Why Spaying Your Dog is a Good Idea

By, Angela Kaye Mason

“Bully and Jorja”

Several years ago, I had a room-mate who owned an American Standard Pitbull, which was given to him as a Father's Day gift. The 6 week old puppy was a gorgeous male who loved attention and was eager to please. I fell in love with him rather quickly. The only issue with him...besides the fact that my room-mate named him “Bully,” which I hated because he wasn't one...was that he was lonely; that, and the fact that I was becoming too attached to him knowing that he was not my dog. This was brought on in part because of the fact that my room-mate had surgery soon after the puppy was brought to him, and I became responsible for Bully's training.

When Bully was just over a year old, I decided to solve two issues at once, his loneliness for someone to play with when we weren't home, and my attachment to him. I decided to get a female companion. She needed to be already trained and spayed, of course...a puppy just wouldn't do. So I looked at ads and animal shelters for a while, and finally decided on Jorja, a female Cane Corsa mastiff who was sweet, eager to please, and spayed. The only problem was...that last part turned out to be a lie. You see, although she had a small scar on her belly, it was not from being spayed, and within a year, Jorja and Bully had 11 babies.

 

  11 Puppy Nightmare!

As I am sure you can imagine, finding homes for all of these beautiful babies was quite a difficult task. Jorja was not at all impressed with her new duties and refused to feed the puppies at all after 4 weeks. One of the males, which I named “Baloo,” she refused to care for at all from the moment of his birth. Jorja had Baloo first, and then went to the other side of the room to have 10 more puppies. Baloo was not even breathing when she had him and I had to breathe into his mouth to save his life. I became Baloo's Mama, and he and Jorja wanted nothing to do with each other. I had to care for Baloo from birth, feed 10 other puppies while working and taking care of a sick room-mate, and still care for Bully and Jorja. It was not fun at all, and the costs of caring for all of these puppies was tremendous! I still fail to see why anyone would choose dog-breeding as an occupation.

Jorja is NOT Impressed With These Babies!

 Jorja soon fell in love with a girl in college who took her in and got her spayed (for real this time!) They were such a perfect match that I let Jorja stay with her. I moved away from the place I shared with the room-mate, and took Baloo with me. Baloo has since become my best friend and I would not take a million dollars for him, but I never wish to repeat that mistake again. I did, however, learn a valuable lesson during the whole process; not all rescues which are said to have been spayed or neutered really have been. Many people know that it is harder to find a home for a dog that has not been spayed or neutered, and so they lie. If you rescue a dog from anyone besides an animal shelter, you need to specifically ask the vet to check and see if they have been spayed or neutered and if not, get it done. Otherwise, you just might find yourself in the 11 puppy nightmare! 

My Boy “Baloo Bear”

Furbaby Needs A Furever Home: Regina

Today's totally adoptable furbaby is from Baldwin County Animal Control in Milledgeville, GA.

For inquiries about specific breed, age, and temperment, contact the shelter and ask about Regina.

This little 12-15lbs. puppy needs out IMMEDIATELY! The shelter is full, and many are on a euthanize list for FRIDAY MORNING!


Regina is an adorable little mix-breed pup that can't decide if she's a bird dog or a bulldog. Her pictures don't do justice to her cuteness. She came in as the shelter was closing and the volunteers only had time to snap a quick shot!


Please consider fostering or adopting this wiggly furbaby.


Contact the shelter for more information. They have plenty of other furbabies that need homes as well. If you want to contact them, they have a Facebook page. Please share with as many as possible! We want to find this baby a fur-ever home!

Walking Nicely On A Leash

Watch the video by clicking here!

Today's post is a video about how to train your furry buddy to walk nicely on a leash. I am trying this out with my girls, Daisy and Vada.

The trick is to keep yourself more interesting than the environment around you. Playing with your dog will help him get his energy out, enabling you to develop a better relationship. Taking the time to train your dog is important for both of you.

Just remember, be patient & have fun with it! ;)

The Benefits of Neutering Your Dog

Many people cringe at the thought of having to neuter their dog. There are concerns with pain, change of temperament, and worry about putting an animal through what seems like an unnecessary surgery. However, there are many reasons you should strongly consider neutering (the term for sterilizing a male dog) your little boy.

Neutering your dog provides many healthy benefits for him. If you neuter before 6 months of age, you could prevent testicular cancer from forming. So, neutering earlier is better.

