Welcome to the third post of the Hip Hounds Blog! Today is Friday and we are all excited for the weekend! A few of us Hip Hounders will be attending the Woofstock at Waterloo event this Saturday. We hope to see some of you there! It should be a really fun event for everyone.
Fox is 17 weeks old this week and today is "the" day; he is getting neutered! Like all of us dog parents I am a little nervous about leaving my little boy at the vet clinic all day. He will be put under anesthesia and cut open! He may cry when he wakes up! I must be rational and assure myself that everyone at the vet clinic is competent and can handle any situation that may arise while my boy is on the table.
I have participated in hundreds, possibly thousands of spays and neuters over my career with animals. I have given pre-anesthetic drugs, gassed them down, placed IV catheters, monitored them during surgery, and supervised recoveries. I know exactly what goes on and how it is done. I know he will be fine and the procedure will go well but it is still hard to ignore the motherly side of myself.
Spaying and neutering is routine to me and is required for animals in my household. Spaying and neutering dramatically decreases an animal’s risk for certain cancers and other reproductive related health problems. It benefits the animal and our society. Countless litters of puppies and kittens are born every day. There are not enough homes for all of them and not enough resources to care for them all. I have spent time in animal rescue and have seen the results of people not taking responsibility for their animals. Education is key. Some people just don’t know what could happen to their beloved pet if they are left intact. Some people have no idea what goes on in animal shelters across the country; if they knew it might change their mind on spending that extra money to get their puppy or kitten spayed or neutered.
Well enough of my ranting on spaying and neutering! Have a great weekend and I will post again next week!
Ed Wood Woof!
-Megan