Adoption tAils CCspCA EvEnt

A-8 The News, Monday, February 28, 2011

Having your dog/cat altered is a sound investmentBy Bev Greco

executive director Cumberland County SPCA

As if some great switch in the sky has been thrown, the kittens are beginning to rain down on us.

After a short respite over the winter months, we are suddenly getting kittens or pregnant cats in on a daily basis.

It had been blissfully peaceful in the cat rooms for the past two months, some empty cages, no babies being delivered, no dread of walking into the room where the animal control officers drop off the strays and finding it filled with new arrivals.

So much for that!On a good note, we have seen a spike

in spay/neuter clinic appointments being made.

It seems as though many of the people scheduling their pets are using a portion of their tax refunds to get their pets fixed.

And, really, what better use could you put that money to?

Unless you have a big dog, it’s less than a hundred bucks; half that if it’s a cat.

You could easily blow that much on one dinner at a decent restaurant or in 15 minutes at the mall.

And for what? A bad case of indigestion from eating too

much or a couple of shirts that you won’t like when you get home anyway because they looked better on the hanger than they do when you put them on.

Putting out the money to have your pet altered is a sound investment for both you and your animal.

Did you know that altering your dog can increase his/her life span by one to three

years and your cat’s life by three to five years?

It’s true.Altered pets have a

low to no risk of ovarian and testicular cancers and other life threaten-ing diseases common in intact animals.

Pets that are fixed are also much less likely to roam.

About 85 percent of pets hit by cars are unaltered.

Fixing cats will cut back or eliminate undesirable behaviors like spraying, fight-ing and all that craziness the females go through when they are in heat.

Dogs are typically calmer, more people oriented and less aggressive when they are altered.

They may gain a little extra weight, but don’t use that as an excuse not to do it.

The advantages far outweigh that issue and truthfully If your dog is overweight, you will find the most likely cause by look-ing in the mirror.

You’re the one in charge of their diet and exercise.

So, have I guilted you into it yet?Let me throw one more sobering statis-

tic at you for good measure:It is estimated that five to seven mil-

lion cats and dogs are taken to animals shelters in the United States each year — three to four million are put to sleep.

This is a conservative estimate as shel-ter reporting regulations vary from state to state.

Help fix the problem; fix the pet.—

Shelter Needs: Kit-ten and puppy chow, canned dog and cat food, cat litter, bleach, spray disinfectants, sponge mops, paper towels, gift cards from pet, grocery and hardware stores.

—Pets of the Week

CatsGERTRUDE is about 10 years old. This

old girl needs a place to retire in.TIKI is a gray and black tabby. He is

about 7 months old.FRANK is a black kitten about 7 months

old. He has spent a couple of months at our shelter and desperately needs a new home. He is sweet and loving.

YOKO ONO is just over a year old. She was adopted from us and the owner returned her because they could no longer keep her. Won’t you give her a chance?

CHLOE is a gray and white female cat. She is about a year old.

DANNICA is about 1 year old. She is recovering from some road rash and is doing quite well.

DogsANGEL is a sweet, playful, 1-year-old

lab/pit mix. She is a comical, fun loving girl that is housebroken, crate trained, wonderful with older kids and great with other dogs. She is an active girl and prob-ably not suited to a home with young children or toddlers but older kids would be great. Angel came to the shelter as a stray and waited patiently for her own-ers to find her, but no one came. As the days passed, we noticed that Angel was gaining a significant amount of weight.

Barely more than a pup herself, Angel was pregnant. We placed her in a foster home where she gave birth to, and cared for, her puppies. Her pups are adopted and now Angel is waiting again. This time she is waiting for a loving forever home where she can be the center of the family. This friendly, happy go lucky girl deserves a second chance, please consider changing this young dog’s tough beginning into a happy ending.

TONY is a very sweet, 2-year-old pit/French bulldog mix. He is a great little dog, with an easy going, affectionate per-sonality. Tony has a lifetime of love to give, please consider giving him the second chance he deserves.

DUNCAN is a 3-year-old Bichon/poodle mix. He is a feisty little guy that will need a “leader of the pack” type owner. He is good with other dogs but is not suited to a home with children.

MARLO is a great find for anyone look-ing for a nice, family pet. She is an 8-month-old lab mix that is housebroken, crate trained, good with kids and good with other dogs. She is part lab, but her other part is something smaller which makes her a nice medium size. Marlo is a darling, affectionate pup with a lifetime of love to give.

JEETER is a 2-year-old Siberian husky. He is housebroken and good with kids. Jeeter will need a securely fenced yard, because like most Huskies, he likes to roam.

MADDY is a 4-year-old terrier mix. He is an adorable little guy with loads of per-sonality. Maddy is friendly and gets along well with other dogs.

GERTRUDE

MADDYJEETERMARLODUNCANTONYANGEL

DANNICACHLOEYOKO ONOFRANKTIKI

Urgently in need of a loving, forever home!

WOBBLES is having some neurological issues. We believe it could be due to a reaction from a flea prod-uct. He is a sweet loving boy and needs a new home.

Wobbles is about 7 months old. Please consider giving him the second chance he deserves.

NENA is a lovely, 3-year-old Pomeranian mix. She was released for adoption when her owners could not keep her where they were

living. She is housebroken and good with other dogs. Nena is a little shy when she first meets someone but warms right up once she is

comfortable. She would not enjoy grabby toddlers but kids 12 and up should be fine. Nena is really a darling girl, quiet, low key and loving.

Please consider giving her the second chance she deserves.

Step-For-A-Pet on April 10Save the Date! Sunday, April 10, is the 17th annual

Step-For-A-Pet held at Parvin State Park in Pittsgrove Township. Visit our website at www.cumberlandcoun-tyspca.org for details or come on in to the shelter, 1244 N. Delsea Drive, Vineland, to get your registration form.

If you have adopted an animal from the Cumberland County SPCA, or know of someone who has, and would like to be featured on the SPCA page in our ‘Adoption Tails’ section, please e-mail a picture of your animal and your story to ccagle@sjnewsco.com,

or drop it off at The News, 100 E. Commerce St., Bridgeton, during regular business hours. Be sure to include names for all those in the photo.

Every Monday, the SPCA page fea-tures 12 adorable, adoptable animals

and two extra animals handpicked by the SPCA staff that are urgently in need of a home.

Help show potential adopters the joy and love that can come with adopting a pet and giving them a second chance at life.