February is Spay/Neuter Awareness Month, and it’s that time of year where our unaltered furry friends start going into heat. As such, we wanted to take the time to discuss this very important animal welfare issue.
About Spay/Neuter
As a service to our adopters, we provide free neutering services with every adoption. To help ensure that there are enough homes for all pets, the Humane Society of Broward County offers low cost neutering for the public’s furry friends.
Thanks to this service, we play an active, important role in reducing the number of homeless animals born by offering low cost surgery to spay or neuter dogs and cats.
Is your pet spayed or neutered? Here are some reasons to consider a spay/neuter surgery…
- Your pet will live a longer, healthier life
- Spaying a female helps prevent pyometra, which is a life-threatening infection of the uterus.
- Spaying helps prevent uterine and ovarian cancer.
- By spaying before the first heat cycle, there will be almost no risk of mammary cancer. Breast cancer can be fatal in 50% of female dogs and in 90% of female cats.
- Neutering a male prevents or reduces testicular cancer, depending on age.
- Neutering also reduces prostate problems, perianal tumors, and hernias later in life.
- Your spayed female will not go into heatFemale felines usually go into heat 4-5 days every 3 weeks during breeding season. During this time, they will often yowl and urinate more frequently, sometimes all over the house.
- Un-spayed female dogs generally have a bloody discharge for about a week, and they can conceive for another week or so.
- Your pet will be less likely to roam away from homeUn-neutered animals will do almost anything to search out a mate, including jumping their fences. Unfortunately, most animals that are hit by cars are un-neutered.
- While out roaming, they can come into contact with strays, picking up their diseases. They are also more likely to get into fights, possibly resulting in large vet bills.
- Your pet will be much better behavedUn-neutered pets may mark their territories by spraying strong-smelling urine all over the house.
- Indoors, un-neutered male dogs may embarrass you by mounting on furniture and human legs when stimulated.
- Many aggression problems can be avoided by early neutering. Aggressive behaviors are not typically learned before sexual maturity (4-5 months), which makes this the ideal time to neuter your pet.
- Spaying or neutering is highly cost effectiveThe cost of your pet’s spay or neuter surgery is a lot less than the cost of having and caring for an unplanned litter.
- As mentioned earlier, the cost of a spay or neuter surgery also beats the cost of treatment when your un-neutered dog or cat escapes and gets into fights with neighborhood strays or the cost of cleaning the carpet that your un-spayed female cat keeps mistaking for her litterbox, etc.
We strive to make this service affordable to all community members. Prices start at $15.00 for kittens 8 – 12 weeks and vary depending on different criteria. The clinic is staffed by licensed professional veterinarians, veterinary technicians and veterinary assistants.
Learn more about our Low Cost Spay/Neuter.
