National Empty the Shelters Day is sponsored by the Bissell Foundation with the goal of finding loving homes for animals in shelters. You can make a difference by adopting a pet from your local shelter, or by having your own female pet spayed or male pet neutered to prevent even one more litter.
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Thousands of puppies and kittens are surrendered to animal shelters during the spring and summer months. Many of them will never even have a chance for adoption because there just are not enough homes for them all. That’s a good reason to have your dog or cat spayed or neutered, but it’s not the only reason.
Spaying a female pet can protect her from certain health problems, like uterine infections, and even breast cancer, which has a fatality rate of fifty percent for dogs and ninety percent for cats. Neutering your male pet can offer protection from testicular cancer. Spaying and neutering offer the most health benefits if done before the animal is six months old.
Spaying your female pet will prevent her from going into heat, so she will not be attracting unneutered males. Neutering your male pet will help to keep him from roaming and getting into fights with other male animals.
If you’re concerned that spaying or neutering will make your pet fat, you should know that the surgery does not cause weight gain. Pets become overweight for the same reason we do – they eat too much and don’t get enough exercise.
You may be concerned about the expense of having your pet spayed or neutered. But the cost of taking care of a litter of puppies or kittens can be up to ten times as expensive, when you count the cost for food, cleaning supplies, veterinary care, and (for kittens) litter. It turns out that spaying and neutering is actually cost-effective.
Having your pet spayed or neutered is good for your pet and good for you and your budget. It’s also good for your community because it means fewer puppies and kittens born and helps reduce overcrowding at your local shelter.
Another way to help is to adopt a shelter animal. Today is National Empty the Shelters Day. You can adopt a new forever friend for only $25 and Bissell Pet Foundation will sponsor the remaining fee. So visit Metro Animal Shelter in Tuscaloosa, or a shelter in your community, to help Empty the Shelters today!
It’s just one more way you can become part of the solution to the tragedy of pet overpopulation, when you’re speaking of pets.
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