Importance of taking care of your pets

Importance+of+taking+care+of+your+pets

Hannah Brosius, Contributing Writer

My name is Hannah Brosius, I’m a student at Imagine and I am in West-MEC’s veterinary program. All students who are involved in any of the health programs in West-MEC are automatically members of Health Occupation Students Of America (HOSA). All members have the opportunity to compete in different events that offer a chance for students to build on their leadership skills. Guinevere Anderson and I are participating in this year’s spring conference to compete in the Community Awareness Competition. In this competition, each group gets to pick a topic in which they think is important for their community to be educated on and try to get the word out. Guinevere and I  agreed that animals are extremely important to the both of us and so we chose the most common issue seen in the animal community.

The Importance of Spaying/Neutering

Each year shelters all over the US accept six to eight million dogs and cats. Though dogs and cats are the most loved and owned type of pet, they are overpopulating. There is such an excessive amount, that shelters have no choice but to euthanize animals for more space. More than 2.7 million healthy dogs and cats are euthanized each year. How can you help?

As an owner, you should be a good pet parent. This means going to the vet every six months to a year, taking time to enrich your pet, and spaying/neutering. Sterilizing your animal will help prevent any more litters being born and it can even benefit your pet’s lifespan.

Medical Issues

Females and males are more receptive to different diseases/conditions if not spayed, reducing their lifespan and even their quality of life. One of the most common conditions seen in female animals is called Pyometra. Pyometra is an infection within the uterus that if not treated immediately, can cause death. Other common conditions found in unspayed females are mammary gland tumors, prolapsed uterus, and ovarian cysts.

The most common conditions found in unneutered males are benign prostatic hyperplasia and testicular cancer. Benign prostatic hyperplasia is a benign overgrowth in the prostate gland making the prostate enlarged. Testicular cancer is when a form of cancer develops within the testicle. If protecting your animal isn’t motivation enough, sterilizing your pet can have behavioral benefits as well.

Behavioral Issues

When intact, animals’ main responsibility is reproducing to keep their species alive, so whether or not their owner is telling them not to do something, they are going to listen to their instincts. Sterilizing your pet is good for their health but it’s also going to help their behavior. Most female behavior issues are related to heat, when spaying, their heat cycle  is completely eliminated.

Male animals are different because they have to fight to show they are the best for reproduction. Most common behavior issues are:

  • Running away
  • Urinating in the house and marking their territory
  • Mounting other animals, people, and inanimate objects
  • Aggression
  • Howling
  • Dominance related behavior

Neutering can help eliminate these behaviors. The longer you wait, the harder it’ll be to break these habits. Just sterilizing wont make these issues magically disappear but with training it will stop. The best time to sterilize your dog is six to nine months, and cats should be sterilized within eight weeks. If costs is an issue there are many ways to get help.

Costs

The average cost of spaying/neutering your pet is $200. By doing it within the recommended time frames, you can reduce the costs down the line. Refusing to spay/neuter can eventually add up to thousands of dollars due to the conditions that your pets are more prone to develop. If costs are a major concern in your family, there are many places that are willing to help out so you can give your pet a better life!

Other Ways To Help

If you don’t own a pet or you are interested in more ways to help, here is a list of things you can do for our animal community:

  • Donate to your local animal shelter
  • Volunteer at your local animal shelter
  • Adopt Not Shop

There are so many ways that you as a citizen can help animals in shelters. Sterilizing doesn’t just reduce overpopulation but it also provides a happier home and a happier life for you and your pet. Help out your animal community and adopt not shop!

Citations

Ovarian Cysts. (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2018, from https://g.co/kgs/BNQQo7

 

Farricelli, A. J. (2016, November 15). Behaviors of Intact Female Dogs. Retrieved February 25, 2018, from

https://pethelpful.com/dogs/Behaviors-of-Intact-Female-Dogs

 

Orchiectomy. (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2018, from https://g.co/kgs/j2HGvb

 

Testicular Tumors in Dogs and Cats | BluePearl Vet. (2016, July 18). Retrieved February 25, 2018, from

https://bluepearlvet.com/medical-articles/tumors-of-the-testicles/

 

Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Programs. (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2018, from

https://www.petfinder.com/cats/cat-health/low-cost-spay-neuter/

 

Facts Statistics: Pet statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2018, from

https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-pet-statistics

 

Dictionary.com. (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2018, from http://www.dictionary.com/

 

Pesavento, M. (2013, November 21). Common and Emerging Infectious Diseases in the Animal

Retrieved from http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0300985813511129

 

Pyometra in Dogs. (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2018, from

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/pyometra-in-dogs

 

“PetMD, LLC.” PetMD, www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/cancer/c_dg_mammary_gland_tumor.

 

Uterine Prolapse: Risk Factors, Symptoms, and Diagnosis. (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2018,

from https://www.healthline.com/health/uterine-prolapse