Brownwood / PETA / Education / Euthanasia Rate / Christianity, Religion & Morality

FYI - Thousands of dogs and cats are put to death annually at the Brown County Humane Society Facilities. Education and personal responsiblity play a pivitol role in reducing these numbers !
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Mahatma Gandhi famously said, " The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. "
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Has a pet ever made a difference in your life? Brought a smile or comfort to you? Offered you companionship, friendship, and unconditional love? You can show your appreciation by learning about the needs of spaying and neutering cats and dogs in our community.

National Spay Day USA will be celebrated on Tuesday, February 22nd. The nationwide spay and neutering day was organized in 1995 by the Doris Day Animal Foundation to encourage all Americans to have their pets spayed or neutered.

Just look at the facts on why spaying and neutering is crucial. According to the Humane Society of Animals (HSUS) it only takes seven years for one unsprayed female cat and her offspring to produce 420,000 cats. In six years, one unsprayed dog and her offspring can give birth to 67,000.

The HSUS estimate that eight to ten million cats and dogs go to shelters each year and that at least half of them are euthanized. In Brown County the euthanasia rate is much higher. For cats alone, less than 10% are adopted out to homes leaving about 90% to be euthanized.

Some benefits of having your cat and dog spayed or neutered are:
Deceased unwanted pet population
Better health by decreasing the risk of cancers and infection of the reproduction system
Decrease in injuries from fighting or wandering while searching for a mate
Better companions for the family because the pet’s focus is on their human family

Spay Day USA organizers want the program to “inspire each humane American to take personal responsibility for preventing the births of surplus litter.”

Anyone can participate by having their pet spayed or neutered, helping a friend or family member have their pets spayed or neutered, and by supporting the Brown County Humane Society with donations of time, goods, and/or money.

We all need to be a part of the solution of eradicating pet overpopulation and unwanted litters. One of the most concrete and simplest ways to do this is by having your cat and dog spayed or neutered. We owe it to our pet companions.

If you need more information, contact the Brown County Humane Society or visit www.ddaf.org. We owe it to our pet companions.
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Spay & Neutered Info Visit: http://www.peta.org/feat/diego/
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Tuesday February 22, 2005

Quick depletion of grant money to spay, neuter pets shows need

By Candace Cooksey Fulton -- Brownwood Bulletin

"The statistics that we publish are that more than 3,000 animals are brought to the shelter here in a year, and only 14 percent of those are ever claimed or adopted. Really it's more than 3,000, because if the dogs and cats are wild and can't be handled, they're taken straight to the gas chamber. They're never entered into our computer."

source: http://www.brownwoodbulletin.com/articles/2005/02/22/news/news03.txt

Brownwood Bulletin Op Ed

Addressing pet overpopulation
Sponsored by the Doris Day Animal Foundation, the Spay Day USA observance is the premier national day of action designed to promote the spaying or neutering of pets. Whether or not local humane societies, veterinarians or similar groups formally register as participants, they all share the message behind today's 11th annual event. Spaying or neutering of pets will help control animal overpopulation, and thus remedy problems that situation creates, especially with abandoned dogs and cats.

Spay Day USA was developed for several reasons. It helps raise the public's awareness of the severe companion animal overpopulation problem in the United States and throughout the world. It promotes spay and neuter surgery as a primary means of addressing overpopulation. It also helps inspire every humane American to take personal responsibility for preventing the births of surplus litters by sponsoring the spaying or neutering of at least one companion animal or feral cat.
Statistics show that animals who have been spayed or neutered usually enjoy better health and make more desirable companions than those who have not been altered. In addition to benefiting animal guardians and their pets, spaying and neutering will benefit communities by not adding to the number of homeless animals burdening local humane shelters and U.S. taxpayers, who pay more than $1 billion to deal with the problem of pet overpopulation.
It may seem like a small step, but it's one which -- if not taken -- can result in thousands upon thousands of consequences. That's the geometric growth in population an area can experience if one dog or cat gives birth to puppies or kittens which are not adopted. Then, the numbers multiply as succeeding generations reproduce. Taking steps to spay or neuter pets is one way individuals and communities across the nation can work together to make a difference in the lives of animals and people.
The problem of pet overpopulation affects every citizen, and it is a problem for which the best solution is prevention. Today's national observance of Spay Day USA reminds us to take action.

Brownwood Bulletin
source: http://www.brownwoodbulletin.com/articles/2005/02/22/op_ed/editorial01.txt