Spay & Neuter

Most people have no excuse not to spay and neuter their pets. If you plan on breeding and you are not doing it to better the breed standard and are doing it to earn a little extra money or because you just love your pet - you should not be breeding. A lot of bad things can happen during whelping and if you don't know about your pets' genetic traits, you could pass on some dangerous traits to the babies which could give them complications later on in life. These complications could potentially bring heartache to the pet's family.

Neutering will prevent your male pet from getting testicular cancer, will help prevent roaming, marking, and other unwanted behaviors that come along with the testosterone. Spaying your female will ensure that she will not suffer from pyometra (infection of the uterus), uterine cancer, and will greatly reduce the risk of mammory cancer! With all these benefits, it is hard to understand why so many people still fail to spay & neuter their pets!

If you let your pets breed so you or your family can witness the miracle of birth - well why not just sign up to be a foster parent for a pregnant dog or cat? That way your family can still witness this "miracle", plus you would be helping an animal in need, instead of just adding to the overpopulation problem! Everyone wins!

Neutering in Fort Dodge, Iowa can cost you anywhere from $35-$100. Spaying can cost $50-$150. If you cannot afford to do so, then you might want to rethink adopting an unaltered pet. The Humane Society spays and neuters all of its animals over the age of 6 months before adopting them out. If you would consider an older pet, you would not have to worry about getting the pet spayed or neutered. If you already have an unaltered pet and want to get it spayed or neutered and need assistance, please contact us. We will do our best to help you or refer you to an organization that can. The most important thing is for us to help stop the cycle. We cannot keep up with all the homeless animals in need in our area. If more people spayed and neutered their pets then the number of unwanted animals would decrease drastically.

In 2004 we saw over 70 kittens come through the shelter. Sadly, several of the kittens died. Many of them had a really rough start in life. Had their mothers been fixed the babies would not have suffered. We ended up with bunches of kittens that needed to be spayed and neutered. If the owners would have spayed the 16 or so female cats before they got pregnant, it would have saved a lot of lives, and in turn, we would have had more money and space to help other animals in need.

Most people do not know that a cat can have her first litter at the age of five months! Just one litter means that more good homes will need to be found. It is easier finding homes for the kittens but then our adult cats miss out on a possible home!

our shelter does not euthanize animals but the city pound does. Many animals die because of the pet overpopulation, even here in Fort Dodge, Iowa. That is a reality that many people do not know, or do not care to face.

Just one litter helps perpetuate the homeless pet over population. Watch this video to see how it effects the babies you bring into this world.

If your pets are already spayed and neutered - THANK YOU! Please encourage your friends and family to do the same responsible thing.

Back To the Articles