Also, if you have issues with your pup wandering off, neutering him may just stop this behavior altogether. Many male dogs will do about anything to find a mate, including digging and escaping your care at any cost. This puts him at risk of being hit by a car, stolen, lost, or in a fight with another hormone-raging male.

Allowing your dog to have this surgery may also help him focus on your training. He will be able to spend more quality time with his human family when he is able to learn good behaviors from bad behaviors at a quicker rate. 

Also, males often mark their territory everywhere when they are not neutered. So, to make potty training easier, and keep your home urine-free, make sure to neuter your pet as early as possible.

If you are worried about how much it will cost to get his surgery, you should definitely consider how much more it would cost to replace the urine-stained carpet in your home, or the costs of the damage done to other pets in the neighborhood when his hormones are raging. There are many low-cost spay/neuter programs in Georgia that can help you afford surgery. For example, the Atlanta Humane Society only charges $35 to spay/neuter your pet. That's an awesome deal.

One of the most important reasons to neuter your male dog is to prevent the mass euthanization of many animals. When your seemingly innocent dog breaks free of your fence and mates with another dog, you may have an unwanted litter of puppies on your hands. And those puppies may or may not find a home, causing them to live and starve on the streets, or be euthanized in your local animal shelter.

So, if you were previously having any doubts about neutering your pet, I hope that I have provided you with enough research to help make your decision. We all love our furbabies and want to keep them safe. And neutering a male dog can definitely help achieve his safety, and the safety of others.

Furbaby Needs A Furever Home

Today's totally adoptable furbaby is from Macon-Bibb County Animal Welfare. Macon, GA, is about 1.5 hours south of Atlanta.

For inquiries about specific breed, age, and temperment, contact
the shelter and ask about ID #A251608.

'Jesabelle' is a female black and gray Alaskan Husky mix. The shelter staff think that she is about 2 years old. She has been at the shelter since March 23, so she needs out IMMEDIATELY! The shelter is full, and many are on a euthanize list.

Contact the shelter for more information. They have plenty of other furbabies that need homes as well. If you want to contact them, they have a Facebook page and their phone number is 478.621.6791. Please share with as many as possible! We want to find this baby a fur-ever home!

The Benefits of Spaying Your Dog

When you first get a new dog, the last thing that you are probably thinking about is getting your new furbaby spayed. After all, who wants to put their child through an extra surgery? And why do people even spay anyway? You definitely don’t plan to allow your dog to breed with another dog. And you will ALWAYS have your eyes on her.

So why should you spay your pet?

Spaying (the terminology used to describe sterilizing a female dog) has several benefits. Female dogs who are spayed usually live a longer and healthier life. Spaying helps prevent uterine infections and breast cancers, which can be fatal in 50 percent of dogs.

Spaying your little girl will also prevent her from having to experience ‘shark week’, which can occur every three weeks in some breeds, and last around 3 weeks at a time. While going into heat is not exactly the same as a human menstrual cycle, it can cause your dog to bleed slightly, and can cause yowling and erratic behavior in the presence of males.

Also, spaying your furbaby costs significantly less than caring for a surprise litter of puppies. Each puppy needs food, time, vet visits, etc., all of which cost you more long term. And there are even low-cost spay/neuter programs available in middle Georgia, which can reduce the cost of your pet’s surgery.

Most importantly, spaying your pet helps prevent overpopulation and unwanted animals, which leads to mass euthanization (putting a dog down). Millions of cats and dogs wander the United States each year without a caretaker. These pets starve to death, are hit by cars, and often end up in animal control situations where they don’t make it out.

If you have a female dog that hasn’t been spayed yet, I strongly encourage you to look into a few of the lost-cost spay/neuter programs available in middle Georgia. Keep your pet safe and healthy, and prevent the deaths of unwanted pets.

Stay tuned to hear about why you should neuter your male dogs, and get some information about a few of the lost-cost spay/neuter programs in middle Georgia. You can sign-up for email updates on the latest blog posts on the right side of this blog.

Furbaby Needs A Furever Home

Today's totally adoptable furbaby is from the Sandersville Animal Shelter. This small town is halfway between Augusta, GA, and Macon, GA.

For inquiries about specific breed, age, and temperment, contact
the shelter and ask about #146841 B.

This baby has the cutest look on his/her face. The furbaby wants to be adopted immediately!

This shelter only charges a $15 adoption fee, and they have plenty of other furbabies to adopt as well. If you want to contact them, they have a Facebook page and their phone number is 478.552.2756.

Please share with as many people as possible! We want to find this baby a fur-ever home!