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WHY SPAY/NEUTER?
This is a sad page, but I hope the following information will help the reader to understand the need and the validity for Neutering or Spaying your pet. This is a little insight into the operation of the SPCA and how things work. CAUTION: This is a frank discussion of why Spaying and Neutering is so important. Please, won't you help by getting YOUR pet spayed or neutered?
- Many people are confused and don't know who to call when they have an injured or dying animal that is not theirs. We are in a rural area, and this is a difficult question to answer.
If you have a dog in that situation and you live in Ogdensburg, you can call the Dog Control Officer at 393-1555.
- But, if you do not live in Ogdensburg, the situation is different. You must call the Dog Control Officer for your township. And who is that? Very few people know. Check the phone book Blue Pages for your town government.
- If you have a stray cat in that situation and you live in Ogdensburg, the City Police Department will pick up cat up and take them to the vet when vet care is available. If it is at night, they take the injured or dying cat to a safe house (an SPCA volunteer) who then takes the cat to the vet as soon as possible.
- If you have a stray cat, you can call the shelter and, IF there is room, you can make arrangements to bring the cat in. The shelter is unable to go out and pick up strays.
- At certain times of the year the shelter is literally flooded with cats, but will try to get the animal in as quickly as possible and will make every effort to work with the person calling to do so; please, never, ever, just dump the animal on the road side or abandon it!
- There was a point during the summer of 1999 when the shelter had 80 cats, far beyond capacity. It was a wild, noisy summer!
- Because of the workload and the sheer number of animals involved, the SPCA does not encourage people to bring in a dying or injured animal because they cannot care for it, nor even end its misery in a prompt manner. The Vet Tech visits the Shelter two days a week (a total of 8 hours) and is the only person licensed to euthanize an animal. No one else at the shelter may do so. Therefore, bringing a dying or injured animal to the shelter may only extend its suffering and pain. The law is VERY specific about the use of euthanasia drugs, so this is not a decision the Shelter has made willingly. Rather than taking an injured or dying animal to the shelter, please instead take it directly to a veterinarian.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for understanding the difficult situations our domestic animals can find themselves in. So please, won't you seriously consider spaying or neutering your pet? It is such a humane thing to do, and your pet will be all the better for it, along with you and your family.
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