Interesting article in the SFGate about contraception for pets. We are all aware, I think, of the necessity of spay and neuter programs, and unless you're an established breeder, I hope your pet is spayed and/or neutered.
The article in the SFGate begins, "After witnessing a heartbreaking number of stray dogs and cats during my recent travels to Nicaragua and Turkey, I have been wondering about the existence of safe and viable alternatives to traditional catch-and-release, surgical spay-and-neuter programs. (Do they exist? How do they work? Who is researching them?)" The writer, Ameilia Glynn, writes the Tails of the City column.
Her research discovered two organizations working on the contraception problem, in innovative ways. According to Found Animals Foundation and the Alliance for Contraception in Cats and Dogs (ACC&D), there is a "growing recognition among researchers and industry experts of the urgent need for birth control alternatives for cats and dogs." [quote and link taken from Glynn's article]
A link to a USA Today article, written by Sharon Peters, reveals a $25M offer to anyone - person or group - that can come up with "a safe, one-time non-surgical means to sterilize male and female cats and dogs"... with another $50M available to support the research. This is being offered by Gary Michelson, a retired surgeon interested in the health and welfare of pets - particularly overpopulation.
In "Inventor Michelson offers $75M for a way to sterilize pets" Peters writes, "Animal lover Michelson is convinced, like most animal-welfare experts, that if unwanted litters never materialized, U.S. shelters wouldn't be euthanizing 4 million to 6 million animals a year."
I can't argue with that. Can you? What can we do to help? I am thrilled to have discovered these two organizations... and to now have a way to participate in this program, if only by signing up to receive information and then being able to blog about it.
How about you? What will you do?
I have a small, nonprofit cat sanctuary, and last year we acquired a kitten with an odd condition: wounds don't heal properly. After she received an innocuous infusion of subq fluids when she was first found, she developed a massive neck abscess that scabbed over and literally took 9 months to heal. She was on multiple courses of antibiotics, then we tried steroids, and that darned wound didn't want to close over. It finally did and we had a month or two of normalcy, and just last week she developed a new wound from a scratch, and again, this one isn't healing properly. We've seen two vets who are mystified about what's happening, as the cat is otherwise in perfect health. She's also going through regular heats, but I'm terrified at the idea of putting her through surgery and having the incision site become a major, long-term problem. So, even those of us in developed countries with established and inexpensive spay and neuter programs would occasionally benefit from a non-surgical contraception option.
Posted by: Leigh-Ann | 06/11/2010 at 12:52 PM
Leigh-Ann, this is a sad story. It proves even more that we need to find non-surgical ways to keep our pets from having puppies and kittens. Thank you for sharing this story. More of us need to hear these stories - to understand the importance of proper healthcare for our pets.
Bless you for all you do.
Posted by: Yvonne | 06/11/2010 at 12:57 PM