HISTORY
As we enter 2009 the general public is badly misinformed about the health of dogs, how dogs reproduce and the health effects of early spay and neuter.
EXAMPLES
In 1960 magazines were filled with advertisements featuring doctors speaking about the calming effects and positive contributions of smoking cigarettes. Cigarette companies handed out free samples on college campuses. And Americans thought that was the correct information. Then, as more and more studies were done it became apparent that smoking was not good for you; in fact it was bad for you. It took 25 years but now the truth about smoking is widely known and most people are making an informed decision not to smoke. But without the scientific studies done over and over, the tobacco companies would still prevail.
In 1990 we began to think about global warming but there was not a large body of scientific information to help us do the right things. That has changed, global warming is incontrovertible, and around the world we are working on reversing the problems we have created
And that is where we are with early spay and neuter. The United States is alone among well-educated countries in trying to manage dog population with early and sometimes mandatory spay and neuter programs. In Europe, spay and neuter is not a common procedure at all.
After all, the only dogs that are in any danger of reproducing are those that are, intentionally or unintentionally, placed with dogs of the opposite sex when they are in season. Responsible dog owners keeping their dogs at home are clearly not part of the problem. And most countries affect this issue through education and requiring responsible dog ownership.
CURRENT SITUATION
Dogs have become a huge business in the United States. And with that comes additional attention from drug companies that want to develop new drugs for this market and researchers who are now able to get grants and funding for extensive medical research. One of the areas where a great deal of work has been done in the last three years is on the subject of animal population and early spay and neuter. And the results are extremely interesting. Be sure to go to the health section to see current information.
Angry and uninformed animal rights extremeists have been pushing an agenda of early spay and neuter for years and in the absence of good scientific information, many breeders and owners went along with the practice. Now that we have the information we have a huge job to do to educate the public about this issue. Talking to one another will not make a difference. If you are a pet owner, you need to talk to your neighbors. If you are a breeder, you need to talk to the people who ask you about puppies. If you are a trainer, you need to talk to your clients. If you are a veterinarian, you need to talk to your patients.
SHELTER DOGS
All California municipalities require spay and neuter of all puppies before they leave the shelter. Shelter dogs represent a population where the requirements of society are more important than the health of dogs. Shelters cannot pick and choose among those taking dogs and there is a return rate approaching 50%. Shelter veterinarians and animal control personnel will point to the fact that early spay and neuter doesn’t kill the animals and they are correct. The mortality rate among these puppies is small. The adverse health affects, as noted by those that study these populations, is significant.
EXPERT OPINION
CDOC believes that the experts in this area are those veterinarians and scientists who study and track these populations in controlled environments and whose work is peer reviewed. Unfortunately, there is no specialized training required for those people who work in animal shelters so they are without expertise except what they get anecdotally and on the job. There are veterinary specialties in shelter medicine but they do not include studies of dogs after they leave the shelter.
OUR CHALLENGE
HSUS and PETA and multimillion dollar budgets to promote their agenda which in many of their publications includes the end of dogs as “captives”. Executives of both organizations have a long history of telling us they do not wish to see future generations of dogs.
So we have a big job to do. But we have the facts on our side. Concerned Dog Owners of California is committed to providing members and interested dog lovers with the educational tools to help educate the general public. So please check back often for materials you can use in helping educate the public. We support voluntary spay and neuter. We oppose early spay and neuter - we need to give a puppies a chance for good health.
We do need to have tools to apply to irresponsible people. We need to demand our animal control officers imrpove the enforcement of existing leash laws instead of spending time promoting mandatory spay and neuter. We need to support our animal control officers by passing legislation that targets roaming dogs. Dogs that are repeatedly picked up by animal control need to be altered as they do not have responsible owners.
