Hi, B Girl,

Spaying/neutering certainly is, as gpm pointed out, an effective way to combat pet overpopulation and the needless euthanasia of perfectly healthy animals that is one unfortutnate result of too many animals, too few homes.

As to whether spaying/neutering is beneficial for the animal, I have always shared your feeling about it, i.e., who are we to presume to know more than nature. In the past I have spayed my dogs based on veterinary advise to do so. I'm not so sure that I would do so again.

I don't think any of the veterinarians dispensing their well meaning advice on the benefits of spaying can know, nor can we, how the whole organism is affected by the removal of an organ that nature put there. My suspicion is that everything really is connected to everything else in the organism.

So, my point is, be a responsible pet owner by not adding to the unwanted pet population, but trust your own gut feeling.

[ 03. November 2003, 01:29: Message edited by: Bema ]