EARLY NEUTERING, What's the Real Story?

We have featured this article before but because of it's extreme importance we are running it again.

In our previous newsletter we devoted an article to the subject of early neutering. We received many reactions from our readers' on our article. In essense, they boil down to the fact that our readers vets will not do it since they aren't comfortable with the operation and feel that they do not possess the required surgical skills. But rather than admitting this, excuses are made: Oh.... the cat has to be at least 6 months old... or... well... it's better to have her have a litter first. Both of those are nonsence and untrue.

In Cork, one vet we can unreservedly recommend is Dr. Clare Meade of the Cat Hospital in Glanmire. We use Dr. Meade for these early neuterings as she has all the latest equipment required to safely administer the aneathesia.  

Sadly, as usual, we are behind the times here in Ireland. In the UK there is a register kept where vets can indicate that they are comfortable in doing the operation when the animal reaches a 1KG weight and that means that they ( the vets ) also feel comfortable with the anesthesia requirements on such a small animal.

If you missed last months newsletter  here is an excerpt of what it contained:

"There is no evidence to show that neutering earlier than six months (and as early as seven weeks) has negative developmental or behavioural consequenses.  The perceived increased risks of surgery/anaesthesia are now considerably reduced by published information on improved techniques and agents."

Read their comprehensive article here.

Neurtering companion animals must be made compulsory. Doing so will put a stop to the dreadful suffering the animals go thru, due to endless breeding. Where this has been done, for instance in areas in New Zealand, a dramatic reduction has been noted. But that requires political will and that commodity is in very very short supply in our Government. Suffering of animals is paid lipservice to and that's as far as it goes. After all they, our elected politicians, do not have to deal with a never ending stream of unwanted animals and they do not have to face the needle going into a vein of yet another animal on death row.

PLEASE HELP US. RAISE YOUR VOICE AND HELP US GET PROPER ANIMAL WELFARE LEGISLATION AND HELP ERASE THE IRISH SHAME OF A ONE CENTURY OLD USELESS ACT.

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    The Mountain of Death?

Yes, it is Mount Everest, 8848 meters or 29029 feet if you prefer, the world's highest mountain so what is it doing in this newsletter ? Read on and it will become clear.

Lets go back in time a bit, say a few years, back to 2008. In that year we killed 14598 dogs as per official pound statistics. Do note, that was the official number. Now add in the ones who were dumped, drowned, abandoned in the woods, given to a vet with the instruction to "get rid of them" (the "lucky ones"), and you can double if not triple that number. If we take the height of a dog at about 1 foot (30cm) (and most dogs are well higher than that) and we stack the bodies on top of each other, in just two short years the pile of bodies  exceeds the height of the worlds tallest mountain.

Perhaps this shocking statistic shows you our Irish problem in a different light. Numbers on their own often become meaningless and maybe picturing the pile of bodies in your minds eye will help you to look at the problem in a different way.

We hope that by using this harsh example you will agree with us that it is high time something has to be done. The recent numbers of destroyed dogs are down, but that is simply because country wide the rescue groups are taking them of the street as fast as possible before they get into the pounds, or when in there, move heaven and earth to get them out. Take it from us, the reduction is not due to anything else.

       The benefits of owning a pet are so many, we'd like to share just a few with you:

Companionship

Reduced stress

Child development

Work and entertainment

Assistance Dogs

Pets in therapy

There are many more, and the assistance dogs can be divided in many different groups, each playing a vital role in the life of us humans. We do not have enough space here to extol their many virtues. 

That is why they are Man's Best Friend. Sadly, we are their worst enemy.

Wildlife info and First Aid. 

Now, here is something you might wish to bookmark. There are a lot of websites and folks who devote all their considerable energies and time to helping our companion animals, of whatever kind or type. 

But... what about all the others who we share our planet with ? The birds (and the bees), the foxes, the badgers, the otters and the fish in the sea  to name but a few.

Do you know what to do if you see, or find, an injured animal? Most vets don't either, as they do not have the specialised knowledge to handle anything but our common companion animals. That being the case you might like to bookmark these websites that offera  goldmine of information on handling such cases.

Well, this website, is such a real goldmine of info. It has three sections:

Section one is aimed at the person who finds the casualty.

Section two is for the rehabilitator who takes responsibility for the long term care of the animal.

Section three is a veterinary section advising on common conditions, drugs and dosages, etc.

We urge all our readers to visit and take a note of this website address, by doing so, YOU might have saved a life, or have contributed to doing so.

Please Remember, our own lives would be so much poorer if we did not have all those other creatures around us.

Here is the website. Please bookmark it.