There is a common idea that having your animal give birth is important for the pet, a gift of life experience for children, or even an easy way to make a profit. The truth is there is a lot more to breeding then people think. It is time consuming, can be extremely costly, and can end in tragedy; especially if one is inexperienced or not prepared for what is to come. The expertise to breed healthy, genetically sound animals is a rare commodity. Good breeders are dedicated and educated people who take every possible precaution to prevent birth defects. Before breeding animals for fun and profit, consult your veterinarian and experienced breeders to find out what it takes to do it right. Breeding is NOT a money making business as some people think…read on… Even when prepared things do not always go as planned.

Questions to ask yourself before considering breeding your pet:

Is pet overpopulation really a problem?
It is estimated that 4,000,000 dogs and cats per year are killed in shelters. MCAS takes approximately 20,000 animals per year. Where do these animals come from? What does breeding your pet have to do with animals in shelters?

You might think that these are animals born in the streets or there is something "wrong" with them. But often they are the offspring of cherished family pets, even purebreds. Maybe someone's dog or cat got out just that one time or maybe the litter was intentional, but efforts to find enough good homes failed.

Still the result is homeless animals that have to be euthanized because there are more dogs and cats entering shelters than there are people willing to provide them with loving care. Even if you do find homes for your pet's puppies or kittens, that means there are fewer homes available to take in other pets from shelters.

DID YOU KNOW? A female dog by the age of five and her offspring can produce 192 puppies, (assuming two females per litter and two litters per year). This does not include all of the offspring produced by her male puppies.

A female cat and her offspring can produce 12,680 cats, in five years, (assuming two litters per year and 2.8 surviving kittens per litter). YES, pet overpopulation is a problem!

Want your children to experience “the gift of life”?
The experience of an animal giving birth is not as easy and beautiful as some make it out to be either. There can be complications with the mother that may risk her life. Puppies or kittens can often be stillborn or have expensive health problems. Animal shelters are constantly full of both adult animals and many kittens and puppies for a reason, so placing them can be more challenging than expected. Animal shelters receive many young animals whose mothers cannot or will not care for them when the owners who bred them realize they don’t have the time to bottle feed and care for them.

MCAS always has multiple pregnant or nursing dogs and cats in desperate need of a foster home. Show your children how to be compassionate, help the community, and change the lives of the mother and her babies. If you are interested in experiencing a mother dog raising her puppies, a mother cat giving birth and nursing her newborn kittens, and the overall experience of helping the animal shelter care for the animals that come into our care pregnant that need a home to temporarily stay in, please join the MCAS-PETS Yahoo Group. Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/, then search for MCAS-PETS and join the group.

Group Email Addresses
Post message: MCAS-PETS@yahoogroups.com
Subscribe: MCAS-PETS-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe: MCAS-PETS-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
List owner: MCAS-PETS-owner@yahoogroups.com