With Valentine’s Day being celebrated in February, this month is traditionally known as the month of love, and, as you walk through the aisles of the various stores, you are met with an assortment of heart-shaped candies, flowers, soft toys, cards and other things associated with love and romance.
This is usually the time when we, as humans, show how much we love and care by spoiling each other with some of the abovementioned items, but, February is not just for humans, as it is also known as Responsible Pet Owner Month and Spay/ Neuter Awareness Month.
Spay/ Neuter Awareness Month runs from 1 to 28 February with the last Tuesday of the month being World Spay Day, a day that celebrates the importance of animal birth control, and encourages all guardians of dogs and cats to have them spayed or neutered.
I contacted Mandy Cattanach, the Roodepoort/ Krugersdorp SPCA manager to find out a little bit more about the benefits of spaying/ neutering your pets, and she explained, “Every year we receive hundreds of unwanted puppies and kittens, and thousands of animals are euthanised annually in animal welfare organisations throughout South Africa. Through sterilisation, you are helping your pet to have a healthier life, as spaying and neutering reduces, or can even eliminate, several health problems that are difficult and/ or expensive to treat. Sterilisation may also help to reduce certain undesirable behaviours in your pet, it prevents unnecessary breeding and reduces the number of unwanted animals. By neutering your male animals you help prevent testicular cancer and prostrate problems. Spaying a female animal will help prevent them becoming infected with sexually transmitted diseases, or pyometra pus in the womb.”
She added that, besides all the health and other benefits of spaying/ neutering your pet, it is the responsible thing to do, saying, “Staff at SPCAs suffer from PTS due to having to euthanise animals. A responsible owner will sterilise their pet, and if people can’t afford sterilisation maybe they should not have any pets. It is a myth and archaic thinking that pets must have a first litter before they are spayed/ neutered.”
Looking after your pet’s health will be the ultimate Valentine’s gift for them, so boot up that computer or laptop, search for a spay/ neuter day event near you and make an appointment today. Your pets will thank you.
Until next week, stay safe and look out for each other …
