Orchiectomy

"His are mine."

OK, boys. Please don't tell me that you really take this seriously. I had a client once tell me that he did not want to neuter his dog because "his are mine." I really wanted to show him that that was not true- that each of them did, in fact, have their own separate set of testicles. I held my tongue.

There is an overpopulation of pets. This is generally accepted. Male cats and dogs play a pivotal role in continuing population growth. True. A male can inseminate many females, where a female is limited by heat cycles an pregancy to a finite number of offspring a year. Cannot be debated. But as I have said before, there is more to the story.

Orchiectomy- to remove the testicles. Neuter. Alter. Fix. Unman.

Poor things. They will miss all that testosterone, the need to fornicate with any willing female.

HUH?

Imagine you are a housedog, male, over 6 months of age. Now imagine that while you have your testicles intact, your people have no intention of letting you breed. They know all about pet overpopulation problems, do not want puppies themselves, but don't want to deprive you of your manlihood.  How frustrsted are you? No sex? A pillow? No wonder you attack everyone and everything in sight. And now it's spring (or fall) and the pheromones (scent hormones) flying through the air from that female in heat 3 streets over, and those up to a mile away, are in the air. They are driving you nuts!

So you pace the fence. You bolt out the front door. You actually make it out of the yard and into the street and.....BAM!

Never saw the car coming, did you?  You were so crazy with the genetically programmed, hormone driven need to procreate you just got maimed. Or killed.

I'm not kidding. The drive is strong. To be neutered is safer. And seriously, the dogs and cats don't mind.

Here's a story...when I met my husband, he had an adult male Americal Bulldog named Sabo (named for the depleted uranium tank missiles, not the baseball player). Sabo was a great dog, one of the best personalities you'd ever hope top meet. Finally, after a couple years of asking, my husband let me neuter Sabo. Jeff was concerned. He didn't want to lose his macho protection-trained dog and gain a couch potato. But he wanted the best for Sabo's health. So he was neutered. About six months later I asked Jeff- "So, what do you think? Do you regret letting me do that?"

Jeff's reply, "He's the same dog he ever was." And after that, Jeff became the champion of the neighborhood recommending sapy and neuter to anyone who would listen.

What happens if you don't neuter? Besides frustration, the increased likelihood of injury? Well, the boys can get cancer, too. In the testicles. Or around the anus. Nasty, life-threatening, painful, testosterone driven cancer.

Please. For their health. So you can enjoy him longer. Neuter.

Enjoy your pets!