My Dog Has No Balls
My dog has no balls.
And I'm proud of it.
That's not to say he isn't brave (he guards his house like the best of them) or handsome or virile or protective. He just has no balls because he doesn't need them. They were removed when I had him neutered after rescuing him from the Los Angeles South Central Shelter when he was six months old.
Having a pet spayed or neutered actually extends its lifespan by a few years and reduces any aggressive traits or tendencies. It also greatly cuts down on over-populations in cats and dogs, so that more and more pets remain in loving and responsible homes, and fewer are turned into one of this country's six thousand local shelters where an estimated four million animals are needlessly executed each year.
What a way to treat man's so-called "best friend." Six to eight million dogs and cats are deposited in United States shelters annually because of over-population or, pathetically, lack of interest. Only half of those find new adoptive home, with only thirty percent of shelter dogs reclaimed by owners. During the holidays, consumers buzzing with Christmas spirit buy puppies out of pet shop windows without realizing just how exhausting housetraining can be, or without having thought through how big that Saint Bernard puppy will grow to be one day. Or worse, once the puppy has grown out of its cute and adorable stage and needs attention, exercise and bathroom breaks, some new owners just decide their new "toy" is too time-consuming, and choose to dump the animal at the pound. April tends to be the month with the heaviest turn-in ratio. The cruelest and most cutting moment comes when an animal watches its owner walk away after dropping it off at what most likely will be the last stop in its sad life -- its face questioning the reason for the abandonment, questions that will never be answered.
So you're thinking, "I don't have a pet, I'm not part of the problem," or "I treat my Irish Setter like family, this doesn't affect me," -- unless, of course, you're Mitt Romney, the next president of the United States of Dog Diarrhea -- but it does, because you're already deeply involved in the problem. In California alone, taxpayers foot the bill for the nearly $300 million annual cost to house and euthanize these animals They generally suffer deplorable conditions and lonely existences. And the numbers are not declining, even with educational efforts and low-cost spay-neuter programs.
Which is why it is time to solve this country's pet over-population problem once and for all. The solution comes in the form of legislation, such as a bill currently making its way through the California legal system. AB1634, the California Healthy Pets Act, proposes to require most people to spay or neuter their pets by the age of six months. Owners who do not comply under the proposed law will be fined accordingly. Animal control authorities will be responsible for overseeing effective enforcement of the bill, which is not that far of a stretch from what's currently in place, as one can rarely receive an unfixed dog from a city shelter or rescue group -- after all why create a problem from one that's been resolved?
When first proposed, the bill raised the hackles of pure-bred dog breeders, thinking the state had in mind some all-seeing Orwellian eye that would threaten their livelihood and eliminate their rights to continue breeding their lineages. In fact, they are coming to realize they have nothing by which to be concerned. Exempt from the bill are legal registered breeders who obtain a permit, law enforcement dogs, show dogs, dogs whose health would be threatened by spay or neutering, as well as service and guide dogs.
Those the bill does target are the so called, "backyard breeders," people who churn out dogs in inhumane ways, whose dogs have tons of puppies because the owners are too lazy to have them fixed, or because they wish to sell them without obtaining a license or paying taxes. People who have no room or yard or means to take care of their animals, and in turn so neglect them that they either become threats to society, or worse, clog the city shelters after abandonment.
And then there's this. There are people who feel neutering a male dog is akin to defacing it, and some male owners just seem to have some strange and pathetic testicular infatuation with their dog's manhood -- or as I like to call it, Ball Infatuation. To those I say, "Gentlemen, measure your own worth by your own, well, you know, not your dog's."
Opposition to bills such as AB1634 seems inane to me, but that's probably because I spend time visiting these overrun shelters, and because I cannot for the life of me see an end in sight to this miserable debacle without passage of like bills. And also because I countless nights awake thinking of the millions of deserving dogs like the love of my life Hudson the dog, who spend their nights alone and scared and so undeserving of their own cruel fates.
It's about time man and woman became the best friend these dogs deserve. Get some balls, if you will, and support propositions such as AB1634, the California Healthy Pets Act. And in the words of the great Bob Barker, have your pets spayed or neutered.
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First they came for my dogs balls and I said nothing ................................................ and when they came for mine there was no dog there to bark for me.
Just another castrating female.
You made coffee go up my nose.
IN PART ONE OF MY SUGGESTIONS:
If you highlight & paste to your browser the broken links, you can read the suggested research.
Thanks
mema
I beg to differ. Re: dogs at least, cat lovers can fight theior own battles.
The law is pushed by breeders and animal control shelters.
Just as euthanasia is pushed by animal control shelters cause it is the cheapest solution and requires zero creativity.
Dogs often get fat when neutered, especially later in life.
Why on earth should only rich dog-breeders beable to keep their beloved pet's descendants in the family!
