More Reasons to Spay/Neuter

You’ve heard it said over and over again: “Spay and neuter your pets.”

And you’ve heard the most common reason:

Control the Pet Population / Stop Unwanted Pregnancies

There are more dogs and cats that need homes than there are homes willing to adopt dogs and cats. This is preventable with sterilization, but this is not the only reason to spay/neuter.

Two additional examples of why non-breeding animals ought to be spayed/neutuered came to the Cuyahoga Falls Veterinary Clinic within a week.

Our first example was the female dog with an infection of her uterus, called a pyometra. Any female with heat cycles is at risk for pyometra. Pyometras make dogs very, very sick, and if left untreated, will lead to death. Spayed females cannot experience pyometras.

Additionally, this female had a mass involving one of her ovaries, as seen in the photo above. It was slightly smaller than a baseball. Spayed females cannot experience ovarian masses.

Our second example was the male with a tumor in one of his testicles. Some testicular tumors are malignant, others are benign. None of them are healthy. Neutered males cannot experience testicular tumors.

In the photos below, it is evident that there is mass because of the size difference from right to left. In the far right-hand photo, the testicles have been cross-sectioned and the mass can been seen within the testicle. These are preventable!

A third example that we see with some degree of regularity is the female that experienced at least one heat cycle, usually several, and subsequently developed mammary masses. Spaying before a first heat cycle reduces the risk of mammary cancer to near-zero percent. There aren’t many guarantees in life, but spaying before a first heat cycle to prevent mammary cancer is as close as we’ll get.

The ratio of malignant mammary masses to benign mammary masses is about 50/50 in dogs (80/20 in cats!). Why run the risk?

Our goal is to promote the quality-of-life of your pet, and by extension, you. Avoiding avoidable diseases fits into this philosophy. If you know that your pet is not going to breed, spay/neuter at 6 months of age and prevent the preventable!

Not all veterinary clinics and animal hospitals are the same. Spays and neuters are surgical procedures that require general anesthesia and appropriate anesthetic monitoring. We encourage you to seek a veterinary clinic that will provide all that your pet needs. Ask questions of your veterinarian and make sure you feel comfortable with their procedures. Curious about what your pet will experience when she/he is with us for spay/neuter? Take a trip through the day with us, and call us at 330-929-3223 with any questions or to schedule a visit.