Did You Know?

• It is estimated that approximately 4.7 million animals were euthanized in the nation's shelters in 2008. That is 12,876 animals EVERY DAY that are killed in this country.
  
  
• Pets Alive pulled 923 animals off other shelters euthanasia lists last year and placed - ALL OF THEM.
  
  
• 56 percent of dogs and 71 percent of cats that enter animal shelters are euthanized. (More cats are euthanized than dogs because they are more likely to enter a shelter without any owner identification.)
  
  
• Most animals are euthanized due to overcrowding and not due to any medical, health or aggression issues.
  
  
• Only 25 percent of dogs and 24 percent of cats that enter animal shelters are adopted. Pets Alive has a 99% adoption rate.
  
  
• Over $2 billion is spent annually by local governments to shelter and ultimately destroy 8-10 million adoptable dogs and cats due of shortage of homes. Source: Business Wire Features
  
  
• While prices vary considerably, many humane societies and municipal animal control departments offer low-cost spay/neuter services. And while the cost of surgery may seem high initially, it's a real bargain when compared with the cost of raising a litter of puppies or kittens. Spaying and neutering also saves taxpayer dollars. On average, it costs approximately $100 to capture, house, feed and eventually kill a homeless animal - a cost that ultimately comes out of all our pockets. Source: Doris Day Animal League
  
  
• The cost of having a pregnant female dog is much higher than cost of spaying.
  
  
• Seven dogs and cats are born every day for each person born in the US. Of those, only 1 in 5 puppies and kittens stay in their original home for his/her natural lifetime. The remaining 4 are abandoned to the streets or end up at a shelter. Source: The Humane Society of the United States
  
  
• Each day 10,000 humans are born in the U.S. - and each day 70,000 puppies and kittens are born. It is imperative that you spay and neuter your pets.
  
  
• Early age altering of pets (6-14 weeks) has been practiced for over 25 years in North America.
  
  
• Neutering the male before he is sexually mature will inhibit such 'territorial' linked behaviors like urine-marking and aggressive posturing.
  
  
• Unspayed females have higher incidence's of mammary tumors, uterine infections, and cancer.
  
  
• Unneutered males have much higher probability of prostate enlargement/cancer, testicular cancer and related infections. The urge to mate leads to fighting, aggression, excessive barking, howling, and other unwelcome behaviors.
  
  
• Neutered pets get along much better with each other.
  
  
• 'Purebreds' account for 30% of all the animals in shelters. Source: Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science
  
  
• Altered pets don't get fat simply as a result of sterilization, but by eating too much and exercising too little.
  
  
• Altering doesn't adversely affect the personality of your pet. Any changes brought about by spaying/neutering are generally positive. Neutered male cats usually stop territorial spraying. Neutered dogs and cats fight less and are less likely to become lost due to straying from home in search of a mate. Spayed animals do not go into heat or need to be confined indoors to avoid pregnancy. All altered animals remain protective and loyal to their guardians. Source: Doris Day Animal League
  
  
• There's absolutely no truth to the myth that it's best to let a female pet give birth to a litter before getting her spayed.
  
  
• A reduction in pet overpopulation will mean a reduction in animals running loose, causing traffic hazards, quarantines, bites, fighting and yowling complaints.
  
  
• The public acquires only 14% of its pets from shelters; 48% get their pets as strays, from friends, from animal rescuers, 38% get their pets from breeders or pet stores. Source: The Humane Society of the United States
  
  
• Some pet guardians allow their pets to have a litter for their child to witness 'the miracle of birth'. The child still may not witness this, as pregnant females often seclude themselves from prying eyes when birthing time comes. And if 'learning' is the goal, the lesson, taken to its completion, will include the euthanization of unwanted animals in the shelters, and the suffering of those abandoned. The fact remains: there are too many pets, not enough good homes, and this exercise in 'education' has served only to contributing further to pet overpopulation.
  
  
• An unspayed female cat, her mate and all of their offspring, producing 2 litters per years, with 2.8 surviving kittens per year can total 11,606,077 cats in 9 years. Source: Spay USA
  
  
• In 6 years one unspayed female dog and her offspring, can reproduce 67,000 dogs. Source: Spay USA
  
  
• That by purchasing a GIVE A DOG gift for a friend you will save the life of one of those dogs?

Thank you to www.sniksnak.com for much of this compiled data.