THis is more government intrusion for the rich, which some non-rich it seems are swallowing.
Our county passed this law, and I was sorely disappointed that I could not make it to the hearings. I refuse to neuter my dog, though I would consider a vasectomy in extremis.
More foolish shortsighted government intrusion.
Maybe we should go like China and start regulating human reproduction as well?
One baby per family and then out comes the scalpel!
There are counties where the cotezens have stood up and said, 'we do not have to euthanize' come up w. a more creative solution, like having kids at schools 'adopt a pet' coming to visit regularly in the shelter and walking it etc.
Heck every public school could have adjacent kennels where the kids take care of the animals 5 days a week and the real dog lovers come onthe weekends.
Just like every public school should have [organic] gardens.
So sorry, this 'solution' is plutocratic b.s.
PART ONE:
After reading all this smaltz, I am inclined to suggest that it is a good idea to do some research on the subject before chiming in.
The answer to the claim that " TOO MANY DOLLARS & TOO MANY ANIMAL LIVES SPENT IN OUR SHELTERS" is right in my & your community. The shelters are outdated in their facilities & education of staff. The old ways do not work, that is obvious by this article & thread above. But the answer is not MANDATORY STERILIZATION OF ALL ANIMALS BY THE AGE OF 6 MONTHS~! No one is arguing that the VOLUNTARY STERILIZATION evaluated by an experienced veterinarian that specializes in small animals IS beneficial in many ways for the owner & the animals.
Making that available should be communities that support subsidized Sterilization for senior owner's animals & low-income owner's animals. It takes a COLLABORATION of Community Services to make your & my shelter the best that they can be. Those communities that have worked to implement the programs that have been developed to change their Shelters to the new ways are willing to share their programs with other communities: http://www.maddiesfund.org/sitemap.html
NATHAN WINOGRAD FROM MADDIES FUND:
http://www.maddiesfund.org/organizations/leader_winograd.html
Here are a few suggested readings:
http://naiatrust.org/References.htm
http://www.purebredcatbreedrescue.org:80/advocacy.htm
ASILOMAR ACCORDS FROM MADDIES FUND:
http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:Qp17t2SmJeIJ:www.maddies.org/organizations/a
silomar.html+Asilomar+Accords&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=6&gl=us
FROM SAWA:
http://www.sawanetwork.org/
http://www.asilomaraccords.org/
FOUNDERS:
http://www.asilomaraccords.org/founders.html
PART TWO IS NEXT
Years ago I suggested a tax incentive for people who neuter and spay their pets. I envisioned a tax rebate of $5 per year per pet. A person would be able to get a certificate from their vet to document that the procedure was done on the pet. This visit to the vet not only benefits the taxpayer by getting a small refund that would pay for the procedure over the life of the animal, but the yearly vet visit would also ensure a healthy dog or cat. I took my proposal to my local state representative who nixed it immediately because it would cost money.
I'd just settle for a return to the days of our local 'Rabies-Mobile' visit.
About the time Bush came into office, our state AG department discontinued an invaluable service where vets would come through your neighborhood and immunize all the critters in it for $5 each. Made too much sense, I guess.
No Balls? And I thought you were commenting about King George's speech last night.
Cont'd
Not all AKC champions should be bred. At my feet is an ACK Champion dog whose breeder/co-owner decided that he wasn't a suitable candidate for breeding despite Championship when his elbow xrays came up iffy. He is neutered. His full brother, however, won at Westminster as did his mom and sister. Lives with me now after his other co-owner with whom he lived was killed in an accident. Even AKC champions can lose their home.
Across the room is the son, grandson and nephew of Westminster breed winners. He isn't a show dog. He was selected for his job based upon the breed characteristics and the family traits of temperament and performance which were demonstrated in the show ring both for conformation and performance (obedience and agility.) . He is a mobility assistance Service Dog.
Anyone who wants a dog from this bloodline in this breed is going to have a very long wait. Their breeder only does a litter or so every year and hasn't had a litter at all in over 2 years.
And keeping them both in line are the 16 year old chow/keeshound/? cross adopted off the street and the kitties (brother and sister) practically adopted off the roadside.
My political party has no balls either, and I wish I knew how to "put him down."
I have rescued 3 dogs .All neutered or spayed .two of them were abused and unlike we humans rebound fully with alot of love.
Thank you for posting that! I live in Houston and have 8 dogs (6 rescued, 2 I, somewhat embarassingly, admit I bought from breedders). Houston, as you might expect, has one of the worst euthanasia rates in the nation, and although I am fairly busy with my last child (14)-his age, not number of children, and a small home-furnishings boutique in which we emphasize "How to live with dogs in a practical but stylish way"-really!I want to get those same laws passed here!!!Help!
