This weekend there will be a number of going away parties for our friend and former employee, Evelyn, who is moving out East to a new and hopefully great life. I’ll miss her enthusiasm and wildly creative mind. On a larger scale, it’s sad to see our community lose one of its most ardent animal welfare supporters.
Ev did more than just about anyone to raise awareness of the need for people to spay and neuter their pets. She helped conceive, establish, and promote programs in this area that made it possible for thousands of people get their pets fixed. And she helped organize the local Bow Wow Pow Wow, dubbed "the canine event of the season," and a just a whole lotta fun for those us and our dogs who attended.
Of course, like many people who truly believe in the "rightness" of something, Ev hasn’t always been the most tactful person when it comes to discussing spaying and neutering. The subject tends to be a touchy one at parties because it involves sex. And because people tend to anthropomorphize their pets, you tend to get a lot of defensive and even outright dumb responses when you ask people why they haven’t gotten their pet fixed.
Men in particular seem worried that neutering their dog is somehow going to reflect on their manhood. Or that the dog is going to experience such terrible pain or lament their lost reproductive capacity that they’ll never forgive you. Give me a break.
The reality is that those who do not spay or neuter their pets are rewarded with unwanted puppies or kittens and numerous extra health problems (cancers and infections that are often fatal). And the idea that you can let your unspayed critter outside and think that all those other roaming critters aren’t going to notice is just plain delusional. (Lack of proper confinement, a collar, or ID is also incredibly irresponsible, but that’s another story.)
Of course, the really big reason to spay and neuter is the one Ev has always harped on. Homeless pets. You are either part of the problem or part of the solution. People who do not spay or neuter their pets contribute to the appalling pet overpopulation problem that results in thousands of pets being euthanized every day at animal shelters. It’s sickening and completely preventable.
So if even ONE person reads this little diatribe and decides "okay, I’ll call the veterinarian today and get my pet fixed" then I will have given Evelyn a great going away present 🙂