An Article You Must Read

Sterilizing pets is not a priority for new owners.

Check out this article.

The survey cited in this article is the first large-scale effort to quantify the actions and perceptions of pet owners and non-owners relating to spay/neuter, pet overpopulation, and adoption of pets from shelters and rescue organizations.

Educating people about animal welfare must be one of our top priorities. Legislation is also key, but the national survey in this article reveals 3 important facts:

1. “Despite campaigns encouraging sterilization to reduce pet overpopulation, and despite expanding options for low-cost spay/neuter surgeries, nearly half of people who have acquired unsterilized pets in the last year haven’t fixed them.”

2. “Many pet owners are unaware of the scope of overpopulation: 62 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds and 47 percent of 55-plus respondents estimated shelters euthanize fewer than 1 million animals annually; 28 percent put the euthanasia number at 100,000 or less.” In fact, the Humane Society of the United States estimates that 4 million animals are killed in our shelters each year. And that number could be on the low end because there is no national system for tracking the amount of animals that are killed in our shelters.

3. “Southerners and the under-35 set are the least likely to sterilize their pets. … 42 percent of people who recently got a pet did no prior research, formal or informal.”

And we all know what happens when people don’t spay and neuter their pets…

Grace, a Sheltie mix, and her seven puppies made it out of a high-kill shelter in Memphis, Tennessee, at the last minute two days ago thanks to two very dedicated rescuers, Holly and Jill. One of Grace’s puppies was just too weak and died last night while in foster care.

Grace and her puppies will be up for adoption soon. Applications can be made by emailing Jill at dogscats6@yahoo.com .

And you can contribute to the enormous costs of caring for this momma and her babies by contacting their vet:

Dyer County Animal Hospital
410 Hwy 51 ByPass W
Dyersburg, TN 38024

731-285-2043

vet clinic contacts: Jessica Harrison & Amy Campbell