SPAY-NEUTER COST INFLATED
In 2009 the average shelter cost for spay/neuter was $600 but many veterinarians donate their services, so is that padding the bill or just another donation scam?
Barbara "BJ" Andrews, Editor-In-Chief June 2009
The latter statement indicates either excessive shelter salaries are factored into the grossly inflated figure or the shelter uses veterinarians who overcharge for spay and neuter surgery. In private practice, vets must have overhead including malpractice insurance that don’t apply in shelter surgeries.
A quick survey revealed that most vets in fact do spay/neuter for less than $300 per dog in private practice.
Low Cost Spay or Neuter?One shelter manager said adoption fees rarely cover the higher veterinary costs associated with commercially-bred or puppy mill dogs, implying that such dogs have more health issues than stray.
How would she know which are which? She must have meant purebred dogs since strays are less likely to be purebreds.
One State Assembly recently voted 96-0 in favor of licensing and investigation of breeders who sell more than 25 dogs per year. Name withheld pending lawsuits in that state. On the surface, that seems like a reasonable measure to regulate puppy mills which are said to be rampant in most states where rural land is still available. Wisconsin was but one surprising example.
But if spay and neuter bills are only to reduce the stray dog population, why bring up the humane society’s costs for the health-impacting surgery? Why say that purebreds cost more to sterilize? That must be what she meant because puppy mills only breed marketable purebreds. They don't breed mutts unless you count the new craze for "designer dogs."
Show and hobby breeders do not let their dogs stray (!) and most breeders screen owners and many require pet buyers to spay and neuter. Yet several proposed spay-neuter bills would put responsible breeders under state control if during any year, breeders of large-breed/large-litter dogs have more than three litters.
Is mandatory spay and neuter about sales competition?Show and hobby breeders compete with human society shelters for sales/adoption fees. Is that why humane societies drive up spay and neuter cost by mandating all adopted pets must be spayed and neutered?
Do you want your tax dollars or donations used to pay exorbitant spay and neuter costs or shelter salaries?
Humane societies and shelters used to run low-cost spay and neuter programs. Some still do. Those inexpensive sterilization clinics so dramatically reduced the number of stray and unwanted dogs that many shelters ran out of cute, adoptable puppies. That reduces income from adoption fees so they import dogs from other shelters and even from other countries! {1} Those practices run up the cost of each puppy that goes out the door so adoption fees are raised. In fact many shelters charge "adoption" fees greater than the purchase price show or hobby breeders charge for a purebred puppy!
Adoption fees may not include the cost of spay and neuter. Some offer vouchers buyers can use at local vets. Make no mistake, we need shelters and local humane societies. No animal lover wants to see them shut down but on the other hand, no breeder wants to be regulated by the humane society’s political influence. When purebred dog and cat breeders are forced to compete with tax-payer funded shelters, it borders on commerce regulation violations.
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