Chances are, if you got your dog or cat from a shelter or rescue, they were already fixed before you got them. But seeing as how this is Spay/Neuter Awareness Month, we’d like say a few words about the benefits of getting your pet fixed for those folks whose pets came to them the way a lot of pets come to us: through chance.
The first and most obvious benefit is to the community: more pets getting fixed means fewer pets that need homes, meaning fewer pets in shelters and on the streets waiting for those homes. This in turn allows for a better concentration of the resources of organizations that work to help pets. And this is all in addition to the numerous health and behavioral benefits of spaying your pets. Less risk of certain types of cancers, prevention of pyometra, and reduction in territorial behaviors are also benefits of fixing your pets, so it has a very real and direct impact on your pet’s well-being.
In 2021 we spayed over 10,000 pets. The only way we’re able to do that is through in-kind donations from folks just like you. Towels, empty medicine bottles, pages of newsprint; all these things allow us to line kennels and to care for upwards of 50 pets a day that come in for surgery. These items are necessary–and necessary in abundance for us to keep the mission going. These donations mean fewer pets looking for forever homes and more space in shelters for those pets who truly need it. Each litter we prevent helps make our community a better community for pets, which in turn makes it a better community for people.
David Shapiro is the Digital Communications Specialist for the Pet Resource Center of Kansas City. For 20 years, they’ve provided a powerful set of services that pet owners in the KC metro need to help keep their pets off the streets, out of shelters and in their homes.
