Pre-Adoption
Spay and Neuter
.
If
your pet is from the Dearborn County Animal Shelter, you must adhere to
County
guidelines. Dearborn
County Ordinance
90.53 requires that all dogs and cats adopted from the shelter be
spayed /
neutered. Both puppies and kittens must be altered by 6 months of age.
Adults
must be altered within 30 days of adoption.
Even
with ordinances in place, nationwide statistics show that only 40% of
adoptive families follow through with sterilization for unaltered
adopted pets. With
the age that puppies and kittens can be sterilized dropping, P.A.W.S.
goal is 100% pre-adoption sterilization. To help
with costs,
P.A.W.S. gives vouchers with adoptions of unaltered animals.
Voucher Program
P.A.W.S.
helps lower income families spay/neuter their companion
animals.
This directly impacts the number of litters of puppies and kittens that
enter the shelter each year.
- To receive a Voucher
Application by mail, residents
of Dearborn County can:
- Phone request to:
812-539-9706
- Email request to: RobbinPelfrey@pawsofdearborncounty.org
- Fax request
to: 812-926-0686
- Fill out the application designating an income level
among ranges of income.
PAWS uses the information to determine how the spay/neuter
rebates will
be funded. If the applicant does not fall under the
low-income
guidelines, PAWS will use proceeds from fundraising activities for
spay/neuter assistance to the extent they are available.
- Please return your completed
application to: PAWS, 16172
Possum Ridge Road, Aurora, IN 47001
- Applicants
will be sent a voucher in the mail approving or denying the
request.
- Residents can:
- Take
the voucher to the veterinarian at the time of spay/neuter and have $30
deducted from the bill and PAWS will reimburse the vet, or
- Pay the entire amount and PAWS
will reimburse the residents.
Outreach Program
P.A.W.S. is committed to eliminate homelessness and end the cycle of
pet overpopulation by vigorously supporting spay/neuter programs,
promoting successful adoptions, and increasing education of spaying and
neutering in Dearborn County.
Benefits Of
Spay/Neuter for Cats & Dogs
Benefits of Spaying
(females):
- No heat
cycles, therefore males will not be attracted
- Less desire
to roam
- Risk of
mammary gland tumors, ovarian and/or uterine cancer is reduced or
eliminated, especially if done before the first heat cycle
- Reduces
number of unwanted cats, kittens, dogs and puppies
- Helps dogs
and cats live longer, healthier lives
Benefits of
Neutering (males):
- Reduces or
eliminates risk of spraying and marking
- Less desire
to roam, therefore less likely to be injured in fights or auto accidents
- Risk of
testicular cancer is eliminated, and decreases incidence of prostate
disease
- Reduces
number of unwanted cats, kittens, dogs and puppies
- Decreases
aggressive behavior, including dog bites
- Helps dogs
and cats live longer, healthier lives
Top 3 Reasons
to Spay and Neuter
- It helps to
reduce companion animal overpopulation. Most countries have a surplus
of companion animals and are forced to euthanize or disregard their
great suffering. The surplus is in the millions in the United States.
Cats are 45 times as prolific, and dogs 15 times as prolific, as
humans.They do not need our help to expand their numbers; they need our
help to reduce their numbers until there are good homes for them all.
- Sterilization
of your cat or dog will increase his/her chance of a longer and
healthier life. Altering your canine friend will increase his life an
average of 1 to 3 years, felines, 3 to 5 years. Altered animals have a
very low to no risk of mammary gland tumors/cancer, prostate cancer,
perianal tumors, pyometria, and uterine, ovarian and testicular
cancers.
- Sterilizing
your cat/dog makes him/her a better pet, reducing his/her urge to roam
and decreasing the risk of contracting diseases or getting hurt as they
roam. Surveys indicate that as many as 85% of dogs hit by cars are
unaltered. Intact male cats living outside have been shown to live on
average less than two years. Feline Immunodeficiency Syndrome is spread
by bites and intact cats fight a great deal more than altered cats.
Additional
Benefits:
Your
community will also benefit. Unwanted animals are becoming a very real
concern in many places. Stray animals can easily become a public
nuisance, soiling parks and streets, ruining shrubbery, frightening
children and elderly people, creating noise and other disturbances,
causing automobile accidents, and sometimes even killing livestock or
other pets. -The
American Veterinary Medical Association
The
capture, impoundment and eventual destruction of unwanted animals costs
taxpayers and private humanitarian agencies over a billion dollars each
year. As a potential source of rabies and other less serious diseases,
they can be a public health hazard. -The American Veterinary
Medical
Association
