. That is where rescue comes into the equation and gets them out of that environment and
into a home and then see how they unwind over a few days to see their true temperment while interacting with a family and
not in a pandemonium of loud noises, rough handling, strange smells, and fear. So many of my babies would have been killed
for being too timid, too food aggressive from starvation, too fear aggressive, too hyperactive, too something and they would
not have reached their new homes and be the beloved dogs they are today so we DO NOT USE NOR DO WE RECOMMEND THIS METHOD OF
TESTING!
"Outside of a dog, a book is probably man's
best friend; Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx
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