The miracle of birth

So, you’ve heard it’s better for your pet to have a litter before bring spayed or neutered. Or, maybe you want your children to experience the miracle of life close up, so you allow your cat or dog to have just one litter. You don’t understand what all the fuss is about. You know everyone who will take one of your kittens or puppies will give them a good home. All those other irresponsible pet owners are the problem, not you.

The truth is once you allow your pet to reproduce you are the problem. The “one litter” myth was dispelled long ago. According to the American Veterinarian Medical Association (AVMA):

The population of dogs and cats in the United States currently exceeds the capacity of our society to care and provide homes for them as companion animals. As a result, millions do not have homes and are euthanatized annually by animal control agencies, humane organizations, and veterinarians in private practice. Dogs and cats that are not adopted can become victims of trauma, starvation, or disease. The AVMA concludes that dog and cat population control is a primary welfare concern of our society.

Spaying and neutering is the solution. Every dog, cat and rabbit at the Town Lake Animal Center is the result of someone who believed it was important to have “just one litter”, wanted their children to experience the miracle of birth, didn’t realize how expensive it is to properly care for a pet with regular vet visits and sterilization, or in a much smaller group, just didn’t care. Every new pet owner accepts the initial responsibility of caring for the animal, but sometimes things happen. People lose jobs, get pregnant, move, the list of reasons not to continue to accept that responsibility goes on and on.

So, while you allow your pet to have just one litter, you ultimately have no control over the offspring after they leave your possession. It is more likely than not that there are animals at the TLAC that are a direct result of your choice to have “just one litter”. Since there is not enough room for all the animals, the city budget provides a solution: euthanasia. Now, you have not only not accepted responsibility for your pet, the city has appropriated everyone’s tax dollars to pay for your actions. They tell you right on their website:

The shelter takes full responsibility for animals that are brought in. Animals brought in to the shelter may eventually be:

* Reclaimed by their owner (strays are held a minimum of 3 days)
* Adopted to a new family
* Transferred to one of our Partner Organizations, or
* Humanely euthanized

The decisions made about what will happen with a specific animal depend upon the information we have about the animal, the health and behavior of the animal, and the space available at the shelter at that time.

More than 12,000 animals are euthanized every year in Austin. If you are not spaying and/or neutering your pets you are the problem. There will always be professional breeders supplying kittens and puppies to the public. Some are good and some are not. We don’t need to worry about running out of animals, and your contribution to the effort is unwarranted and unnecessary. Now if we could only get those breeders licensed and inspected by the state like every other profession, but that’s another issue.

Now that you understand the consequences of your actions, we hope you will be a part of the solution by spaying and neutering your pets. And, to help you explain the miracle of life to your children, we have a short video you can share: