Get your pets spayed or neutered

If people would have their pets spayed or neutered, far fewer animals would have to be euthanized at the city’s animal shelter, area veterinarians and animal advocates agree.

As it is, the Brownsville Animal Regulation and Care Center humanely kills an estimated 5,000 animals a year. By law, the center is required to take in stray dogs and cats — and try as it might to find adoptive homes for the 15-20 animals that arrive every day, the vast majority end up having to be euthanized.

"Because people didn’t take the time to be responsible pet owners and spay or neuter their dogs, these dogs become disposable pets," said Dr. Robert Maza, of the Companion Animal Hospital in Brownsville, who has practiced veterinary medicine here for 20 years.

So far this year, the center says it has received 3,754 animals and adopted out 750 of them. The adopted animals received all needed vaccinations. The females were spayed and the males neutered.

The adoption fee — $79 to $125 for dogs and $61.50 to $120 for cats — helps the shelter recoup operating costs.

"The shelter provides a very big benefit to the community by providing pets that are spayed or neutered," Maza said. "The pets coming out of the animal shelter are so much better because of the hard work (the city has) done in providing these pets a warm, sanitary place. They’re just better looking pets. ... It’s 100 times better than what you had before."

Maza referred to Brownsville’s former animal shelter on Military Highway. The new facility on F.M. 511 provides 60 kennels for dogs and 20 for quarantine, in addition to space for cats. Still, the constant influx makes it necessary to continually clear out space.

Apart from population control, spaying and neutering also are good for the dogs.

According to Wikipedia, when performed prior to a female’s second heat cycle, spaying virtually prevents mammary tumors and greatly limits the chance of a uterine infection called pyometra. It also prevents uterine and ovarian cancer. Neutering prevents testicular cancer in males.

Additionally, the animals are far more likely to remain close to home: Females don’t go into heat and males don’t roam looking for mates.

"70,000 dogs and cats a day are born in the United States," Wikipedia says. "Unfortunately, only one out of 10 gets a home. Thus, spayed or neutered pets save the lives of thousands of abandoned animals and prevent the U.S. from pet overpopulation."

Dr. Robert Kellogg, of the North 23rd Veterinary Clinic in McAllen, practices one day a week at the Boca Chica Animal Hospital in Brownsville. He has been a veterinarian in the Valley for 30 years and recently stepped down from the board of the Humane Society of Harlingen after 17 years of service.

"The biggest frustrating thing in all of this is you have all these animals sitting there waiting for adoption (at the shelters) and, yet, you have people over at the pet shops buying breed dogs," Kellogg said.

Over the years, Kellogg said he has heard numerous proposals for establishing public animal shelters like Brownsville’s as "no kill" shelters, requiring them to keep animals until adopted.

"So far nobody’s been able to do it if they’re required to take in new animals," Kellogg said. When told Brownsville’s shelter takes in 15-20 animals a day, he said the number is probably twice that at shelters in McAllen and the upper Valley.

He said groups in the upper Valley and Harlingen are trying to start low-cost spay and neuter programs but so far have been stymied by costs.

"It’s a huge challenge — plus the number of people involved is miniscule compared to the population as a whole," Kellogg said.

He said low-cost, spay-neuter programs generally charge $50 to $60 for dogs, a little less for cats, but the problem is manpower.

One program in Austin uses veterinary students to perform the operations and government grants to help pay the bills, Kellogg said, adding that veterinary students aren’t available in the Valley and the average veterinary practice can’t get government grants.

"The shelter is the endgame," Kellogg said. "The numbers that these shelters have to deal with in the Rio Grande Valley is staggering."