Spay & Neuter
Spay & Neuter
Spaying or neutering is one of the greatest gifts you can provide your pet, your family and your community. These routine medical procedures not only help control an overabundance of pets, but they may also prevent medical and behavioral problems from developing, allowing your pet to lead a longer, healthier and happier life.
Spaying or neutering is unlikely to change temperament, basic personality or levels of playfulness and general activity. However, it can have a positive effect as some behavioral issues — especially sexual behaviors such as mounting, howling and the urge to roam — are reduced following surgery. And despite what some believe, pets show no signs of “missing” mating or breeding.
The word “spay” refers to the sterilization of female pets. The term “neuter,” while more commonly used to refer to the castration of male pets, can be used to describe the sterilization of either female or male pets through the removal of reproductive organs.
Sterilization directly impacts the number of animals who lose their lives by reducing the number of pets entering shelters and freeing up homes for homeless pets who are already born. By getting your pet fixed, together we can bring about a time when there are No More Homeless Pets®.
What Best Friends is doing
We view spay/neuter as one of the keys to achieving our mission of ending the killing in the nation’s shelters, and our work reflects that view. Here are just a few of the things Best Friends is doing to increase the number of animals being spayed and neutered:
- Running a national marketing campaign designed to encourage people to fix their pets at age 4 months. Called Fix at Four, the campaign has had celebrity support from Eric Stonestreet of Modern Family and Linda Hunt from NCIS: Los Angeles
- Operating spay/neuter clinics in LA and Utah that offer discounted prices
- Promoting TNR (trap/neuter/return) of community cats through our Cat Initiatives
- Holding events in targeted communities to promote spaying and neutering of pit bulls
- Supporting spay/neuter programming in Albuquerque, San Antonio, and Jacksonville via grants