I'd agree with the bill if it the neutering age limit were set to 10 months. Part of the reason is because dogs that are neutered too early, and I'm not saying this always happens...but it does happen...can tend to gender confused and neurotic. It's usually not a big deal for most humans to be gender confused and neurotic, but with dogs, the problem is that you have a dog that will tend to be bullied more often at the dog park, will not socialize with other dogs, and may have strong issues with certain people. Obedience school can also be a mess if he's introduced to more aggressive dogs. Personally, I preferred to have my dog neutered at 8 months because he was showing no aggressive tendencies up to that point, but was still in the process of being fully socialized (ie, knowing his place), which is something that is quite critical to avoid having a neurotic dog. It worked out extremely well and his personality really didn't change at all...he's still just as outgoing and socialized as he was before. That two extra months definitely helped.
I'd also say that if you got your puppy at a shelter, then went right out and got him neutered without taking him to dog parks or socializing him somewhat, you might not have been doing him the best favor.
This isn't a fixation on genitals as you mention in a fairly sexist way. But as a guy, all it really does is make me chuckle at you and take you less seriously. I'm just saying.
YOu are correct about the too early neutering/spaying.
A male that is neutered before 10-12 months does not develope the correct bone structure.
It is pretty weird to see a big bodied male with tin feminie head because they were neutered to early
I suspect Michael Vick would also object to neutering a male dog. Seems like mandatory neutering would be a good way to wipe out dogfighting. And with all this talk about castration anxiety, of course there's no sympathy for the female dogs that are abused as breeding machines.
What's your goal, to eliminate all aggression from all dogs, or to stop dog-fighting for sport?
Controlling dog populations can be done with vasectomy instead of castration.
I think there's a bit of hormonal politics in play here.
High testosterone is not inherently bad. Aggression is not inherently bad.
No Balls? Really?
I've had my dog neutered, but his balls remained.
And while I'm all for having cats and dogs fixed, there's no need to remove the balls. Having a pair myself and having experienced the joy of scratching them, and seeing my dog loving clean his, (for hours and hours), I think that part of neutering should be looked at more closely.
Absolutely right. That's what i was going to say.
Why not just give your dog a vasectomy? Let him keep his balls.
His personality will change without his balls.
If you can't keep a dog under control because it has balls, maybe your dog is too big, or your sense of authority too small.
Yes, responsible breeders should be allowed to ply their trade, but that doesn't make it any kinder than the cruelties you described to buy one of those pure-breeds. Every puppy or kitten bought from a pet store means one in a shelter that will die.
I assume you diplomatically sidestepped this point because while you're gathering support for a particular bill it's inadvisable to offend anyone you don't have to. I understand and respect the political calculation. That's why we have comment sections, so someone like me with no public profile can be the bad guy.
NO PET STORE PUPPIES OR KITTENS UNTIL THE SHELTERS ARE EMPTY!
"buy one of those pure-breeds. Every puppy or kitten bought from a pet store means one in a shelter that will die. "
Pure bred does NOT equal pet shop.
Pet shops are supplied by PUPPY MILLS where the animals are kept in horrible conditions, and bred until they literally die from it.
Pet shops animals DO NOT come from responsible breeders.
Puppy mill operators do NOT do all the following tests on their breeding stock: OFA hips, elbows, patella, Baer hearing, CERF eye, cardiac and thyroid - let alone only bred animals which pass all these exams. They do not produce the records showing the parents, grandparents, great-grandparents etc passed all these physical exams.
Puppy mill operators do NOT guarantee their puppies against hereditary health prolems or insist you sign a contract that requires the animal be returned to them if you can't keep it - be it 6 months old or 16 years old.
Responsible breeders do all the tests and do require the animal come back to them if you can't keep it. They require that all pet puppies be spayed or neutered, and only give the purchaser a limited registration so that no progeny from the dog can ever be registered with the AKC. They require that any puppy sold as a show prospect be co-owned by them - and that means no breeding without their consent.
I agree, but you avoided my point by changing the subject. Yes, there are meaningful distinctions among dog breaders, and the pet shop should be your last resort. The fact remains that every dog intentionally bred and sold means another dog, which could have been adopted, will be killed.
I'm all in favor of reducing the over-population of dogs, but I'm concerned that next time I want to get a dog, I'll be limited to getting a pure breed, with all the attendant congenital problems. I love mutts, and if this bill is successful, wouldn't mutts eventually disappear?
You're partly right, LCA. The goal is for mutts to disappear, along with pure-bred dogs and cats. ("Until there are none, adopt one.") The gene pools for most breeds of dogs and all breeds of (purebred) cats are so small that even a brief restriction on breeding in California could eradicate those breeds nationwide. Eventually, the only sources for puppies or dogs in California could be large commercial breeders or imports from other states or countries.
So there is a nasty agenda mixed up in a noble cause. Bloody shame.
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