Rescue a pet and save a life: Editors note

http://www.playthismag.com                                                                editor@playthismag.com

February is national Spay/Neuter month and with that in mind I would like to just give you some simple reason why you should adopt a pet rather than purchase one from a pet store.

Myths and Facts about this process

There are many myths about canine reproductive needs. Chiefly among these are the suspicion that neutering turns a male into a sissy and spaying causes a female to get fat and to lament her lost capacity.

The truth is that male dogs, especially those with a submissive personality, are usually better pets if they are neutered. They may have less desire to roam, to mark territory (including furniture), and, if neutered before sexual maturity, they may be less likely to exert dominance over family members. They may also be healthier pets: no testicles means no testicular cancer.

A word of caution, however. Neutering a dog reduces production of testosterone but does not eliminate this hormone. Thus a neutered dog, especially if he has a dominant character, may also retain his desire to roam and an assertive or even aggressive personality. Owners who depend on neutering to resolve behavior problems run a high risk of being disappointed unless they also train the pet to have good manners at home and in public.

Females also tend to be better pets if they do not experience oestrus every six-to-nine months. Heat cycles bring hormonal changes that can lead to personality changes, and oestrus females must be confined to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Repeated heat cycles may subject the reproductive system to uterine and mammary cancers as they age. Some females experience false pregnancies that can be a bother to deal with and uterine infections that can be fatal.

While the hormone changes caused by sterilization can contribute to overweight, dogs and bitches do not generally get fat simply as a result of spay or neuter surgery. Like other mammals, they gain weight if they eat too much and exercise too little or are genetically programmed to be hefty. Weight gain that follows sterilization surgery may be linked to those hormone changes but will be aggravated by continuing to feed a high energy diet to a dog that is reducing the need for energy as he reaches his adult size. Excess energy in the food becomes excess fat on the body.

As far as we know, dogs do not lament their lost capability to reproduce. This is a different species than ours; they reproduce to ensure survival of their kind, not to nurture a pup for 18 years, watch it go off to college, marry, establish a career, and produce grandchildren. Females nurse their pups for a few weeks, teach them to behave like dogs, and go on. Males know nothing of fatherhood; they do not recognize pups as their own.

-Dog owners Guide

How Play This helps

Each week Play This’ editor (EvO) goes to local animal shelters to play with the dogs and socialize them. We also take pictures of the dogs for a weekly spot light in the newspaper he’s associated with so that people can adopt these animals or become aware of the. We are also strong advocates of animal rights (not in a crazy PETA way) and help local groups find more information about passing laws for both animals and peoples benefits.

Why you should rescue/adopt an animal

First of all, adopting an animal is not the same as rescuing one, but both are great ways to have a family friends enter your life. Rescuing an animal is taking something out of a poor environment, is in line to be euthanized or is in poor health and needs a family who can support it’s treatment.

Editors note: Both of the dogs I currently own have been rescued/adopted. Lily is a boxer/hound/who knows what who was rescued from an animal shelter in south Georgia. She was to be euthanized that day after being attacked from another dog and having eye damage. She is now a grown dog who acts as my daughter. Our newest addition was rescued from a family who was treating him poorly. Our Play This mascot, Oscar, was terribly undernourished but is now a shitzu with a pot belly.

Adopting a dog is simply going to the animal shelter and picking out one of the many stray or unwanted animals there. This is often the cheapest way to have a pet, as they often are fully vetted and fixed for a cheap price. There are also several groups around the country that help pay for the animals to be fixed. For those in the North Georgia/Tennessee area looking for dogs contact us, the shelter here only charges $60 and will spay/neuter your pet.

Don’t buy pets from a pet store*

Sure they look cute when looking through the mall, but these cute puppies and kittens are often the result of puppy mills. Most pet stores that sell full blooded animals come these mills, where animals are terrible abused and often are used to just create puppies over and over again until they can no longer reproduce. These animals often cost ridiculous amounts of money as well.

*Some animals like fish, small reptiles and rodents are more than likely ok to purchase from these stores as they are not from animal mills.