Spay/Neuter is the Key ‘Action’ in Animal Rescue

By Red Rose Team Members

Sedona AZ (April 2, 2015) – The key ingredient to ending pet over-population is to spay and neuter. Many rescue organizations for canines and felines will offer free programs to accomplish this! Red Rose has always offered free spay and neuter. We have found over time that even low-cost options were just not enough to remove a financial barrier for some pet owners. Even a low-cost neuter/spay on a large dog can cost approximately $85.00; and if the female is in heat at the time of the surgery the cost can be even higher. As a ‘no kill organization’ we offer a variety of programs that include spay and neuter….please come see us. Additionally, we offer other supportive programs that connect animals with people and help owners to keep the animals that they love.

Spay/Neuter is a key facet of animal rescue demonstrated when we look at pet overpopulation and its two primary sources:

Allowing canines and felines to reproduce with little chance to find homes for the offspring
Pets being relinquished/abandoned by owners who can no longer keep their animals and/or no longer want them.

There just aren’t enough homes for them all. Spay and Neuter is the only solution, as we literally cannot solely ‘rescue or adopt our way’ out of this problem. Oftentimes, people believe that the animals will eventually “get a good home”. Either through a rescue/shelter or they will just be free to roam and live out their life in a natural environment. As you can see by the statistics, this can pose an overwhelming problem that only continues to grow without spay/neuter. This leads to rescues and shelters becoming overwhelmed and every year, millions of cats and dogs are euthanized in our nation, because there are more pets than there are responsible homes for them.

ONE female dog and her offspring can be the source of 67,000 puppies within 6 years. Each female can have as many as 10-14 puppies per litter, twice a year. Each female puppy from that litter can also have 10-14 puppies!
ONE cat, her kittens and their offspring can produce half a million cats in a little more than seven years
Over 800 dogs are euthanized every HOUR in the US because there aren’t enough homes

Another ‘unseen’ outcome to pet overpopulation is that it places the animals in a vulnerable position either before, or even after, they reach a rescuing organization. Feral or abandoned animals are usually the victims of abuse or unspeakable cruelty before they are rescued. Once abandoned, they are often injured in just fending for themselves.

And although adoptive shelters and rescues do their utmost to screen applicants who are adopting….no system is perfect. There are people who intentionally deceive the systems/protections in order to obtain an animal for sadistic rituals, fighting, as food for larger animals and other unintended consequences.

The best way to make a positive impact on the lives of animals in our community is to Spay/Neuter as a key ‘action’ in rescue and adoption, thereby preventing them from becoming ‘vulnerable’ at any time in their lives!

People say you can’t save them all. We, at Red Rose, feel it can be done and we can save them all by taking an approach that embraces education, personal advocacy, and lending support to the cause for those who do not have a voice and cannot speak for themselves. We invite and encourage you to consider: