@monicahonda- I am not being nasty or mean or argumentative. I don't want a single person reading this thread to come away with thinking it is a good idea to wait to alter their animal.

I wanted to address what you said here:

Quote Originally Posted by MonicanHonda View Post
... and honeslty, it's good that she went through one heat before being spayed. It gets the hormones flowing and allows the growth plates to close sooner, causing shorter bones that are less likely to be weak and break.
That is simply not accurate, from a medical standpoint. It is a long standing myth.

You then posted information that has limited relevance to most animals, again, from a medical standpoint. Absolutely, there are things that happen when one removes an organ from a body- human and animal alike. In fact, the surgery itself poses a risk. I have had a cat die from myocardial infarction, related to a spay. It was a kitten and crushed my mother and I. Had we known, we would not have had Gracie spayed. However, in most cases, the benefits far, far outweigh the risks.


Quote Originally Posted by MonicanHonda View Post
You will find information for both sides if you look anywhere... to each their own. I'm just telling her from my point of view, nothing is terribly wrong in this situation. Maybe it is to you.
I do think it is terribly wrong (not the OP, specifically....). Every week- and I have said this before on here- every week, I house 4 to 5 dogs in my basement, overnight. This is part of the 20-30 dogs moved through Cincinnati that I am a part of. There are many more groups, many more dogs. I take no credit for my part- it is a small part. A very small part. Puppies, old dogs, PB, mixed mutts, you name it. They come from a particular section of KY that is simply horrible in terms of humane treatment of animals. These dogs are hanging on by hours sometimes to life. Why? There are too many animals. Too. Many. Animals. No homes, death by gassing chambers, healthy animals PTS daily. I get- no lie, no exaggeration- 20 or so emails a DAY begging and pleading for animals lives. It breaks my heart every time I delete an email knowing there isn't much hope for that dog. It keeps me up at night. It makes me cry in my basement, alone, knowing these 4-5 dogs are the 'lucky' ones. I can't save them all. No one person can.

But, what I can do is scream loud and often-ALTER YOUR PET. Do it NOW. Do it because it is the ONLY way we can turn things around. Every single one of us needs to be on board with the pet overpopulation. Accidents happen, dogs get out, puppies are born, and dogs die because of that cycle.

Hate me. Call me argumentative, call me a know-it-all, call me unreasonable. Call me a radical. Call me whatever you want to call me.

Just let me know if I can call YOU when I need the next litter of puppies saved from the gassing chambers.