CaliGrrrl
Posted : 1/31/2009 1:39:05 PM
This is an old post but it did catch my eye since I'm a CaliGrrrl! California bashing does not bother me too much since everyone seems to love to do it. It's not like you can stop people from having opinions (even mean ignorant ones!). I've travelled a bit, not as much as I'd like, but out of everywhere I've been in the U.S. and outside of it, California is still home because it's so freakin' beautiful here and we have some of everything, deserts, beaches, mountains, rain forests, canyons, big cities, redwoods, sequoias. I love it! Everyone has a place they call home and I may not want to live someplace with tornadoes and chiggers for example, but I won't bash it and say you might as well drop off the earth.
But the laws here, I know what you mean. Why do we have to have so many laws?!
The early spay/neuter law is in full effect now and I honestly didn't even realize it until I adopted Rey and they were going to neuter him before I could take him home. They said he was 3 months old, but I thought he was actually younger and so did my vet. Anyway, doesn't matter, it's now illegal for a pet to leave a shelter without being spayed/neutered. Many of you seem to agree with this and I partially agree too, but Rey is too young to be neutered. It's not necessarily in the best interest of an animal's lifelong health to be fixed so young, and if we say we support animal welfare, shouldn't we take this into account as well? I say that rhetorically b/c this issue just baffles and angers me. Rey is gonna be a really big boy and I want his bones and joints to develop properly. If his bone plates don't close at the time they're supposed to, he may be prone to all sorts of health problems that could shorten his life and decrease his health, happiness and physical ability.
He got a cold on the day of his scheduled surgery and I got him out of there intact!!! It was the only way and I believe it was a blessing in disguise! Now that I know the law, it would actually deter me from adopting a young puppy from any rescue in the future. Anyhow, I plan on having Rey neutered after he goes through puberty. I've talked to my vet about it already and she supports my choice. I never plan on breeding Rey or ANY dog and I agree that the vast majority of pets should be fixed.
I think our state's law is absolutely wrong though and I haven't seen the numbers to support it, just the continuous stream of strays and unwanted animals who still roam the city and countryside uncared for and unfixed because laws like this punish those of us who are already conscientious and do not affect those who have previously been and will continue to be reckless and irresponsible.
I paid $200 to get Rey out of the SPCA! Yikes! If you want to motivate people to spay and neuter their pets, offer a significant discount on adoption and licensing fees, make it free or lower cost, offer coupons, throw in free or discounted vaccinations, a bag of dog food! Maybe that sounds expensive, but in the long run it would be worth it and probably cost less than one more law on California's books!
Whew, sorry for the rant. I love California but not this law...