Terrific article.

My mom down in Brazil has a neighbor who recently adopted a puppy for her little 8 year old girl. (This is about a dog, but I'm posting it here, because it is a related issue) The puppy came from a friend who decided not to have her dog spayed, and was desperately seeking homes for the puppies.

It's amazing how many pet owners down there don't think about spaying/neutering their pets. My mom has lots of friends with dogs and cats, and she works hard to explain to them how important an issue this is, even giving them information about low-cost neutering at clinics (as we all know, vets charge an arm and a leg, and in Brazil it's no different).

The little girl doesn't want her dog spayed, because "she will have such cute little babies". Mom and the child's mother have tried to explain, but the child is not convinced. She wants the dog to have puppies, even though they can't possibly keep them. Fortunately, my mother has convinced the woman to have it done anyway, and then just keep explaining further to the child until she gets it.

I have suggested that perhaps they should take the child to a shelter and be brutally honest with her, explaining that most of these beautiful animals will never find a home, and will eventually be euthanized. Maybe actually seeing these animals in cages, waiting for a home, will convince her.

In any case, I'm sure that with a little more time, the girl will understand. It's just difficult when all of the girl's little friends at school are like, "oh, if she has puppies, I'll take one!!", and the child does not realize that this is very easy to say, but when the puppies are born, the parents may not agree, even if they do, they may change their minds, and sometimes people just aren't ready for a pet and don't realize the commitment they are making, and end up either returning the animal, or worse, passing it on to someone else or dropping it off at a shelter. The cycle continues.

I agree that more should be done to educate the public, especially children, about the importance of this issue. Anytime someone we know considers adopting a pet, mom and I immediately talk to them about being responsible and spaying/neutering their pets. I'm glad to say that it really does work, and mom has convinced many of her friends to resist the impulse to "just let them have one litter, just one".